Consignment boutique back in West Reading
Lucky Finds reopened on Penn Avenue after nearly 10 years in Douglassville.
Not unlike the merchandise it sells, Lucky Finds has been passed down from one owner to the next during its nearly 10 years in business.
And not unlike the merchandise they sell, store owner Diana Maldonado and manager Brenda Melendez are making the store feel new to customers.
On Sept. 3, Lucky Finds held its grand reopening at its new location on the 700 block of Penn Avenue in West Reading, previously a cell phone repair shop.
Advertised as an “upscale consignment boutique,” Lucky Finds sells gently-used or preowned designer clothing, footwear, handbags, jewelry and accessories for women of all shapes and sizes.
While technically a secondhand store, some of the items on the racks at Lucky Finds are, for all intents and purposes, brand new — and those that aren’t look the part.
“Sometimes clients buy things and they just never use it or decide, ‘I don’t like it anymore,’ and they consign it to the store,” Melendez said.
A change of scenery — and business model
Lucky Finds opened in the Douglassville Shopping Center in 2011, getting its start as a general consignment store that stocked a little bit of everything, from men’s, women’s and children’s apparel to toys and knick-knacks to furniture.
The shop changed hands a number of times through the years, with Maldonado — a Reading High School graduate and formerly an officer with the Laureldale Police Department — taking the reins in 2019.
“I decided it was time for me to change careers, this opportunity came up and I took it from there,” Maldonado recalled.
Under Maldonado and Melendez, Lucky Finds transitioned to a women’s boutique under the consignment model.
“Diana used to be one of my students at Berks Technical Institute,” said Melendez, an adjunct professor and paralegal originally from New York City. “She finished the program and about a year later she decided she wanted to open up a business and asked me if I would be interested in helping her out.
“I love fashion and I love shopping, so I said, ‘Sure, why not take on another project.”
The duo then hatched the plan to move The Avenue in West Reading where the store will see more foot traffic.
Location: 703 Penn Ave., West Reading
Phone: 610-743-3497
Website: https://www. facebook.com/LuckyFindsConsignmentBoutique/
Hours: Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sundays 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Mondays closed