The first time she saw it, she knew it was a dream come true.
So Ashley (Walton) Hearron parked her car and walked up the street to get a closer look.
There,
next to the railroad tracks along Meridian Street in downtown Puyallup,
was a small rundown storefront with a vacancy sign in the window.
Perfect, she thought.

Four
years later, that dark, empty building is brightly decorated and
bustling with customers as a successful consignment boutique.
The
2005 Emerald Ridge High School graduate not only owns the business, but
manages two employees who help her sell the new and gently used women’s
clothing, shoes, jewelry, and other accessories.
“Ashley’s
Room,” which she named after herself, is open seven days a week at 111
No. Meridian St. Clothing items range from casual to semi-formal and
from size 00 to 3X.
“I
like to say the store is for the young and young at heart,” she said.
“I offer trendy, fun, unique items that are current styles, cute, and
affordable. It’s for all ages, really.”
Hearron
attended Sunrise Elementary and Ferrucci Junior High before enrolling
in classes at Emerald Ridge High. It was during high school, under the
leadership of retired business teacher Randy Walden, that she first
learned about business and marketing.
Following
high school, Hearron took some time off school, attended Bible college
for a year, and then enrolled at Western Washington University in
Bellingham. She graduated in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in
communications.
Hearron
was working at the time at a tanning salon in Bellingham, and her boss
encouraged her to “pick something you like to do and do it,” she said.
Having
shopped consignment stores with her friends during high school and
college, Hearron thought it would be fun to own her own shop.
After
finding the ideal location in Puyallup, her father David Walton helped
her brighten the store’s appearance by building a wooden façade
resembling black and white striped curtains. The curtains are designed
so they appear to be draped across the front window and pulled back with
a bright yellow ribbon.
Her
mother Lynne Walton, the librarian at Shaw Road Elementary School,
painted a wall mural on the inside of the store, and Hearron’s friends
contributed bags of consignment items.

It wasn’t long, Hearron recalls, before her store shelves were full of quality items and she was ready to open.
Hearron
uses mustard yellow accents, such as vases of sunflowers, to decorate
her boutique. She also tucks small tables, hutches, and other furniture
accents such as a day bed around her clothing racks to create “a cozy
feel,” she said.
A
pair of pink pumps, a shimmery beige top, and a string of pearls were
among recent items that welcomed shoppers through the doors. Jewelry is
frequently draped over clothing to suggest ready-to-go outfits.
Shoppers
browsing the racks will also find dresses, skirts, jeans, dress pants,
blazers, sweaters, tops, hats, and scarves in all colors and styles.
Shoes include sandals and high-heeled pumps, as well as tennis shoes and
boots. While she briefly tried selling men’s consignment items,
Hearron said she quickly reverted to focusing solely on women’s clothes
and accessories.
Hearron keeps items for up to 90 days and, if sold, pays consignors 40 percent of the selling price.
In
her first year, Hearron learned to limit the number of consignment
items she allows customers to drop off at each visit, and established
specific days to accept those items.
“People were bringing me garbage bags full of stuff in their trucks, and it was way too much to organize at one time,” she said.
Her
only regret, she said, is she wished she would have taken college
classes to learn more about business taxes. “I learn as I go,” she said,
adding she also receives help from her husband, Patrick Hearron.
Hearron
said she enjoys the consignment business because of the fast turnover
of new merchandise and the ability to create a welcoming atmosphere
where she can get to know local families.
Having
attended Puyallup schools from kindergarten through her senior year,
Hearron welcomes having students complete school-required job shadows at
her boutique. She shares her successes, as well as what she has
learned, from her first experience as a business owner.
She
said she doesn’t feel in competition with other consignment stores in
the area. “I think we all complement each other, and we send each other
customers all the time,” she said.
The 27-year-old, who commutes to work from Renton, is a member of the Puyallup Main Street Association.
She
has considered opening a second consignment store in another location,
but is committed to keeping Ashley’s Room exactly where it is in
Puyallup.
As a Sounder train rumbled by, she smiled and said, “I can’t imagine having it anywhere else.”