Business & Tech

Local Costume Designer Enters Spotlight with New Shop

Donna Bauch goes from making costumes for area musicals to running her own consignment boutique in Stony Brook.

For nine years, Donna Bauch volunteered her time making costumes for the annual Murphy Junior High School musical – even after her own kids passed through the schools.

She would scour thrift stores for items that could be used or modified for the kids’ costumes. It was during that time, she said, that she realized she had a great sense of fashion. Fast forward a few years, and she has found herself the owner of a new boutique in Stony Brook: Designer Fashions Consignment.

“I always loved to shop,” she said. “I put it to good use by bringing items here to consign and repurpose, reuse and reclaim.”

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The store held a soft opening on June 22 and is planning a larger ribbon-cutting ceremony for July 20. The 1,000-square-foot space is located in a busy shopping center on Route 347 at Stony Brook Road that also includes Symmetry Salon, Jamba Juice and Pro Portion Café. It’s closed Sundays and Mondays, and is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays and Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Appointments with potential consigners are made on Tuesdays and Thursdays; the store is currently looking for seasonal items. 

Bauch has had some help along the way: Her graphic designer friend of 14 years, Dawn McCulloch, has volunteered her time designing logos and marketing materials for the store. Her daughters Melissa and Jennifer help customers in the store, and friend Melissa Cormier, a makeup artist, helps out too.

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“With everyone pitching in and helping, it’s been wonderful,” Bauch said. “Everyone plays a very important role in my life and the store.”

She also has prior experience running a consignment boutique, as a former co-owner of Divine Consign, located in Smithtown.

Bauch said the biggest challenge is “trying to find an equal balance between family, friends and the store.”

Now that her children are grown, Bauch calls the store her baby.

“I love being here,” she said. “… This is just a passion, something that I found that I absolutely love to do and can’t do without.”


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