Karen Whitman, owner of the Silk Purse is happy to be retiring this fall. (Michael Catarevas photo)
There aren’t many happy endings when it comes to store closings. But for Karen Widmann, 85, who opened the Silk Purse consignment shop at 118 Main Street in 1973, 41 years has been a long and lovely ride, and she’s now ready to say good-bye.
In a lengthy conversation with the Advertiser, the petite, grandmotherly Widmann smiled non-stop as she looked around her store, recalling happy milestones, quirky sales, and four-plus decades of success. She opened at the right time, and says she’s closing at the right time.
“I’ve enjoyed it immensely, it’s been wonderful,” said the Rowayton resident. “Business has been slow recently, but we’ve done well for a long time.”
Unlike many merchants being squeezed by landlords, Widmann has had an excellent relationship with hers.
“The lease was up, and we were given a free month to get everything in order,” she said. “Not only that, but our rent was reduced several times. The owner (J.R. Silverberg) bought buildings in town a long time ago, when they were bargains. He has a long history in New Canaan.”
Way back when, Widmann decided to open a consignment shop. She had little retail experience. A Vassar College friend, Shirley Tanner, joined the start-up, and the two women have worked together for 41 years.
“She’s been just an enormous help,” Widmann said of Tanner, a New Canaanite. “We were just learning on the fly when we started. People got tremendous bargains here until I learned the value of things. I started studying, going to auctions and talking to antiques dealers. When we started Shirley didn’t know any more about this than I did.”
“I still don’t,” cracked Tanner.
Widmann had confidence in her abilities from day one. She named the shop Silk Purse in reference to the old adage. “They say you can’t make a silk purse from a sow’s ear. I thought, ‘Yes, you could!’ ”
The now 3,200-sq.-ft., double-entrance store started in half the space. “When we originally opened I had a little dinner party in the store,” Widmann said. “Then when we got bigger I had another dinner party. One man who attended both parties announced, ‘You keep opening nice restaurants and turning them into junk shops!’ ”
Those ‘junk shops’ were profitable for four decades, as Widmann sharpened her business skills. The formula was simple. People would bring in what they wanted sold, like jewelry, or take pictures of heavy things, like furniture. Widmann would make a decision and determine a price. The split was roughly 60/40 for the seller. Anything accepted was displayed for two months. If it didn’t sell, the price was lowered 10%. After two more months, there was another 10% cut. If after two more months it hadn’t sold, it was returned to the seller.
Widmann laughed when recalling the time she sold what she thought was a plain panel, something to hang on a wall. “I didn’t know what it was, and neither did the owner,” she said. “It sold for a couple hundred dollars.”
Soon after, someone came into the store with the catalog for a Sotheby’s auction. Not only was the panel included in the auction, but its picture graced the cover. It turned out to be a French tapestry from the 18th century. “I don’t even want to know what it sold for,” Widmann said.
That misstep was rare. After about 20 years in business, things were going so well that the property owner broke through the wall when the next-door tenant left, doubling the Silk Purse space. Now that it’s closing time, Widmann is ready.
“It’s a little difficult because we have to get all these things back to the people who consigned them,” she said. “After September 15th everything left will go to Goodwill.”
Her plans? “I have no idea,” she said. “But I’m pretty sure I’m not going to open another store.”
More info: TheSilkPurse.com, 203-972-0898
The Silk Purse, 181 Main St., is closing after more than 40 years in business. (Michael Catarevas photo)