Sunday, a day of rest, relaxation and respite, well that is unless you decide to hold a charity fundraiser which is exactly what we at Siopaella decided to do on Sunday 29th of June. All charity items were priced at just €3 and all proceeds will go to animal welfare. Having three weeks to plug and advertise the event on all social media platforms meant the day was a total success, but I’ll get to that later.
Queuing outside our Crow Street store
The whole process began the night before when the charity
stock was brought from our little, and I mean little, charity room in our
basement. We had gathered so much stock for this sale that in the months prior,
Ella and Steve used their own house as storage. Of course they had Louis and
Raquel’s permission as we all know they are the real bosses.
Steve with boxes of clothes
The boxes and bags were hauled over to Crow Street. New
rails were put up and stock was moved around. Once everything was hanged and
balloons were blown up we called it a night and headed home for some beauty
sleep before the big day.
Setting up the night before
The next morning I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed. I
headed downstairs in my pyjamas for some scrambled egg and toast in preparation.
I sat down with my tasty brekkie and couldn’t believe when my phone buzzed
after receiving a tweet on the Siopaella Twitter page. It was a tweet from a
woman having her cup of coffee, in the rain while queuing up in order to het first
entry. What was even more surprising was that when I eventually got ready and
arrived at Crow Street, this woman who had tweeted wasn’t even the first in
line.
Simon, Vaari, Clare, Jackie and Armelle - the early risers
These early risers were rewarded with rocky road, brownies
and cookies. I’m sure after two hours spent queuing a sugar hit went down a
treat (pun intended). Our competition winners entered the store ten minutes earlier
and to say that it reminded me of an episode of Supermarket Sweep would be an
understatement. The countdown soon began and the eager bargain hunters began
streaming in.
Eileen handing out treats
The queue was endless as due to health and safety we could only
allow a certain number of people in the shop at one time. It became a “one in,
one out” system and I’d be lying if I said the power of being a bouncer wasn’t
any fun.
Vaari with her three bags of bargains
There were great bargains to be had with some lucky
customers picking up Moschino, Prada and Louise Kennedy all for just €3 a pop! The
queues lasted until around 3.30pm. More goodies were added throughout the day
and we even had treats for these late comers (we love everyone equally).
Chaos ensues
The buzz in the shop was second to none as people waited
patiently at the till and for the fitting rooms. All those years spent learning
our 3 times tables had eventually paid off. Thankfully though a trusted
calculator was on hand for those who bought more pieces than our little coffee
fuelled brains could manage to multiply.
Finding hidden treasure
At 4pm we had an in store auction. Pieces included DVF, See
by Chloe, Marni and even a pair of Chanel sunglasses. All bids started at €1
and we are happy to report that no fist fights broke out…although there were
some close calls. We eventually shut our doors at 5pm and let out a deep sigh
of relief. The day was over and it was our most successful one to date.
Lovely couple with their bags of goodies
The remaining items were donated to the MS Society in Trim
so the clothes our lovely customers and consignors donated will continue to
raise much needed funds.
Twitter winner - Brid Cannon
Afterwards we decided
to treat ourselves to some chicken wings and beer in the chicken wing heaven
that is Elephant and Castle (if you haven’t tried them then shame on you).
Feasting time
All in all we raised €3,300 and this will be used to better
the lives of animals in Ireland. We really could not have done it without your support,
and for that we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Louis and Raquel also
thank you for helping their furry friends (woof),
Ciara x
Ciara x
Counting the money
THANK YOU!!!
