The realized dreams of two fashion-conscious friends means that Scotts Valley residents no longer need to truck it over to San Jose or Monterey to find hip, designer apparel.
Sunday, April 1, marked the day that Fuse Clothing Consignment and Gift Boutique officially opened its doors at 222 Mount Hermon Road, Ste. I, located in the King’s Village Shopping Center, adjacent to Erik’s DeliCafe.
The store represents the culmination of more than a year of planning by Krystal Black and Stacee Haney, both of whom have extensive experience in the world of consignment sales and fashion.
Black, a Santa Cruz resident, was working as a manager of a consignment store in Santa Cruz when she met Haney, who had been working for more than 10 years in fashion.
The two women became fast friends, Black said, and eventually realized they shared a common dream of opening their own consignment store that they could run their own way and carry the brands that they wanted.
“We do the mid-to-high labels,” said Haney, a Scotts Valley resident.
She said the store’s offerings include such brands as Free People, Chico’s, Eileen Fisher, Banana Republic and Anthropologie.
Black said that their store would sell such items as designer jeans, purses, hats, scarves, jewelry, soaps, aromatherapy and other miscellaneous gifts. In addition to those items, Black said, the store also includes a section of men’s attire.
“You hardly ever see that in consignment shops,” Haney said. “We’re trying to mix it so we have something for everyone.”
The other main feature of the new shop is local artwork, which is displayed throughout the store.
“We liked the aspect of having local artists,” Black said. “It makes it more special.”
Haney added that more artists’ work was expected to be on display soon.
“The Scotts Valley Artisans have been very supportive of us,” she said.
Scotts Valley was the logical choice for their store, Haney said, noting that the city had a need for clothes-buying options.
“Scotts Valley has one consignment store and Kmart for clothing,” she said.
The store’s official grand opening is scheduled from 5 to 8 p.m. May 5. But quite a bit of foot traffic has already made sales brisk in the store’s first three days, Black said.
“We had a really successful opening,” she said. “We’ve had a really steady flow of traffic over the last two days.”
Hours
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays
