Kris Lamphere opened her first business, Who kNew? Consignment, seven years ago with a single concept: offer her customers a great deal on children’s clothing while letting them earn some cash as well.

Now, the local business owner is spring boarding off the success of that business with the opening of her downtown store, Refine Women’s Consignment, located just down the road from Who kNew? at 210 Front St. The new business offers women’s clothing, shoes, jewelry and accessories at lower prices compared to large apparel operations.

“It’s the same consignment model as Who kNew?, but with a different demographic in mind,” Lamphere said.

Lamphere said she has been working on the opening of the new clothing store since the beginning of the year. She and her team have spent the last several months converting the former Glamour Plus storefront, repainting the walls and adding new décor.

With Dowagiac shoppers already used to the location offering women’s fashion, Lamphere felt it was a good fit for her own operation, she said.

“The goal is offer high quality women’s apparel at fantastic prices,” she said.

The logistical work for Refine went fairly quickly, due to the fact similarities between the two stores, Lamphere said.

Originally from Chicago, Lamphere moved to Dowagiac in 1995. Prior to starting Who kNew?, she worked as independent contractor and regional manager with Books are Fun, a division of Reader’s Digest, selling books and education tools to 15-county area across Michigan and Indiana.

After 10 years of working at home for the job, though, Lamphere decided to take her years of experience in self-employment and opened Who kNew?, located at the Majerek’s. Since then, the business has continued to grow, offering consigned children’s clothing at a fraction of the prices found at major retailers.

“Kids clothes are constant need, and we wanted to provide a way for shoppers to purchase them for less and earn money at the same time.”

Both businesses’ selection are comprised exclusively of consigned items, Lamphere said. Customers are able to bring in clothes that wish to consign to the store, earning a percentage of the sales whenever one of their offerings is sold. These funds can either be cashed out or used as credit at the store, Lamphere said.

Consigned items must be of high quality in order to be stocked by either of the shops, Lamphere said.

“We very particular about the condition of our products,” she said.

Lamphere held a soft launch of the store earlier last month, with a diverse offering of products available in the store. The Greater Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the store this Wednesday at 12:30 p.m.

“We already accepted some new consigners, and we’re looking forward to meeting more,” Lamphere said.

Refine is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m Monday through Friday. Customers interested in consigning with the store should contact the business at (269) 782-0109.