Help rEVOLVEr resale get a brick-and-mortar!

Hi friends! My name is Sarah Randolph (she/her), and I'm a queer woman in Birmingham, Alabama, pursuing a dream I've had for nine years to open a consignment store in the Magic City! What I am creating is unlike anything Birmingham has experienced before when it comes to secondhand stores, and I need your help to get into a brick-and-mortar location.

rEVOLVEr resale approaches the problem of fast fashion adding way too much waste into the environment and the lack of safe spaces that traditional retail places provide, especially for the LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities. This lack of safe spaces eliminates our ability to feel seen and be creative, unique, and truly connect. Because for connection, vulnerability also has to exist. So if we can't be vulnerable, we cannot be our unique selves, connect, and create solutions together.

So how are we in Birmingham, Alabama, going to solve a global climate crisis when the average American throws away over 80 pounds of clothing and textiles per year? The solution I am proposing is by creating safe spaces for our community to come and shop secondhand goods and local art in a gender-free consignment store, and as a bonus, by creating financial opportunities for people to sell their things and local artwork.

We will sell everything from clothing and accessories, to furniture, home goods, even local art and art supplies! There won’t be “women’s” or “men’s” clothing sections, but rather just pants with pants, dresses with dresses, because we feel clothing should not be gendered. After all, gender is just a social construct! We’ll offer two options for sellers: consignment or in-store trade. We’ll even have a consign for charity option where the consignor’s percentage will be donated to a local environmental or social justice organization each month.

Right now I am the sole employee, but we have a ton of support from all the folks who have shopped with us at our pop-ups, followed us on social media, and participated in our events. We are a growing team that is looking to continue to expand here in the Birmingham area.

I am a CO.STARTERS graduate and have fifteen years of experience in marketing and communications as well as event coordination. I used this experience while working at two consignment stores in Portland, Oregon, learning all about how they ran their businesses. And I can say confidently that we don’t have anything quite like it here!

Those who know me know how passionate I am about the environment and our community. I have hosted many events for our community, whether through my four-year career in conservation educating the public about birds and the natural world through over 75 events reaching over 2,000 people, or through fun events for our queer community, like the well-attended Bevy Bazaar last May featuring a queer vendor market, which raised almost $2,500 for the Magic City Acceptance Center.

I am asking for a total of $16,500 to cover the remainder of my start-up costs, including things like store fixtures, signage, and a desktop computer for a point-of-sale. I have looked at some locations, and some landlords require you to have six months' rent in the bank before they will rent to you (and even for those that don't, having that security to know that we will be able to pay our bills and get this community resource launched will make all the difference as many businesses do not make it past the first year). Landlords typically require the first and last months' rent up front, and there are always unanticipated expenses that come up depending on the space such as build-out costs.

Thank you so much for your support! Our goal is to serve and uplift the community, and we need our community's help to see this dream into reality.