January 18, 2011
Office space: Cathleen Jones, boutique owner
Cathleen Jones owns White Clover, a women’s clothing boutique in Independence.
PHOTOS BY
JENNIFER HACK { ink }
Jones rescued this bar that a neighbor tossed on the street and transformed it into her checkout counter. “It has such beautiful detail.”
“I just like her style,” Jones said of her fashion icon, Marilyn Monroe. “I love the old Hollywood, va-va-va-voom look.”
“I only deal with authentics,” said Jones, who has learned to spot fakes, like this knockoff Louis Vuitton silk scarf that she bought by mistake.
This late-’80s Betsey Johnson dress, priced at $38, is one of Jones’ favorite vintage pieces.
Who she is: Owner of White Clover, a women’s clothing boutique in Independence.
How long she’s done it: About a year and a half.
Nifty thrifty: Jones ended her 10-year stint with the City of Kansas City to pursue a lifelong passion.
“I’ve always loved thrift stores and rehabbing furniture,” said Jones, who sells recycled designer duds, jewelry, handbags and housewares. Her shop targets frugal fashionistas — women who covet name brands on the cheap.
Consign of the times: The fixtures in her shop reflect her love of refurbishing old doors, trim, chairs and frames.
“My father was a junk collector,” she said. “Our house was full of a lot of things that didn’t match.”
Adventures in store: Jones had no background in retail, so she overcame a few challenges and changes when she opened the business.
“Something I had never done before in my job is talk to people,” she said. “I wish I had done this sooner.”
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Let the clothing carry on its next life’ 12/30/09
By MARÁ ROSE WILLIAMS
The Kansas City Star
JILL TOYOSHIBA/The Kansas City Star
Cathleen Jones reviewed items brought in by a customer during an initial consignment inspection, and ended up accepting most of the clothes. Jones opened White Clover Recycled Designer Apparel in Independence this year after quitting her job.
· The swooning economy gave Cathleen Jones the shove she needed to quit a no-longer-satisfying
job, chase her passion and find her dream trade — selling people’s junk.
For 10 years, Jones, 36, was employed by the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department. The first few years she worked a “dirty job” as a wastewater plant operator, climbing into wet wells and scooping up stinky water samples.
Then she found a short-lived job that she called “paradise,” traveling the city and inspecting its parks for flaws that the city eventually would fix.
“I loved that job. I was outside, by myself, peace and serenity. But I knew it wouldn’t last forever,” said Jones, who lives in Kansas City. ”The job was created to identify flaws, but after they were all corrected, there wasn’t much to do.”
About the time those duties tapered off, the economy tanked and Kansas City started cutting workers to save money. Jones watched colleagues and friends, one after another, lose their jobs.
“I saw the writing on the wall,” Jones said.
Jones resigned. And opened a women’s clothing boutique in Independence.
White Clover, the name of her consignment shop, is geared toward people who like chic designer clothing but can’t afford the designer prices.
They are people who, like Jones, don’t take kindly to waste and are big recycling supporters.
“This place is for the truly thrifty shopper,” she said.
Jones, a closet artist who had always been a thrift store junkie, sells lightly used designer clothing in her quaint little shop in the Marketplace Shopping Center, near the Price Chopper at Noland Road and Interstate 70.
“This is what makes me happy,” Jones said. “It’s what I’ve always wanted to do. It’s who I am. I call it junk revival.”
One morning last summer found Jones walking through the store’s narrow aisles, her hand gliding across the clothing that dangled from wooden hangers.
She smiled, admiring how much her merchandise had grown in the month it had been open —from the 900 clothing items she started with, to racks and a stock room full.
Now, six months into the enterprise, Jones is looking forward to spring. She expects that to be her most lucrative season. January is clearance time.
Jones has a policy that anything that doesn’t sell within 60 days goes on sale. Dresses, jeans, pants, skirts, blouses and shoes normally sell in the range of $5 to $14. Sale prices are closer to $2 to $8.
While buyers save money, the people who bring in stuff to sell make a few extra bucks.
The desire to sell used clothing had been in the back of Jones’ mind for many years.
“I think it came from my parents — a Samoan mother and Irish father,” she said.
Jones grew up in a blue-collar family that lived in Spencerport, N.Y., a tiny town near the Erie Canal, just outside Rochester.
“My parents always had used cars. We didn’t have a lot of money,” said Jones, who is married and has four children, ages 6, 8, 11 and 13. “My mom, she was always very thrifty.”
Everything in Jones’ store is recycled, from Coach bags to the pillows she bought at an auction and the white vinyl, cushioned bench she made from an old coffee table.
Jones started collecting clothing and stuff for her boutique about a year ago from friends, family and auctions. She stored the items in her garage.
“When I told my husband I was going to open a shop, he wanted me to do it out of the garage, I told him that’s not a shop. That’s a garage sale.”
Besides, Jones said, even though several consignment stores already are operating in the Kansas City area, she believes the mid-section of eastern Jackson County needed a store like hers.
“We have been a very wasteful society,” she said. “Even people who don’t like used stuff can recycle their clothing here. Let someone else appreciate it. Let the clothing carry on its next life.”
These days, as more people are out of work and clothing swap parties become trendy, buying resale clothing is in.
The Chicago Tribune reported in April that resale shops there were booming.
Jones said she tries hard to move items quickly so customers always see something new. The displays are designed so that customers, at first glance, don’t know the items are resale.
“This shop has a high-class feel,” said Christy Gillespie, a customer who also has items on consignment there. “You don’t have to wade through to find the really good stuff.”
INDEPENDENCE
To reach Mará Rose Williams call 816-234-4419 or send e-mail to mdwilliams@kcstar.com
Jan Issue 2010 AT: HTTP://WWW.HERLIFEMAGAZINE.COM
Click on the link above to read Candi Smith's article on page 30-Trash vs Treasure. Thanks for all your support Candi! Whiteclover aspires to recycle and reuse great finds in 2010 and many years to come. Check out our Junk Revival line of repuposed decor & furniture coming soon!
Get Ready For Missouri’s Tax Free Holiday: FREE Gladed PlugIn+ White Clover Resale Deal
Phew! Us FirstNewsers have been so busy with our Back to School coverage– and Friday morning I’ll be field anchoring at Zona Rosa with all your need to know about the tax-free holiday and sharing some fun, family activity ideas with you.
(Heh, I personally think this looks like me...high heels, shopping bag and all.)-Dion 
Speaking of tax free…we’ve got a section all about it at kmbc.com but one thing I have to point out is the special deals retailers are holding for the event.
White Clover’s a new resale shop that featured recycled designer apparel. (I-70 & Noland next to Price Chopper COMBO)
4201-u S.Noland Rd
Independence, MO 64055
816.350.2019Check it out: http://www.whitecloverkc.com/Home_Page.php
They’ve got specials for the tax-free weekend including:
Fri-10am-7pm save an extra 10% off any purchase plus take off 7.6% in tax savings!
Sat-10am-7pm Spend $10 or more & receive a free designer scarf/wrap!
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White Clover
