Founded in 1976, Bird in Hand Consignment is one of Philadelphia’s longest-running consignment shops and a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Over the years, it has raised more than $1 million for local organizations, including Awbury Arboretum’s camp scholarship fund, Squash Smarts and Face to Face Germantown.

The shop blends the feel of a gallery with a cozy living room. Each visit offers something new: curated home décor, art, jewelry, and select vintage or designer clothing. Unlike for-profit retailers, Bird in Hand is supported by dedicated volunteers, an engaged board, and a small staff. All working together to further its mission.

1. New leadership after 50 years of consignment

In 2025, Bird in Hand entered a new chapter under Executive Director Jennifer Torpie. A Philadelphia native, Jennifer brings a diverse background spanning film and television production and luxury floral design with the Four Seasons Philadelphia.

Inspired by Housing Works in New York City, Jennifer sees how a mission-driven retail model can scale both operations and impact. Her goals include modernizing systems, keeping the store beautifully curated, welcoming new consignors and shoppers, and expanding Bird in Hand’s support of local organizations as it approaches its 50th anniversary.

When Jennifer began, however, the shop lacked modern, consignment-friendly operations to fully support its mission and level of customer service.

(Source: Chestnut Hill Local Press Release - Jen Torpie)

Jen looks to Housing Works in New York City as inspiration for how a mission-driven shop can scale its impact. Her goals include modernizing operations, keep the store beautifully curated, welcome new consignors and shoppers and broaden Bird in Hand’s support for local organizations as it approaches its 50th anniversary.

What the shop didn’t have was modern, consignment-friendly operations to match its mission.

2. When legacy consignment tools slow down volunteer teams

For years, staff and volunteers relied on a legacy consignment system called Peeps. Every item was entered manually. Labels were handwritten. Vendor information lived in separate lists. Consignment periods were tracked by consignors using personal calendar notes—leading to frequent questions about expiration dates, item status, and payouts.

With limited visibility into active inventory, staff spent significant time responding to inquiries instead of focusing on the shop and its community.

Bird in Hand’s consignment model is straightforward:

• 50/50 split with vendors

• 90-day selling window

• 7 days to collect unsold items before donation

In practice, managing hundreds of unique items with manual processes made expiration tracking stressful and slowed everything down.

That’s when Bird in Hand turned to Circle-Hand.

(Source: Bird in Hand Consignment Shop – Storefront)

3. A new operational backbone

With Circle-Hand and Square in place, Bird in Hand now has the infrastructure to support its next fifty years.

Vendor records and active inventory were imported using Circle-Hand’s CSV import tools, allowing the team to get up and running quickly. Early wins included:

• Faster item entry: Items are added in seconds instead of minutes, with auto-pricing and categorization that’s easy for any volunteer to learn.

• Clear tracking: Payouts and expiration dates are always visible, making pickups, markdowns, and donations simple to manage.

• Engaged consignors: Consignors can log in anytime to view items, sales, and balances—and receive real-time notifications when items sell.

Most importantly, Bird in Hand can continue being what it has always been: a place where one neighbor brings in a beautiful piece, another neighbor discovers it, and a portion of every sale flows back into the Philadelphia community.

For shops still juggling outdated systems, Bird in Hand shows that you don’t have to choose between neighborhood charm and modern operations. You can have both.

If you see your shop’s “before” in Bird in Hand’s story, it may be time to imagine your own “after.”