BUSINESS: Estate Furniture & Consignment
Bruce Stieber had an idea. After a career in sales, and having operated a booth at an antique mall for several years, he was looking toward a new venture—a business that would showcase his love for antiques and quality furniture.
Just one problem: he hadn’t been able to find the right location. Then, one Saturday evening he and his wife Dianna drove past a vacant building at 2100 S. Broadway in Edmond. They decided to take a look, and Dianna discovered that the front door to the empty building was unlocked. “I called the lease number on the sign,” Stieber recalls with a smile, “and told the man that the door to the building was open. He said, ‘I’ll be there in two minutes!’ He came down and said, ‘While you’re here, you want to look inside?’ So he showed it to us.”
Stieber liked what he saw, leased the building, and Estate Furniture and Consignment opened for business in February of 2015. Stieber channeled his passion for antiques and pre-owned, name-brand furniture into the business, and soon the once-vacant building’s 4,000+ square feet of space was filled.
“I like things that are well made and can stand the test of time,” Stieber says. “I want people to know that this place has quality items. We don’t fill it with junk. Anyone can do that. We have quality, name-brand used furniture, at a good price.” Stieber lists top-selling items as leather furniture—including chairs, sofas, and barstools—along with antique armoires, pairs of matching chairs, desks and sideboards.
With his background in antiques, Stieber has an eye for quality and for what he can sell. The process for Estate Furniture and Consignment is straightforward: he asks those with furniture to sell to send him a photograph, either via text message or email. If he likes what he sees, he’ll talk price with the seller, and once they agree on a sale price, he picks up the item–at no charge–and places it in the store. When it sells, store and seller split the proceeds evenly.
Stieber has been pleased with the rapid growth of his customer base, and enjoys the challenge of bringing in a steady supply of fresh and unique merchandise. “The most rewarding thing is finding pieces that we can bring in, sell at a good price, and make someone happy,” he says. “Finding the pieces, and then being able to satisfy that customer’s need, is the best of all.”
More information about Estate Furniture and Consignment is available at 726-9499 or 740-8212, and at estatefurnitureconsignment@yahoo.com.