Ladybug Landing looks like an upscale children's clothing shop. Beyond the white wooden French doors, the front room's pastel walls surround white wooden display cases which are painted pastel on the inside.
An attractive mural by artist Eve Goins greets young visitors to the playroom. Goins is also responsible for the ladybugs which scamper up the open doors of an old wardrobe which is now a display space.
Tiny hangers hold row upon row of little dresses and playsuits, jackets and embroidered sweaters. The clothes are in shades of white, pastels, and primary colors, often appliquÈd with flowers or animals. Every detail of the dÈcor and merchandise suggests very high prices.
Many of the clothes do have price tags of more than $100. Their labels are of upscale brands: Hanna Andersson, Bella Bliss, Orient Expressed, Cottontail Originals, Talbots, Ralph Lauren, Little English, Bailey Boys, and others.
But the price tag that counts is not the original designer's, but the one with the Ladybug Landing logo. That's the clue that most of the adorable clothes and childcare items, all in mint condition, are sold on consignment.
Ladybug Landing has children's clothing sized for premature infants through boys and girls size 14-16. Also on consignment are high quality maternity clothes, in sizes XS-XL and up.
Maternity casual clothes, work wear, and dressy clothes are accepted for consignment.
Owner Sarah Meyers sets prices for clothing at 30-40 percent of the original retail price. Baby furniture, strollers, and other items go for 40-70 percent of the original price. There is no fee to consign clothing or childcare items.
Consignors receive 40 percent of the selling price, which may be lowered if an item hasn't sold in a month. Many consignors, needing new clothes for their growing children, prefer to take store credit instead of cash. When they do so, they receive an additional 20 percent of the balance due to them.
After 60 days the consignor may reclaim any unsold items at no charge. Meyers donates unclaimed items to the Florence Crittenden Home and the Lexington Women's Club Clothes Bank for the Fayette County Public Schools.
New merchandise available at Ladybug Landing includes educational toys by Melissa and Doug and new baby gifts by Beba Bean. The store carries maternity underwear and items by Bravado and other brands.
Considering the careful design of Ladybug Landing and the appropriate selection of its merchandise, one would expect Meyers to have a strong background in retail. Not so. She worked as an accountant for many years. Eventually she tired of commuting to Frankfort and wanted to spend more time with her three children.
One of eight children, Meyers "learned to be thrifty. I grew up with that mindset and I love to offer it to people," she said. It's an especially welcome offering in these economic times.
Meyers had once talked to a woman who had the idea for a store like Ladybug Landing, but didn't go beyond the idea. Meyers decided that she would be the person to bring the concept into reality.
When her daughter had surgery at Central Baptist Hospital, Meyers noticed that the building across the street had space for rent. Calling about the space was the smartest business decision she made, for she knew that many OB-GYNs practice at CBH. Their patients couldn't help but see her store in that location.
Meyers signed her lease in June, 2007. She and her husband John worked long hours converting the almost 3,000 sq. ft into suitable retail space. Her father- in-law came from South Carolina and spent two weeks helping and making the store's lavender wooden checkout counter.
Ladybug Landing opened its French doors just two months later. For Meyers, the best part of her business "is talking to women who are so happy. Many of them have just found out that they're pregnant."
Now "customers who bought maternity clothes are coming back to buy baby clothes and items," Meyers said. She believes Ladybug Landing's rapid popularity is because "We're a true consignment store, in a boutique setting. We're very choosy about the brands we carry and the condition of clothes we take."