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Groton — The Arc New London County, a nonprofit that serves individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, has taken over operation of the consignment shop at the Groton Senior Center, adding another way for its clients to gain work experience.
Local Creations had its soft opening at the beginning of the month, and the Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week.
With autumnal decorations (and a corresponding smell in the air), fleece pillows, patterned aprons, bags and jewelry, the shop more closely resembles a craft boutique, or a brick-and-mortar version of Etsy, than a traditional consignment shop.
That’s because a lot of the items are handmade by the seniors who go to the center. Ricky Wezner, director of community enterprise for The Arc, said that consigners get 80 percent and The Arc gets 20 percent of sales.
One employee at Local Creations is Merisha Burton, whose weeks are also filled with selling baked goods at the Waterford Senior Center and volunteering at Thames Valley Council for Community Action.
“Welcome!” she greets shoppers as they enter, from the perch of her wheelchair next to the cash register.
Mary Jo Riley, supervisor of the Groton Senior Center, said Club 55 founded the shop in 1980 as a way for seniors to make a little bit of extra money.
The senior center took over operations two years ago, when Club 55 decided to focus on other priorities. But Riley said it required a lot of “staff time we really didn’t have.”
About a year ago, the town went out to bid, and the senior center now has a ninemonth contract with The Arc.
“They were really the ones that were interested in managing the shop, and it’s a really good training opportunity,” Riley said.
Adding to The Arc’s other micro-businesses in the region, like its farm stand in Ledyard, Wezner said the shop is a good way to get clients “prepared for money and life and the real world.”
The Arc has placed people with employers like Mohegan Sun and Mystic Marriott, Wezner said.
With Local Creations, “We were looking for something that was retail-based,” Wezner said. “We have the bakery, we have the gardens, we have the cookies and all that.”
In addition to consigned and donated items, which anyone can bring in, Local Creations is selling The Arc’s baked goods, such as cookies, brownies and muffins.