Fecit Antiques and Estates combines traditional estate sales with a retail store

Fecit, Latin for “he made,” was a word historically used by craftsmen to signify their authorship of an artwork, following their signature with the term and marking the piece as an original.

Fecit Antiques and Estates’ retail location, located at 257 Lee Dr., Ste. M, is building on the traditional estate sale company model and branching out into additional services, bringing something original to Baton Rouge.

“We try new things and have new processes that are different from some of the other estate sale companies in town,” store owner Karen Khonsari says.

For Khonsari, what started as a simple business born out of her love of estate sales has grown into much more. When Khonsari started her company in 2020, she and her team, which was only about four people at the time, were focused solely on in-home estate sales.

However, Khonsari saw an opportunity to help more people by providing a separate location for clients to host sales. After working with a client who could no longer hold the estate sale at home, Khonsari began renting a warehouse on College Drive. 

“Word got out, and all of a sudden, within a month and a half, I had to have two warehouses because there was so much demand for it,” Khonsari says. “Our lease was up after a year, and we decided we wanted more of a retail location, with more foot traffic.”

Fecit Antiques and Estates moved to its current shop location on Lee Drive this past February, making its home in the Duplantier Place Shopping Center alongside Light House Coffee and Coyote Moon. 

The Fecit retail location features a collection of pieces from people who are unable to host in-home estate sales. Whether they don’t have enough for an estate sale or their neighborhood HOA has restrictions against estate sales, clients can bring in their items to sell here.

The store is different from a consignment shop because clients who bring in items to sell sign a standard estate sale contract; the only difference is that, rather than having an estate sale at home, they use a second location. 

The store also does special discount days, with in-store items 25% off on Saturdays and 50% or more off on Sundays.

What further sets Fecit Antiques apart is its adoption of a point-of-sale, or POS, system. This system allows Khonsari and her team to use barcodes to price and catalogue every item in their inventory, as well as items at individual estate sales.

“When I go into a home, we sticker everything up, and then we scan it at checkout,” Khonsari says.

This is just one step in the estate sale process. The Fecit Antiques and Estates team, which now comprises eight people, splits the work of running the store and setting up in-home sales. Khonsari’s son Milton manages the store and oversees about five store employees. 

Khonsari and two other team members are in charge of setting up the homes for sales. When they arrive, their first step is to go through every cabinet, closet and drawer in the house and organize items they find. 

Next, the trio stages the pieces, setting them up categorically so that customers can easily peruse items. Once everything is staged, Khonsari and her team price and add barcodes to each item. 

The process is long and tedious, says Khonsari, and she never knows exactly what to expect when stepping into a new house for the first time. However, the hard work is worth it to see people explore and appreciate the belongings on sale.

“It’s a whole different vibe because the public is in, and they’re buying, and there’s this electricity within the house,” Khonsari says. “And you just kind of sit back and really enjoy that people are enjoying what you put together.”

Running the store is different from organizing estate sales, but it presents its own set of challenges nonetheless. The space is constantly evolving as people bring in new items, which then have to be arranged around the pieces already on display. 

Juggling all of these responsibilities is a lot, and because Khonsari is currently caring for her mother who is undergoing cancer treatment, she says she is grateful to have such a supportive team during such a hectic time.

“We’ve had a lot of doctor’s appointments and some unscheduled things here and there, and my team has just lifted me up and the business up, and have just represented me beautifully,” Khonsari says.

Running Fecit Antiques and Estates means long hours and a lot of planning for Khonsari and her team, but getting to meet people from all walks of life makes it all worth it. 

“It’s that energy about an estate sale,” says Khonsari. “That’s rewarding.”

Fecit Antiques and Estates is located at 257 Lee Dr., Ste. M, and is open Tuesday through Sunday. Specific hours can be found on Fecit Antiques’ website.