For as long as Shannon Anderson can remember, she has wanted to open a consignment shop. She grew up in a family that knew where every nearby consignment and thrift shop was and they were frequent visitors. Shannon’s mom made their clothes and they loved to repurpose items in their home. Crafting has always been a part of Shannon’s life.
She worked in a clothing consignment shop when she was in high school and loved seeing new things come in, seeing what styles people liked and helping them find what they needed. In her early 20’s, Shannon landed a job in corporate human resources and she stayed in corporate work for over 20 years. She hung on to her dream though, and in May of 2019, Shannon found the perfect spot in Bethel, CT to open her shop. “My sister always said one of us would open an antique, consignment or thrift store,” Shannon shared. She went on to say “It so happened that it was the right time and with the support from my husband, family and friends, my dream has come true”. This has been completely life changing for Shannon, transitioning from corporate work to running a retail store. “Pretty Little Things is the best thing I have ever done!” Shannon says with a smile.
Shannon found a great location in May of 2019, opened in December 2019 and loved developing the concept and cultivating the space. She had a great open and the Bethel community was so excited and supportive of Shannon. Then in March of 2020, the pandemic forced Pretty Little Things to shut down only 3 months after its opening. During the summer, she was able to reopen part-time when restrictions were lifted until the August 4th Tropical Storm Isaias barreled through Bethel, knocking out power downtown for 9 days. She had so much support and encouragement from the community during this time and when she was able to reopen again, she was grateful.
Just when Shannon was rebuilding her business, on October 15th a fire broke out in her building forcing her to close until further notice. Shannon wondered if this was a sign. She jokes that she has so much experience closing and reopening stores in such a short time. She is so very grateful to the Chamber of Commerce for finding her a temporary location at 269 Greenwood Avenue (the plaza where Bethel Cinema was) until her location across the street (274 Greenwood Avenue) gets rebuilt. The great news is that she anticipates an April open across the street in the original location, and she is expanding the space so she can carry many more items.
In the meantime, be sure to stop into her temporary location and browse through the many racks of carefully selected and well organized items that Shannon has hand-picked and displayed in her current shop. There are beautiful sweaters, tops, jeans, pants, purses, shoes, hats, scarves, jewelry and so much more to choose from all at great prices. The best part is that you will get to meet Shannon Anderson, who will take her time to get to know you and help you find what suits your style. She is a living, breathing example of how to overcome adversity with such grace and we are so fortunate to have Pretty Little Things in Bethel.
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