Drawn Together by Modesty

I’ve had quite a July! Towards the end of June, I was asked if I would run a bazaar table at an Islamic conference selling hijab. I was specifically asked because, oddly enough, no vendor had registered to sell hijab yet, and the ladies attending the conference would be expecting them. My first inclination was to say no because I had had a lukewarm experience selling at a local bazaar in the past, and also because I don’t keep inventory around. I would have to buy some just for the bazaar, and what would I do with it if it didn’t sell? I’d have to pay to ship it all back to Minnesota because it sure wouldn’t all fit in my suitcase.

But things just kept falling into place, and I ended up saying yes.

One of the things I did before I made my decision was to look around for wholesale hijab, arm sleeves, hijab pins, etc. I just happened to know of a great web site that lists stores that sell hijab at wholesale prices (my own site). I found that 411hijabs.com had the best wholesale prices, so I called them to find out where in the U.S. they are located. I was hoping I could have a bunch of inventory shipped to the conference in Dallas, TX ahead of me so I wouldn’t have to take it in my suitcase. I imagined that the shipping costs would be enough to make me want to say no, but guess what? Turns out the location of the brick ‘n’ mortar store that runs 411hijabs.com is in Richardson, TX—just about 20 minutes from the downtown location of the conference.

I was floored! I couldn’t believe my good fortune. I could fly to Dallas, get in a rental car, and drive to the local store, Middle Eastern Boutique, to pick up my inventory, and drive on to the hotel. I could even start out with a smallish order and then go pick up more inventory if the first day of sales went well. The lovely southern muslimah, Julie, who is part owner and runs the brick ‘n’ mortar store, chatted with me for quite some time on that first call. Turns out she felt like she was talking to a celebrity! LOL! She knew me from my web site, Modest Clothing Directory, and I had actually been in the midst of an e-mail conversation with her too and didn’t realize it was the same gal.

Julie and her husband, Abdul, made my entire bazaar experience a wonderful one! At different times on the phone, they gave me advice on what to sell. On that odd day when I woke up in Minnesota and was driving through Dallas by 10am, I met Julie at their brick ‘n’ mortar store, Middle Eastern Boutique, and we chatted and talked shop for quite some time. It was a slow morning in the store, but that didn’t mean Julie didn’t have work to do on one of their many web sites, so I appreciated the chat time. Eventually she sent me on my way with a lot of hijabs, some styrofoam heads to display the more confusing hijabs on, and two cold bottles of water!

Don’t get me started on the heat down there!! How do you Texan hijabis handle it?

The bazaar selling was wonderful! Much better than my previous bazaar experience. It’s always nice to hear, “You’ve got the best stuff and the best prices!” I did indeed have to drive back to the store to get more merchandise before opening on the second day of the conference. I had a great time doing all the other conference-y stuff too. I am totally going to the one next year, God willing…in Michigan—where the summers are habitable.