FURNISHINGS, RARITIES AND CURIOSITIES – OLD AND NEW
In December 2001, two months before the 2002 Winter Olympic Games would descend upon Utah, three Park City friends Marion Boland, Cindy Matsumoto and Eileen Mullane opened Right at Home, a consignment shop carrying a tremendous selection of high-quality “furnishings, rarities & curiosities—old and new.” The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. With the Olympics right around the corner, Parkites were scrambling to outfit apartments, condos and homes they could rent out to the multitudes of visitors who would stay for all or part of the 17-day international event. With no other shop of its kind in town, Right at Home quickly became known to real estate agents, brokers, designers and residents as an invaluable addition to the local business community.
The quick start was a boom to their confidence and motivated them to keep hustling. All the women agree that they feel lucky to have formed this partnership. Many things can go wrong when you’re friends as well as business partners, but from the beginning they all understood that they needed one another. “None of us would have been willing to do it alone,” Cindy said. “We were all friends. We all had different strengths.” Eileen does the books, Cindy focuses on merchandising and Marion thrives on customer service. But, each is 110% committed to doing whatever it takes to keep things running smoothly. “We all like to do other things,” Marion explained. “One can be gone, the other two fill in. You need each other. That’s critical. We’re here for each other.”
That commitment extends to the customers, as well. Megan Williams, a Park City resident has been shopping at Right at Home since it opened and says she goes back for the amazing vibe, the incredible merchandise and the highly person-alized, wonderful customer service. “Marion, especially, is so invested in the customers. She tries to know everyone by name and really listens to what they want. Th ere’s a notebook on the counter with a list of what people are looking for and if they find it, they call you right away and text pictures. It’s great.”
Linda Casey, a second home owner, designer and home stager praised the high quality of the items. “These ladies have a great eye and know what to stock. If you love furniture and design, you can find whatever you need here. But it goes quickly. Sometimes the inventory changes drastically in a few hours. That’s what’s so fun.” She doesn’t just buy from them though, she sells to them, too. “If I get tired of certain pieces, I reconsign them at Right at Home.”
Each of the owners feels a profound sense of gratitude to the Park City community. They speak a lot about how lucky they feel to be such an integral part of the fabric of this town. “We do a lot with nonprofits. The community is gracious,” Marion told me. One they work with is Peace House, a local shelter that provides comprehensive and compassionate services to victims of domestic violence.
Right at Home also hosts evening events. Once, Eileen brought in a couple of appraisers and invited people to bring their antiques to find out what they were worth. It was a fun time, Eileen told me, except maybe “For the woman who found out that a tiny print she was convinced was worth thousands of dollars, was determined to be worth not more than a hundred.”
Cindy, Eileen and Marion are proud of their hard work that has paid off in the form of a successful, well-loved small business in a wonderful community. Said Marion, “We’ve been through a lot with our customers. We know their families, when they’re struggling through illness. When I go away, I wonder what I’m missing!” Cindy and Eileen echo the sentiment, “After 17 years, we’re still loving it and can’t imagine not doing it.”
