Secondhand Jazz Resale Shop
Nate Calvin has been interested in fashion since he was a preschooler. Despite the brutal teasing of those in grade school who made fun of his passion for fashion, Nate continued to seek out unique and funky clothing at weekend yard sales and dress like a high end fashion designer. With the help of his supporting mother Kris, Nate has finally been able to open his own successful shop here in South Pasadena. Oh, and did I mention that Nate is only eleven years old? Because he is.
I was doing my usual rounds of town yesterday when I noticed the secondhand store. I'd never gone in before because the clothing in the window was always utterly dowdy but today I noticed a change. There were multiple items in the window that caught my attention. Nothing could be described as matronly - in fact, everything I saw was hip and fresh. In I went.
Being the Chatty Kathy that I am, I asked the shopkeeper where she bought the clothes for the shop. "Actually, my son buys them. It's his shop. I'm just working here until he gets out of school. He should be there soon."
I had to meet him. Luckily, there were multiple items I wanted to try on so I popped in the dressing room to kill some time. In a few minutes I heard a tiny voice, "Hi, Mom."
I came out of the dressing room to see the man (boy) behind the magic. Nate was barely five feet tall, but he had the style and confidence of a West Hollywood fashionista. I introduced myself and gushed about how fabulous I thought he was. Both Nate and his mother Kris were happy to give me details on the shop.
Nate had seen the clothing store for sale a few months ago and begged his mother to buy it for him so he could try his hand at shopkeeping. Kris Calvin is very involved in the community and holds multiple jobs but she couldn't deny her son's eye for fashion. The mutual adoration these two feel for each other is impossible not to notice. She told him they'd try it out on a trial basis and see how it went. She bought the store but gave all management, decoration and merchandise responsibilities to her son. The end result is a secondhand store with a couture atmosphere but amazingly affordable clothes. Nate spends the weekends yardsale hopping, looking for fun fashion to sell in his store and his mother spends her evenings washing the clothes to get them ready for sale.
Only weeks later, Jeffrey Sebelia, winner of the hit reality t.v. show Project Runway noticed his store while out shopping and came in to look around. Three months after taking over the shop, a tidy profit proved that Nate was gold.
When he isn't playing his saxaphone, Nate would love to become a designer and is saving up for a sewing machine and sewing lessons. I have no doubt we'll all be hearing a lot more about him in the future.
Make sure to stop by and check out his threads at:
I was doing my usual rounds of town yesterday when I noticed the secondhand store. I'd never gone in before because the clothing in the window was always utterly dowdy but today I noticed a change. There were multiple items in the window that caught my attention. Nothing could be described as matronly - in fact, everything I saw was hip and fresh. In I went.
Being the Chatty Kathy that I am, I asked the shopkeeper where she bought the clothes for the shop. "Actually, my son buys them. It's his shop. I'm just working here until he gets out of school. He should be there soon."
I had to meet him. Luckily, there were multiple items I wanted to try on so I popped in the dressing room to kill some time. In a few minutes I heard a tiny voice, "Hi, Mom."
I came out of the dressing room to see the man (boy) behind the magic. Nate was barely five feet tall, but he had the style and confidence of a West Hollywood fashionista. I introduced myself and gushed about how fabulous I thought he was. Both Nate and his mother Kris were happy to give me details on the shop.
Nate had seen the clothing store for sale a few months ago and begged his mother to buy it for him so he could try his hand at shopkeeping. Kris Calvin is very involved in the community and holds multiple jobs but she couldn't deny her son's eye for fashion. The mutual adoration these two feel for each other is impossible not to notice. She told him they'd try it out on a trial basis and see how it went. She bought the store but gave all management, decoration and merchandise responsibilities to her son. The end result is a secondhand store with a couture atmosphere but amazingly affordable clothes. Nate spends the weekends yardsale hopping, looking for fun fashion to sell in his store and his mother spends her evenings washing the clothes to get them ready for sale.
Only weeks later, Jeffrey Sebelia, winner of the hit reality t.v. show Project Runway noticed his store while out shopping and came in to look around. Three months after taking over the shop, a tidy profit proved that Nate was gold.
When he isn't playing his saxaphone, Nate would love to become a designer and is saving up for a sewing machine and sewing lessons. I have no doubt we'll all be hearing a lot more about him in the future.
Make sure to stop by and check out his threads at:
Kids these days.
Comments
"What did you do today, Nate?"
"Well, I found some fab gouchos at a yard sale, budgeted to improve the front window mannequins, browsed the designer stores for more ideas and then handstitched this gorgeous scarf. What did you do today, Jessica G.?"
"Umm...I showered...?"
Nate--OWNER, SECONDHAND JAZZCLOTHES
You rock!