Before deciding to trade in a decade-long career in commercial real estate for the role of small-business owner, Sierra Stream had never traded in anything, much less designer shoes and luxury handbags. She recalls how a friend, upon finding this out, asked (incredulously), “You just give all your clothes away to Goodwill?”
In September 2021, Stream purchased the beloved Byrd Designer Consignment from Emily Elbert and developed a passion for secondhand goods. “It would be hard not to, working here,” she says. “Probably 20 percent of the stuff we get in still has the tags on it.”
Stream isn’t planning any major changes to the store. For now, she’s focused on improving the company’s online presence. First-time customers from across the country place orders every day, confirming that her strategy is working. “They’re from all kinds of places and have no connection to the store other than they found us on Instagram,” she says.
The 34-year-old entrepreneur recently shared insights about meeting with consignors, pricing items, and filming popular videos that have helped capture new customers near and far.
Kevin A. Roberts
You have a business background, but it sounds like there was a shift in your career. I’d always wanted to own my own business. Besides the real estate thing, I come from a long line of entrepreneurs, going back to my great-grandfather. Everyone owned their own business—my dad’s never worked for anyone else—so that was really appealing to me. I just never knew exactly what I would do. Then my mom one day said, “Why don’t you look at buying a business that already exists?”
How did you know Byrd was for sale? It was very confidential, but you can find small businesses for sale. They’re listed, almost like real estate. There are business brokers, like [there are] real estate agents. I figured out that it was Byrd even before signing the nondisclosure agreement. When you start describing the store, you realize that there aren’t a lot of places like that.
What appealed to you about the business? I’ve always been interested in fashion. I went to Mizzou; they have a fashion program, and that was my major for a hot minute, but I thought it was smarter to get a business degree and be a little bit more well-rounded. I think my love of fashion stems from my grandmothers. One grandmother gave me a subscription to Vogue every year, and the other was a big shopper and into jewelry and high heels and all that. I kind of grew up playing in their stuff and putting outfits together. When you’re looking to make a big change—the pandemic made people think about what you really want to do with your life—I wanted to do something that I really liked, that’s fun. And this totally is.
Was there a learning curve for you in terms of the consignment side of the business? It’s definitely different than if I were running a boutique: I would go to market and order a bunch of stuff, and it would come in months later. We don’t buy anything—it’s consignment, but it’s kind of like you’re buying every day, all day. You never know what’s coming in. Are we going to have too much inventory? Are we not going to have enough? In a regular boutique you would be able to plan for that a little bit more. I quickly caught on that the consignors are like clients. It’s relationship-building. You want to make people happy, sell their stuff, and get them to bring more.
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Are your consignors in St. Louis? It is mostly local, and that, I think, is really surprising to people. We get customers all the time who ask us, “Do you go to New York to get your stuff?” No, we have fabulous consigners right here in St. Louis who are shopping all over the world and bringing us their treasures when they don’t want them anymore.
How do you select what you buy? The main thing is, Is this going to sell? If it’s not going to sell, it doesn’t do me any good, and it doesn’t do the consignor any good either. Brand goes into it because we’re focused on the higher-end, luxury items. It’s not to say that we only take Gucci and Prada—we take lots of contemporary lines. One of the hardest things for me is that I have to think about not just whether I would wear it but also would one of my customers wear it. So sometimes those super, super unique pieces…maybe there’s just not a market for it in St. Louis.
Tell us about how you price items. I wish there was a magic ratio—that it was that easy—but it’s not. We literally look at every single item on a case-by-case basis. We have eight years of data in our system, so we can go back and see, like, What do we normally sell a Diane von Furstenberg dress for? We definitely look at the other options that people have if they’re going to buy a pre-owned handbag. We look at that and factor it in when we’re pricing, but then it’s also that specific handbag. Is it in perfect condition? Is it not? And then I say the consumer–Louis Vuitton stuff probably sells better here than it might elsewhere. We know that, so it factors into pricing, too.
How do you describe the St. Louis fashion consumer? The St. Louis fashion consumer is very brand conscious. For their handbags, they want them to be Chanel, Louis Vuitton, or Gucci. For clothes, you get a bit more of a broad range. The brands that really sell are Ulla Johnson, Alice + Olivia, Veronica Beard; Frame sells really well. Those are all in the same price point and have similar styles.
Do you see a growing interest in consignment and secondhand fashion? Absolutely. We’ve been having a phenomenal year, sales-wise. And we’re getting more and more new consignors and more and more new customers. We’ve been in this location for eight years, and people are like, “I never knew you were here.” With the rise of the bigger sites online, it brings more awareness to this sector of retail. To me, that’s great because I think there’s plenty of pie for everyone to go around.
