She’s worked in law firms and hair salons, but Gretchen Kellems never forgot her first thrift store prize. Kellems, a Warsaw-area native who recently moved back from Louisville, Ky., opened The Posh Frog consignment store downtown April 1. She sells secondhand womens, mens and juniors clothes such as business casual outfits, as well as a few vintage pieces – like the velvet smoking jacket she found at a thrift store in college. “I was hooked from that point on,” she said Thursday in her shop at 123 W. Center St. “I have so much fun digging through the racks to see what kind of treasure I can find. And it was just a silly smoking jacket. I wore that thing till it fell apart.” It’s why she likes to keep a few unique pieces in stock among the 11 racks of jeans, blouses and dresses. “There’s some vintage here – I guess the ‘80s is now considered vintage. Little treasures for people to find,” she said. She offers consigners a 50/50 split of sales, which they can take in store credit if they like. She also buys clean, current-style clothing for cash on the spot. Having a good eye for style is something she’s had to learn as she goes, though she said the hairdressing background helps. Her goal is to provide affordable clothing for young people, area professionals and everyone else. Kellems decided to open a consignment shop after learning just how much clothing goes into landfills every year – 68 pounds per person, by some estimates. Many of the furnishings in the store reflect her recycling ethos, from the desk and changing room made of wooden pallets to the clothing racks made out of old posts and pipes and the ladder and door turned into shoe shelves. The corner building, vacant for seven years after serving as a state license branch, was a recycling project in itself. “I found the building just by driving around. I kept coming back to the buildings down here,” she said. “I felt it was a pretty good fit, when I can revitalize it and give that old building new life.” She got help restoring the building and setting up the store from old friends in the area. The initial stock of clothing came from newer friends in Kentucky. She got back in touch with her Warsaw friends while visiting for a high school reunion, which is when she decided to stay. “I wanted to get back into customer service the old-fashioned way, to make sure people felt greeted and welcomed,” she said. “If you look good, you feel good. It’s like with hairstyling, you get that new look and you bounce out the door.” The Posh Frog is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Its phone number is 812-449-0627.
