Sale offers baby-gear bargains for North Bay parents

The line snaked around the interior of Grace Pavilion at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds, but the assembled shoppers Thursday weren’t queued up to inspect the latest kitchen gadgets or hear an enticing pitch from a hot tub salesman, two reliable draws when the fair is full swing during the summer.

Instead, they had come for deals on a range of gear and goods needed for bringing up baby: cribs, strollers, monitors and onesies.

Touted as the North Bay’s largest children’s and maternity consignment sales event, the Just Between Friends sale kicked off Thursday with a large crowd of bargain-hunting moms and expectant parents combing over the wares. The event runs through Sunday.

Vanessa Miramontes, 22, was eying the Halloween costumes.

“I’m just looking for everything,” she said while inspecting a cupcake costume.

The mother of two already had picked up a set of sheets, sandals and slippers for her daughters for just a few bucks each. She also grabbed a polka-dot bow tie and fake black mustaches for her nephew.

“They look brand new. Most of the stuff is in good condition,” said Miramontes, who lives in Santa Rosa.

Rows of new and gently used children’s clothes filled the west end of the 40,000-square-foot fairgrounds building. Down the center of the space, tables were stacked with baby-food makers, scales, monitors, accessories and shoes - all organized by gender and size. Cribs, changing tables, strollers and playpens were set out on the floor in the back.

“We’re trying to make it as easy as possible for people to shop,” said Jennifer Hundley, 43, who as a franchise owner has been putting on the twice-a-year event with her husband, Matt, for seven years.

“It’s like a department store,” said Matt Hundley, 43.

All the items are inspected and in excellent condition, said Jennifer Hundley. Unlike a thrift store or garage sale, she said she has a volunteer specialist on the team who helps exclude items that have been recalled for safety reasons.

“She catches the items before they hit the sales floor,” said Hundley, who expected at least 1,500 shoppers on Thursday.

Money raised from admissions on Thursday and Friday will go toward the Active 20-30 Club, which has teamed up with the sale for the past seven years, Hundley said. The club helps local children who are in foster care, homeless or come from low-income families.

Items that aren’t sold will be donated to local Active 20-30 clubs to distribute to families, Hundley said.

Dave and Kat Watkins, who oversee the club based in Rohnert Park, gave some of the leftover items from sale this spring to victims of the Valley fire in Lake County.

“It’s gold,” Dave Watkins, 29, said about the event. “The stuff that we get is quality.”

Hundley said the event not only gives shoppers an opportunity to score good deals, but it also allows families to make extra money. Consignors get to keep about 60 percent of their sales. On average, they take away about $400, according to the organization’s site.

Hundley said the event started out small the first year with about 85 sellers. They now have more than 500 consignors.

With the arrival of her second child just days away, Tatiana Simmonsia wasted no time in her bargain search Thursday.

She and her fiancé, Alfredo Gonzalez, 25, combed through the racks of clothes, looking for outfits for her soon-to-arrive daughter and 1-year-old son, Carlos.

“This is a blessing,” said Gonzalez, 25, of Santa Rosa. “It’s in our a budget.”

Simmonsia is a stay-at-home mom, while her fiancé works in landscaping. With their family set to grow, she said it’s important they save money.

Her shopping cart was filled to the brim with clothes, as well as a large baby book Gonzalez picked out for their son.

“I’m paying half for the clothes and everything is in good condition,” said Simmonsia, who arrived before the doors opened.

It’s the second time she has been to the consignment sale. In her first trip this past spring, Simmonsia said she found a playpen for her son for $15.

“Some folks come in for the boutique items,” Hundley said.

For other families, she added, “it’s all they can afford.”

You can reach Staff Writer Eloísa Ruano González at 521-5458 or ?eloisa.gonzalez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @eloisanews.