When Melissa Poole unlocks the door to her new shop each morning, she’s stepping into more than a business. She’s stepping into a space filled with stories – some belonging to the furniture, lamps and vintage treasures on display, and some belonging to the people who bring them through her door.
Poole’s shop, The Consign House, opened this month at 5228 Hixson Pike. It’s bright, airy and has room to grow. But in just a few days of business, she’s already begun to fill the space with choice pieces and – more importantly – with connections to the community she’s returned to after decades away.
“I’ve always been into interior design, art and fashion,” Poole says, looking around at the neatly arranged furniture, racks of clothing and displays of home décor. “This work comes naturally to me. Plus, it’s fun. I meet all kinds of people.”
A roundabout journey home
Poole is no newcomer to Tennessee, but she’s taken the scenic route back. Born in Chattanooga, she moved to Florida as a child and stayed for 30 years. Along the way, she wore many professional hats: paralegal, mortgage auditor and eventually consignment shop owner.
Her Florida store, Missy’s Fabulous Finds, started toward the end of her time there and became a local success.
“It was busy all the time. We had consignors and customers wall to wall,” she recalls. “My husband used to say, ‘Please leave a place to walk.’”
The couple later pursued new opportunities in California and North Carolina before returning to Tennessee in mid-2025, settling near Red Bank to be close to her mother in Soddy-Daisy.
Why Hixson?
When she decided to open another consignment shop, Poole scouted locations downtown and on the North Shore. But the parking, higher rent and traffic hassles made her reconsider.
Then she looked to Hixson.
“It’s busy, it’s accessible and there’s nothing like this here,” she says. “There’s a place nearby with vendor booths, but no one offering a mix of clothing, furniture and home décor on consignment.”
The space she found – 1,450 square feet in a recently renovated plaza – checked all the boxes. The building’s new owner, Robert Roberts, had repaved the parking lot, painted and installed new flooring.
“It’s nice,” Poole says. “I can fill it beautifully without overextending myself.”
Inside The Consign House
Stepping through the door reveals clothing at the front, arranged for easy browsing.
“People tend to turn right when they come in – it’s just how we’re trained – so I laid it out to flow that way, like TJ Maxx or HomeGoods,” Poole explains.
A dressing room waits for those who want to try things on, while the back of the store is set aside for larger furniture. That’s also where the drop-off area is, complete with a large cart to help consignors unload heavier items.
Consignors read and sign contracts on-site – and then she stages each piece herself.
“Presentation matters,” she says. “Whether it’s a vintage French jug or a modern sofa, I want people to see it at its best.”
How it works
The Consign House operates on a simple system: items stay on the floor for 60 days, then go through a tiered markdown until they sell.
“It’s important to keep the selection fresh,” Poole says. “People won’t keep coming back if they see the same items over and over.”
Poole researches every item before pricing it, using Etsy and other resale platforms for reference while avoiding eBay’s often inflated prices.
Poole accepts a wide range of items: clothing, jewelry, handbags, lamps, rugs, furniture and home décor. Everything must be clean, gently used and free of pet hair. Clothing should be pressed and on hangers; furniture and décor should be in good condition.
“I’ve learned to be picky,” she says. “In my first store, people would bring me boxes of wrinkled clothes or dusty knick-knacks. Now I politely say, ‘No, thank you,’ if it’s not up to standard.”
The people behind the pieces
Poole’s ideal consignor?
“Anyone with good-quality items they’re ready to part with,” she says. “It could be a whole dining set from a home makeover, or just one great chair your dad bought overseas. I’ve had people bring one item, and I’ve had people furnish entire houses through my store.”
She knows from experience that consignors often become customers – and customers often become consignors.
“You have to treat them the same,” she says. “They’re both essential to the business.”
In Florida, she even had a customer who became a friend and eventually filled a 5,000-square-foot home almost entirely with purchases from her store.
“That’s the fun part,” she says. “You get to help people create spaces they love.”
A community focus
Though The Consign House is still new, Poole has plans for making it more than just a retail space. The plaza’s acreage offers room for seasonal events, and she’s already thinking about a fall festival with local vendors and food trucks.
She also envisions hosting small group gatherings inside, similar to the women’s nights she organized in Florida, where guests could shop, sip wine and enjoy each others company.
For now, though, she’s focused on building inventory and spreading the word.
“Every day, more people find us,” she says. “Right now I have about 10 consignors, and I’m getting about two more a day.”
Life beyond the store
Poole and her husband enjoy exploring the Chattanooga area and checking out new restaurants. Her husband, who works for a recruiting firm, shares her banking background but not necessarily her passion for resale.
Poole’s main focus, however, is regaining her rhythm in the world of consignment. Though her store still has some empty floor space, she says it won’t stay that way for long.
“This is just the beginning. My goal is for The Consign House to be a place people love – a place where they know they’ll find something special, and where they feel welcome the minute they walk in.”