Mother-daughter duo, Carmen Hale and Carol Blodgett, own and operate the Penguin Peddler in Paulding at 105 North Water Street.
The big news at Penguin Peddler is there have been many donations of objects and articles that were put up for sale since the opening of the store. When sold, the money is then given to charity. The ladies have chosen United Way for this donation. Over $300 was given to Sonya Herber, United Way director, for the helping of the community. Many businesses keep the money they make, but Penguin Peddler made a different choice.
On October 1, 2013 the Penguin Peddler opened its doors, taking over the building after Stykemain Chevrolet relocated. It was a much needed improvement over their previous facility.
The owner of the business, Carmen Hale, lives in Grover Hill and worked with her mother, Carol Blodgett of Paulding, the manager, to create a much needed business in the Paulding community.
Along with donating funds to United Way, one of their policies they have set in place is, after a designated time period the items become the property of the Penguin Peddler. They then take the items and donate them to the Wright Patterson Air Force Base. This enables the service members to get the items for free or very inexpensive.
Both Carol and Carmen are nurses, though Carol recently retired. Carmen retired from the Navy in 2012 after serving for 22 years. She now works at Parkview Hospital by day.
Carol stated, “One new thing we are offering soon is gift certificates. People who aren’t quite sure what to get a friend or family member will love sending a gift certificate from the Penguin Peddler.”
Setting sales goals hasn’t been easy, but they have exceeded their first year’s goal. Over 8,000 items moved through the store in the first 12 months of operation. They consistently keep about 3,000 items ready for retail sale at any one time.
Keeping the store fresh and exciting is a target for the ladies, “Our patrons are friendly and exciting. They always come back to see the latest and greatest of what we have to offer,” states Carol.
Make a trip and stop on in at the Penguin Peddler and see how they are supporting the community with your help.
