Photo Courtesy of Alyssa Jensen
Throughout Oct. a formal clothing drive was held in different locations across campus. The drive requested donations to supply the free “Threads of Love” pop-up shop held on Nov. 19 in King Hall.
“Threads of Love” was the name given to the shop by a group of students in Small Group Communication, a required course for communications majors.
According to the Emporia State course catalog, the course focuses on “decision-making, norms, leadership, problem-solving, and skills development” associated with working in small groups. In the class, students were sorted randomly into small groups and spent the semester creating a project that served the community.
Students Ren Slocomb, Alyssa Jensen, Lexie Vega, Emma Mendoza, and Eastyn Armstrong were part of the group responsible for Threads of Love.
Jensen said the project was inspired by the stigma surrounding free clothing closets.
“Normally when you think about free clothing closets, the clothes are just thrown on the tables,” Jensen said. “We wanted anyone to be able to get free clothes in a cute environment.”
Slocomb furthered the idea saying that “even thrift stores” could be unappealing, and they wanted to give people a fun experience like a more expensive boutique might have.
King Hall’s lobby was transformed into the shop, with multiple racks of women’s and men’s clothing organized by size, a table full of shoes of all kinds, and even a backdrop for customers to have photo ops in front of with their finds.
“We don’t know anyone’s background, and the ‘no questions asked’ policy was nice so people could just go shop,” Jensen said.
“It was pretty much treated as its own little store!” added Slocomb.
Slocomb and Vega voiced their surprise at the diverse group of people who went: families, high school students, and college students alike.
“We had a better turnout than we expected,” Slocomb said. “We were happy to see clothes leave the racks.”
Their turnout can be credited to their frequent advertising on campus and in the community. The group cited social media as the most efficient way to spread the word about their shop. Their posters and word of mouth were also effective methods of advertising.
The group reached out to the Spartan Stop, a needs-based necessities closet, who donated clothing, and Emporia Main Street who lent them a clothing rack. They were also sponsored by Gravel City Roasters, which allowed them to purchase clothing racks, hangers, and decorations for the occasion. The group is thankful to those who supplied them with everything they needed to bring their project to fruition. All unclaimed clothes were donated to Goodwill Industries of Kansas.
The group agreed that overall, the project was a rewarding experience and that the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.
“Hopefully we can carry it on for years to come,” Slocomb said.
Slocomb has hopes that another organization will take on the Threads of Love pop-up shop and make it a recurring event.