The Tinkerhesses aren’t the only shopkeepers to have discovered that everyone wears clothes. Last year, we noted Busy Hands, the Main St. knitting store, was devoting a significant amount of space to clothing, and it still is. So is Mark Hodesh at Downtown Home & Garden. He has always sold hats, gloves, and rubber boots, but, like the Tinkerhesses, he’s lately had some fun matching his clientele to some real clothing brands. He now has what he calls an “apparel department.” He carries Carhartt (headquartered in Dearborn), Filson (based in Seattle), and Stormy Kromer (headquartered in Ironwood). He says all three companies coincidentally approached him at around the same time: “Our creaky wood floors and eye to quality and longevity matched their vision for themselves. The clothes we carry are nearly all made from cotton or wool, super tough zippers, double and triple stitch.”
Want another example? Crown House of Gifts on Plymouth Rd. is carrying not only accessories (scarves, shiny jewelry, Vera Bradley bags) but a collection of actual clothing that seems well chosen for Ann Arbor, including the brand Neon Buddha. It’s sort of what its name telegraphs: comfort but in an eye-catching, blissed-out way.
Finally, Top of the Lamp hasn’t quite made a full leap into women’s wear–it is a lamp store, after all–but Melissa, the manager, explains the wall of scarves behind the cash register: “It was something we bought for ourselves, and it transferred into our showroom. When we go to trade shows, there are lots of things there to distract us.” But at trade shows, you can’t buy just one scarf, so they began selling them in the store. They range from $12 to $36.
