MOSES LAKE - Red Door Consignment store was mostly opened to create a future work place for Alex Boorman.

The 12-year-old Moses Lake girl has Down syndrome.

She's not old enough to hold down a full-time job.

But she can still learn the business in her spare time, with the help of the store owners: her mother, grandmother and sister-in-law.

Alex's future and her life after school has been a family topic of discussion for years, explained her mother Lisa Boorman, of Moses Lake.

"One of the main reasons we started this business is to give her a job," Lisa Boorman commented. "So many children like Alex love school and being with friends and teachers and learning and being part of something big and wonderful."

Her daughter loves people and being around any customer service where she can take care of others.

Lisa Boorman said she's going to start teaching Alex how to use the cash register. Other tasks follow.

"I want to teach her the life skills," Lisa Boorman said. "She's great with people and she loves to shop with us. We want this to be a family business."

The shop opened during the Memorial Day weekend, the same weekend as Moses Lake's Spring Festival.

There was also a classic car show held on the same street where the shop sits.

Between 400 and 500 people are estimated to have attended the grand opening, owner Jan Thacker said. She is Lisa's mother, Alex's grandmother and the wife of Rick Boorman.

"At times the store was overflowing with people," Thacker commented. By the end of the day we had sold many pieces of furniture as well as a lot of jewelry and other items. Plus, we have a lot of people who are going to consign with us. To sum it up - our grand opening was a grand success."

Thacker is also an author, artist and retired journalist from Alaska. She completed the recently released novel, "The Widows of Danford."

She came to Moses Lake at the urging of her daughter, Lisa Boorman.

As a result, Thacker is now in Moses Lake, while her husband, Troy, stayed in Alaska. They are used to living apart, as he was employed with oil companies in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.

"Lisa's been trying to get us to move her for years," Thacker said. "A few days ago, she told her dad that's she's holding me hostage and he'd better retire and join us. I think her plan might work."

Kyleigh Boorman is the third owner of the store. She is Lisa Boorman's daughter-in-law and married to Christopher Boorman. He works for REC Silicon in Moses Lake. Together they have a baby son, Owen.

"My favorite part in all this is refinishing pieces," Kyleigh Boorman commented. "I love taking something from scratched, scuffed and ugly to new and beautiful."

Their tastes include fashionably chic, eclectic, vintage, minimalism, retro and shabby chic, which are shown in the store's pieces.

The store offers a 60/40 split for consignors, a 60 percent share for the consignor and 40 percent for the store.

Store items include vintage clip-on earrings, displayed as decorations on a woman's summer dress shoe.

Paintings, a white cushioned rocker, various decorations, a 150-year-old table and a Drexel sofa are also among the merchandise.

For more information about the business or about consigning items, call 509-350-5525 or email reddoor@scml.us.

The store's hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday.