NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – It’s been nearly a year since C. Madeleine’s, an upscale, vintage consignment store, closed its doors without warning.
As the Leave it to Layron team has reported, the owners were forced to vacate their retail space on Biscayne Boulevard, and moved the merchandise into storage.
The plan was to find a new space and reopen the shop. That plan proved harder and more expensive than anticipated.
The owners fell behind on their storage bill, and the merchandise -- items consigned to C. Madeleine's -- was set to be auctioned off.
The North Miami Beach Police Department caught wind of the story and stepped in to help get the items: Furs, jewelry and clothing out.
"This is, pretty much, last call," Detective Zoila Simmons said. "We're doing the best we can. We're at the last facility, now."
Simmons said the items have been moved to four different warehousing facilities since getting saved from auction.
Simmons, herself, has been working with Richard Kirsh, the owner of C.Madeleine’s, sorting and locating items for consigners wanting their items back. After several weeks, they’re in the final stretch.
"There were, like 60,000 items in there at one time," Simmons said.
She estimates more than $250,000 worth of items have been returned to consigners.
Kirsh was not at his home when the LITL team stopped by. The property was foreclosed on, and he and his wife have, since, had to move out.
He did not return our phone calls, either.
But, Simmons said Kirsh is trying to do the right thing.
"He has been working seven days a week at the previous warehouse with the people helping sort the merchandise," she said.
So has Simmons, who created a spreadsheet of consigner codes, email addresses, and phone numbers. She showed us garment bag, after garment bag of Yves Saint Laurent coats, Dolce and Gabbana jackets, and furs she recently picked up in her own car and brought to the police station, where they were scheduled to be picked up by their owners.
"It's like the proverbial, needle in the haystack," she said. "Someone sent me a picture of a coat. She didn't even have her consigner code. She couldn't find her agreement, and we found her coat."
If you're a C. Madeleine’s consignor, and would like your items back, please contact the North Miami Beach Police:
Detective Z. Simmons: 305-948-2940 Ext. 2834; Zoila.Simmons@nmbpd.org
Maj. Richard Rand: 305-948-2940; Richard.Rand@nmbpd.org