OCTOBER 19, 2014
When I began thinking about what "Unpublished" was going to look like, it wasn't long before I decided I would firstly feature my most favorite shop in the area. For some, it may come as a surprise to hear that my most favorite shop in the area specializes in menswear. The rest of you have been there.
Today Clothing is situated between Washington and Liberty streets on 4th Avenue in downtown Ann Arbor. It is a beautiful, calm and understated shop, grabbing the attention of anyone interested in design, fashion or quality products.
More often than not, I purchase and dress in the female equivalent. So, unless I am shopping for a friend or scoping customers for my future boyfriend, I wouldn't step in there, right? Wrong! (well..) The fact is, however, that I first heard of Today Clothing when they were featuring a sound and vision installation by Life Like Tapes--a Michigan-based label presenting split cassettes (with the likes of Justin Walter, Tyvek, John Olson, Windy & Carl, Tim Kinsella, Haunted & more), accompanied by nine silkscreen prints by Fred Thomas.
While the Life Like Tapes show took place earlier this year, I had the pleasure of chatting with owners Kevin Pearson and Eric Hardin last week to discuss this unique element of Today Clothing. "We strive to have a social retail environment based around creativity and craftsmanship. Dedicating a portion of our space to art was always a part of the plan," Eric Hardin explained.
Both men agree that their events come together organically, as each artist they have featured is a friend in one way or another. While they do not have a set events schedule, Eric and Kevin emphasize that the conceptualizing and installation of exhibits is a joint process between the artists and themselves, putting new shows up every eight weeks, on average.
While this exhibit was the thing that alerted me of this beautiful space, I was interested in learning about what Today Clothing's average customer was like. Kevin Pearson explains that they are always surprised at the range of customers they get, and Eric elaborates that Today Clothing customers simply "appreciate craftsmanship and creativity; quality and function."
While the Life Like Tapes show took place earlier this year, I had the pleasure of chatting with owners Kevin Pearson and Eric Hardin last week to discuss this unique element of Today Clothing. "We strive to have a social retail environment based around creativity and craftsmanship. Dedicating a portion of our space to art was always a part of the plan," Eric Hardin explained.
Both men agree that their events come together organically, as each artist they have featured is a friend in one way or another. While they do not have a set events schedule, Eric and Kevin emphasize that the conceptualizing and installation of exhibits is a joint process between the artists and themselves, putting new shows up every eight weeks, on average.
While this exhibit was the thing that alerted me of this beautiful space, I was interested in learning about what Today Clothing's average customer was like. Kevin Pearson explains that they are always surprised at the range of customers they get, and Eric elaborates that Today Clothing customers simply "appreciate craftsmanship and creativity; quality and function."
With such a clear and consistent theme in the shop, I became curious about how Today Clothing came to be in Ann Arbor. While Kevin has lived in Ann Arbor for 16 years, he has also worked in Chicago and New York. Eric, a University of Michigan alum, was also working in the industry while living in New York, Vermont and Sweden over a ten year span.
"The process leading up to opening day (August 23, 2013) spanned about a years time and began with Kevin and I meeting daily over coffee and brainstorming and aligning our visions. Kevin and I have been friends for almost 15 years and have worked together on and off over those years, so discussions and ideas came about very smoothly, which made the process enjoyable. We both had envisioned working for ourselves, share experience in the clothing business and have passion for well-crafted, smart, functional products," Eric explains.
"The process leading up to opening day (August 23, 2013) spanned about a years time and began with Kevin and I meeting daily over coffee and brainstorming and aligning our visions. Kevin and I have been friends for almost 15 years and have worked together on and off over those years, so discussions and ideas came about very smoothly, which made the process enjoyable. We both had envisioned working for ourselves, share experience in the clothing business and have passion for well-crafted, smart, functional products," Eric explains.
Kevin adds, "on the day to day side, there is a joy in bringing new products and ideas to a place that isn’t familiar with them." They both express their love of Ann Arbor and their close relationship with it. Kevin and Eric point out that they want to keep the store dynamic by listening to their customers in order to add new products each season, which causes customers to be pleasantly surprised by their offering.
While these two men have a lot of overlap in their tastes, Kevin says that there are some individualities throughout the shop, as he tends to be a little more on the casual side. When it comes to favorites, though, Kevin has some difficulties pinpointing, "this changes almost daily for me. But right now, I’m really proud of the boot we recently developed with Rancourt and Co. out of Maine. . . then there is our friend Yoshi from Japan that makes some of the best stuff we sell--and its made right in town." Both men agree that OUR LEGACY (of Sweden) is a favorite line, as well.
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