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Sections Home Page Local News AP News Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Photo Gallery Since We Asked Sports Tempo Weather Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Readers Choice 2006 Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Our Valley Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend July 27, 2006 Ariel Will, left, and Aura Johnson are the owners of Small Craft Advisory. (Mail Tribune / Jim Craven) Tired of mass-produced clothing, a Medford native and ex-Californian team up to offer an inventory put together ... In their own fashion New Ashland boutique features handcrafted wear made by the owners, other local designers By Greg Stiles ASHLAND — Rows of cookie-cutter fashions on big box clothing racks don't capture Ariel Will's fancy. She prefers something individually crafted. Will labored in the Southern California garment industry in the early 1990s, but mass production and the sprawl weren't for her. So the Medford native who was raised in Seattle headed back to the Northwest four years ago. She waited tables and made clothing for sale at weekly markets until last spring when she and Aura Johnson opened a clothing boutique, Small Craft Advisory, in the Underground Marketplace on Third Street. "The market is so different in the Northwest," Will says. "Over the course of the last 10 or 15 years there has been a real change in attitudes. With the majority of manufacturing overseas, this allows for us to do something smaller and bring back the hand-crafted, American-made products as an alternative to mass-produced goods. It fits well with Ashland. I knew this is where I wanted to live and was going to need to create something for myself." Advertisement That was easier said than done, she admits. While Ashland is unique and has a thriving downtown that caters to stores and boutiques, starting a business isn't cheap. "I've wanted a store for probably the last 10 years," says Will. "It just took a while to materialize the store." Enter, Johnson a newcomer to Ashland from the Bay Area, where she was a sound-effects editor in the film industry. "She moved here last year, looking to create a job for herself," Will says. "We realized we needed to be creative." Riding the wave of consumer interest in organic, green and sustainable goods and services, the women, both 34, rented a 400-square-foot shop surrounded by an herb store, an Internet cafe, a Mexican restaurant and a piercing studio. The shop carries dresses, skirts, shirts and shorts as well as jewelry and accessories. "There are a lot of trends happening with reconstructed clothing from vintage or reclaimed fabrics," Will says. "I source it from all over and the material is primarily from the '50s,' '60s and '70s. We do a lot of reconstructing where we take a base dress and completely change it." Organic cotton and hemp are commonly used as well in the 30 to 40 pieces crafted by the owners each month. Johnson's own line is Lounge Lite, and Will's is Freeflight. In addition to making about a third of the clothing and accessories sold at the store, the shop carries articles by local designers — a clothing line by Melissa Cooley; Manproof wallets and purses made by designer Dominique Dust; men's clothing by As Is from creator Sean Simpson; and earrings by Libby Helmly — and a dozen rotating national designers. "We're super design driven, but very affordable," Will says. "We need to be able to offer quality goods at an affordable price so that they are accessible." The clientele, she says, varies from teenagers to 50- and 60-year-olds. "We've done our best to be broad with our sizing from 2 to 14," Will says. "But we also do a lot of custom work," Will says. Small Craft Advisory has altered a halter-top to make it size to 16, and made bowties. The trend to vintage and reclaimed goods is growing naturally rather than through mass marketing says Cindy Swanson, who has operated Garden Kids in Eugene for the past eight years. "It's consumer driven at this point," Swanson says. "There was a time, 12 or 13 years ago, that it was a much smaller. But demand has increased dramatically over the past decade. Before that, as a manufacturer we were doing a little evangelizing to get people on board." Now, Swanson says, consumers go to search engines to find organic and sustainable manufacturers and sellers. "I used to use advertising links on the Web, she says. "But I don't need to any more, because people just Google manufactures like me. That's a shift and that's where our sales and hits are coming from." Will says she's developed business by advertising in Bust Magazine, a feminist publication, and Venus, a younger women's alternative lifestyle magazine. "I think what we do is truly unique and definitely functional," Will says. "It's clothing that can be worn that's not going out of style in a year or two." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems California Casinos Men's Clothing Southern Oregon Loans --> GMAT Prep Fundraisers Send Flowers Entertainment Guide --> Casinos Canada Trunks, Footlocker Online Casino Reviews Advertisements Advertisement