Fashion

Sewn Home Goods

By Lisa Cook | Photos By Hesh Photo

Kirsten Coplans is the co-owner of SEWN.  A super creative and interesting boutique Located at 18 South Broadway.

SEWN opened in February 2012.  Kristen has owned two previous boutiques. The first was a vintage home furnishing shop in San Francisco’s Inner Sunset District and the second was a store called Sparrow here in Denver on 17th Avenue at Franklin. Sparrow was an eclectic science-y feeling shop of vintage goodies, plants, art, and other what-nots. She started her clothing line Pearl there, named after her lovely white boxer dog, Pearl. Pearl started her retail training at Sparrow and now you can come see her working at SEWN whenever Kirsten is there for the day. “We were graciously invited to our South Broadway location by Matthew Brown, the owner of Fancy Tiger Clothing.” Kirsten answered  when asked about her prime location. “He was the previous inhabitant of our space and when he and Jaime Jennings, one of the owners of Fancy Tiger Crafts, bought their building down the block, Matthew offered us the space. He felt SEWN would be a good fit for the neighborhood.  Lucky for us, we love our independent business neighbors and we love the neighborhood”.

Spending some time in SEWN and getting to hang out with Kirsten was fun and fashionable. Trying on outfit after outfit and loving each one while trying to have an engaging conversation was perfect for a Monday morning.

Kirsten was born here in Denver. It’s funny, but she can see from her backyard the Saint Joseph Hospital towers where she was born. “Sometimes it makes me feel like I haven’t gone very far in life,” she said almost jokingly. “Soon they will tear the towers down and my view will be uncertain. I lived in San Francisco for eleven years so that in some ways still has a feeling of home, but I guess I really am a Colorado girl at heart. Open skies, friendly people, easy living”.

“I have always made things my whole life. For me it really hasn’t mattered what I was making. As a kid I loved to make little houses out of cardboard boxes. Little rooms with carpets drawn on the floors, small beds with miniature pillows and all the other comforts of home. Anything tiny appealed to me as a child and still does.  My parents recently renovated their house and gave me a keepsake box from my childhood, which contained the earliest samples of my collections. Some of which I still collect today. Little plastic deer, a hand painted Japanese tea set, a wooden Chinese doll. My taste is the same as when I was little. I also found some clothes pin dolls I made with little sewn clothing, hand drawn faces, and yarn hair.

My home is an on going project. I collect things and move them around. Add, subtract. Luckily Jill (Friend and co-owner of SEWN) told me if I cull things then I am not truly a pack rat. The crazy bird lady that lived in my house before me was with rooms packed floor to ceiling with junk and live birds flying around. So sometimes I worry it may be my fate to continue in that vein. I do have a pretty big collection of bird nests. However, I really do keep things simple and collect in groups. Mostly I work. That’s my on going project, and there are always new avenues to explore there”.

“The main designers are myself, designer of pearl clothing, and my co-owner Jil Cappuccio, designer of Jil Cappuccio One of a Kinds, Limited Lines. We also carry Dandy Social Club, Phyrne Metal, All Good Wishes, Lucky Me Beads, Vital Industries, Made with Love by Hannah, Kiwi & Co, Becky’s Buttons & Things, Make My Notebook as well as some other fantastic handmade goods”.

“I met my business partner Jil the first day she opened her shop here in Denver. I was walking  Pearl in the neighborhood and just walked in. We started talking and had lots on common, including the San Francisco connection.  After she got to know me a bit, she told her husband she wanted me as her partner. She didn’t tell me this but slowly reeled me in over the next six years. I worked in her store, sold my clothing line there, and we did  countless shows and events together. Eventually we started talking about opening SEWN together. Jil has been sewing for over 20 years and absolutely knows her craft. I was so flattered she wanted to work with me, a seat of the pants, self -taught seamstress with no fashion background. We are kindred spirits and really understand each other. I couldn’t ask for a better business partner, friend, and joy to be around.Jil has a sewing studio at the back of the shop. She sews on a vintage featherweight Singer that she has used since high school. I have a studio in the back room and I put my portable machine on the desk when I am working the floor. Jil and myself put the shop together. Both of us having stores previously, we had lots of props and fixtures. I have collected vintage suitcases and trunks for years and they seemed a fitting element for our store. We both have a love of vintage, so sewing accessories and ephemera pepper the shop. We found some big mirrors which we painted very matte colors and the hand embroidered butterflies and flower framed work was perfect for the dressing rooms.

The yarn hangers and hand sewn quilt wrapping the desk give an important nod to all those past crafter ladies that came before us.