The Red Collection's Manager Looks Back As Store Takes Last Bow

On a sunny September Sunday, The Red Collection, a consignment shop that has been open for the past three years on East Main Street in Riverhead, customers wandered in steadily to admire the wide array of artfully arranged furniture, home goods, artwork and designer finds.

But the store will soon be shutting its doors: Manager Susan Williams said the last day for The Red Collection will be Sept. 28 at 5 p.m.

To that end, Williams said she has been marking down merchandise, with customers crowding in to snap up the savings.

"There's been a feeding frenzy," she said.

Reflecting on the reason for the store's closure, Williams could only speculate. The store's owners, Irene Pritchett and Thomas Hayes, have two other stores in North Carolina.

"I don't really know," why they decided to close the store, she said.

Looking around at the artistic arrangements of furniture and treasures, Williams, who has a background as an antiques dealer and in staging and set design, reflected on her sadness at seeing the business close.

"It's been a real contribution to downtown Riverhead," she said. "The Red Collection has become a destination." 

Customers who came to the consignment store often stayed for lunch downtown, she said, adding foot traffic to Main Street.

"This really is a loss to downtown Riverhead," she said.

The storefront, she added, "stood empty" for ten years before being rented for The Red Door; the shop's closure, she said, will add to the "many empty buildings" on Main Street.

Williams, a Shelter Island resident who brought her dog Rudy to the store, became close to many of those who came in with merchandise to sell on consignment, as well as with many return customers who came back on a weekly basis to scout the new offerings.

In addition, Williams said, while it took some time for people to realize the store's presence on Main Street, the clientele, once they discovered the discounts on high-end merchandise, returned often; the business, she said, was hitting its stride.

Items in the store, she said "are priced for resale," with many dealers coming in to later offer them in their own shops; discounts were deep for items including a $3000 Ralph Lauren waterfall table that sold for $400.

The business, she added, was great for the environment, focusing on the three tenets of "reduce, reuse, and recycle," and repurposing furnishings and other wares rather than just throwing them out. "Instead of the Red Collection, it should have been called the Green Collection," she said.

Customers, she said, have reacted to the news of the closure: "So many are heartbroken, she said. "This business was much-loved."

One gentleman, dismayed by the news, asked if he could give her a hug, Williams said; many have taken her email to follow her in her next endeavor.

Williams, who said she's met wonderful people over the past three years, had a message Sunday for her loyal customers: "I would like to thank them for their patronage and support. I'll miss them," she said.