By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – When Vikki Franklin grew up in London, England it was a lifestyle that taught her the meaning of a dollar.
That is one reason she has almost 30 years operating her own retail stores that offer excellent pricing on clothes and other items, starting in 1985 when she began what would be 29 years as owner of a Consignment Store in Slidell.
After selling that business in 2014 she is back with the Curiosity Shoppe, a new retail store that again specializes in great pricing for women’s clothes, as well as accessories, shoes, purses and more.
Franklin opened the Curiosity Shoppe only a month ago, operating in the strip mall across the street from the newest Walgreen’s on Gause Boulevard. The official address is 1501 Gause Blvd W, Suite 6.
“I called it the Curiosity Shoppe because we do specialize in women’s clothes, but we have a little bit of everything,” she said.
Franklin said she was brought back into the retail business because she missed the interaction she had every day with her customers, and she knows that the pricing she offers on clothes and other items is something many people are looking for.
“I was raised in London, England and we lived in a school where my father was the school keeper (maintenance man),” she said. “Then when we came to the United States when I was 20 we had our belongings stolen in New York and had absolutely nothing. So I know how important it is for people to save money and give them a good value.”
The Curiosity Shoppe is beautifully designed and is loaded with women’s clothes that are mostly new and purchased from closeouts of other businesses.
The store has “everything from jeans to wedding dresses” for women, both young and older, as well as offering items “from casual to formal, at prices less than retail,” Franklin stated. She also carries very nice “church suits” that can be ordered in all sizes.
Growing up in Britain, an accent you can still hear from Franklin if you listen closely, she had one sibling and attended the school where her father worked until she graduated at the age of 15.
“In Britain you started college two days a week as you went to high school,” she said. “So I got a good education very quickly.”
The family decided to move to Fort Walton Beach, Fla. because Franklin’s mother had a sister who was sick and needed help.
“We sold most everything before we left England except two trunks of antiques, family photographs and our clothes, but when we came through New York it was all stolen,” she said. “I remember the whole family sitting on the bed and crying for a long time. It left us with nothing.”
They had to move into the home with her mother’s sister until Franklin got a job as a secretary at Sandpiper Cove condominiums, then helped get her father a job as a maintenance man with a condo complex that included housing. Franklin moved to the Slidell area at the age of 24 when she got married and later worked at the former Lafitte’s Retreat here, before owning JR’s in Olde Towne for a short time.
In 1985 she opened the Consignment Store on Robert Boulevard that thrived for years by offering a way for folks to make a few dollars while purchasing clothes that were “gently worn,” as Franklin describes it.
The Curiosity Shoppe carries a great line of wedding gowns to go with the complete variety of women’s clothes, including “$5 Special” racks. Her pricing on just one wedding gown is an indication of what is offered there: one brand-new gown with the tag from David’s Bridal shows that it was selling for $1,248 and Franklin has it priced at $499.
“That’s the kind of bargains you find here,” she said.
The store also carries jewelry for all occasions, from $5 and up, as well as purses, evening wraps, scarves and other accessories. There are also great gift items in the store that include knickknacks, collectibles, artwork, shoes and more.
“I made a lot of contacts at the Consignment Store and after two years out of the business I liked the idea of trying something again, but something that was a little different,” she said. “I hope a lot of my old friends come to see me here.”
The store is open Tuesday through Friday from 11 to 5, then Saturday from 11 to 4. Closed Sunday and Monday.