Good things in store New boutique at CB Tech to open Tuesday

MOSES LAKE — The brand-new Pallets and Pipes boutique at CB Tech is a hands-on way for the students to learn the principles of opening and running a business — hey, wait. Is that an upscale fake fur jacket in leopard print? And are those a couple of prom dresses? And name-brand jeans for men and women?

Dang.

The grand opening at Pallets and Pipes is scheduled for Tuesday at CB Tech, 900 E. Yonezawa Blvd. And it is indeed a project of the entrepreneurship and marketing class at Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center. But it’s also a boutique with some Really Nice Stuff.

Pallets and Pipes will be open from 8:30 to 10 a.m. and noon to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. For those who can’t make it on a weekday, the boutique will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the first Saturday of May, June and July.

“People have been really generous in their donations,” said Elizabeth Contreras, Moses Lake, a senior at CB Tech. “We’ve gotten some great things,” said instructor Melody Jenson.

All the merchandise is donated from the community, said Dalia Nieves of Othello, CB Tech junior. Because it’s a school project, Pallets and Pipes can’t take items on consignment, Jenson said.

Jenson said the goal is to sell quality merchandise, gently used, or in some cases, new. “If it’s stained, if it’s ripped, we won’t sell it,” she said. Donations are accepted from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at the CB Tech office. Donations are tax-deductible.

Pallets and Pipes is next to the marketing classroom, once an empty little conference room. Now it’s an upscale boutique with racks and shelves built with the help of the advanced manufacturing and building trades classes.

The racks and shelves are filled with clothing for teens and adults, shoes – yes, that is a pair of almost-new, brand-name ladies boots – jewelry, purses and accessories, a little makeup, a little perfume, home decor. “When I first came (to CB Tech) this was a conference room,” Elizabeth said.

The store furnishings are built from galvanized pipe and wood pallets; “where Pallets and Pipes came from,” Jenson said. With those in hand it was up to the students to figure out how to use their tiny space “in an organized, cute way,” Dalia said. “It was so interesting,” Elizabeth said.

The students have learned to assess the potential merchandise as it comes in, sort and price it, display it to its best advantage. They’ve talked to realtors about location and the right kind of building, small business owners about opening and operating costs, bankers about financing. They’ve learned how to run the cash register and count back change.

Local businesses have helped out with setup. The local UPS store donated business cards, Jenson said, and PHF Stone Fabrication donated the granite countertop. “Lowe’s did a bunch,” Jenson said. The shopping bags were donated, and Business Interiors donated a stamp for them. Bonnie Frost at Desert Graphics donated aprons for all store employees. Tyler Mallory, an MLHS graduate now working in California, donated the graphic design work.