New Canaan Woman Strikes a Chord with ‘White Glove Consignment’ Business

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Weed Street’s Kristen Goormastic traces the origin of her “white glove consignment service” to simple acts of friendship: Helping out others with their furniture.

Founder and Principal Consultant of Kristen Rose Furnishings and Decor, Kristen Goormastic stands outside of her home on Weed Street. Credit: Alex Hutchins

“It wasn’t on purpose,” Ms. Goormastic said on a recent afternoon. “Starting about 15 years ago, I started buying everything for the family online on eBay and Craigslist. So friends started asking me informally to help find furniture or sell furniture for them, and eventually this year we decided to make it an actual business because of how busy we got.”

So started Kristen Rose LLC, which has sold furniture for more than 50 families in Fairfield County who are moving or redecorating. Targeting homeowners who are redecorating, moving or downsizing, the company (Ms. Goormastic serves as founder and chief curator) suggest prices for individual items and handles meetings with prospective buyers as well as marketing and distribution.

Satisfaction comes from a feeling that she’s helping others, especially older residents, Ms. Goormastic said.

“Whenever you help an elderly client who is very attached to their things, and when they have to downsize whether it’s because their spouse has passed on or they are finally downsizing because they have no kids left at home, it’s a situation where you really sort of have to hold their hand and help them through it,” Ms. Goormastic said. “I always feel like that is the most rewarding at the end even if they’re not the most expensive items, you feel like you made a difference.”

Originally from the Pismo Beach, Calif., Ms. Goormastic and husband Marc have five kids who are either in the New Canaan school system or have just graduated (their eldest daughter graduated in 2013). In addition to the business, Ms. Goormastic is also a boys basketball coach at the New Canaan YMCA.

The family enjoys sports and staying active, she said.

“My 7-year-old [Ethan] is really active in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu,” Ms. Goormastic said. “My husband loves the UFC stuff and since Ethan has a very gentle personality, we were trying to get him to do things that get him a little more active. And so he tried Jui-Jitsu and loved it.”

Re-use of quality furniture is a large selling point for Kristen Rose LLC, she said.

“Especially in this area where the furniture is so nice, it doesn’t make sense to buy anything new. There’s no need to buy new when there are so many good things out there that people just want to get rid of.”