Marcaine Oelke and her sister Lisa Glow are known to their customers as two girls from the park, thanks to the name of their unique business ” Girls From the Park Resale Shop.
Girls From the Park is a designer retail shop for women’s and girl’s clothing, including labels such as Coach bags, Seven For All Mankind jeans. The store also has plenty of shoes and jewelry.
Oelke and Glow also take the unusual step of offering cash or store credit for used clothing.
“Instead of throwing their unwanted clothes out they can come here and get some money for those items,” Oelke said.
The sisters pay 25 percent in cash of what they can sell it for.
The shop also has an extensive line of vintage prom dresses. The 50s style formals are all original and rent for $50 per week. The shop also stocks the not-so-ordinary, such as vintage purses and leopard-print coats.
“We do the full gamut from fashions that are current to vintage,” Oelke said.
The sisters recently opened another business adjacent to their boutique called The Gallery Park and Lounge, displaying a variety of works from local craftsmen and artists.
The retail space is 2,000 square feet and occupied by 12 vendors, featuring items that range from shabby-chic furnishings, vintage furniture, antiques and hand-sewn children’s clothing, as well as a potpourri of art work.
“It’s a great thing to have on this block,” Oelke said. “We have the tea shop next to it and that’s connected to another store, so it’s like a little mini-mall.”
Oelke said the store now has a waiting list of vendors for the next available space.
The sisters’ business recipe seems to be working, as this venture is the third store they have owned together. Eleven years ago, they owned The Purple Moon on Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach.
“We did really well there too and were there for seven years and hope that some of our old customers will come to our new digs and say hello,” Oelke said.
The Girls From the Park Resale Shop and the Gallery Park Lounge celebrate their grand opening Saturday, May 13 and are located at 2176 Chatsworth, at the corner of Voltaire Street. For more information, call (619) 226-0043.
