YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The owner of a new downtown clothing store said she is emphasizing sustainability and quality craftsmanship.
Mended Apparel will hold its grand opening from 2-5 p.m. Saturday. The shop specializes in creating custom garments using vintage materials that owner Ariel Brockway sources, from the fabrics to the buttons and zippers.
“I’ve always loved sewing,” she said. A Southington native who now lives in Howland, Brockway studied fashion design at Kent State University, graduating from its highly acclaimed program in 2014. Following graduation, she worked at Art of Cloth, a Chagrin Falls women’s wear company where she was lead seamstress before it closed in 2018.
After eight years working in another field, she decided she missed sewing, which she considers “a fading skill” in society, leading her to open Mended Apparel.
In addition to individually designing and crafting garments that are available for sale off the rack, Brockway also does custom garments for clients who get to participate in the design process.
“They can choose their pattern. They can choose their fabric. They can choose their buttons, and they kind of get to create the garment that is appealing to them,” she said. “That’s what’s fun about it, because you don’t really find that very often.” Additionally, she offers private sewing classes, though she said eventually she would like to offer group classes.
Brockway said she loves to find fabrics and repurpose them to make “beautiful garments.” These include “forgotten fabrics” that people might not want to use, including curtains and bedsheets. Vintage fabrics in good condition from the 1960s and ’70s often are of a higher quality than those used in clothing today.
In addition, there is a lot of waste in the fashion industry, especially mass-market fast fashion. On average, people wear a garment seven times before disposing of it. “That’s a lot of waste,” she lamented.
“It’s important that we are sustainable in what we make in a world full of fast fashion and mass-produced garments,” she said. “I want to take it back and do more slow fashion, quality craftsmanship garments.”
There is definitely a market for sustainable fashion, according to Jennifer Frank, founder of the EveryBody Organization, a local nonprofit that advocates for positivity, and a former fashion merchandising instructor.
“Consumers are realizing the harm done to the environment by fast fashion, so that has been a big force behind sustainable fashion,” she said. Successful local thrift businesses that promote secondhand clothing include Diva Donations, Penny Pinchers and Purple Peacock, and several local brands are 100% composed of recycled materials such as Sew What? Sew This! and Kate’s closet.
“There is a lot of interest in protecting the environment,” Frank said. “Sustainabilty also means fair labor practices, which is important in the industry today, People are realizing more and more about the unfair working conditions in a lot of overseas garment factories.”
Mended Apparel is located at 12 N. Phelps St. The Phelps Street Gateway storefront had been occupied for several years by Ado’s Alterations until its closing. Brockway chose downtown Youngstown to open her shop because she wanted to bring something that was different, “something that people can experience in a different way,” she said.
“I think people view fashion design in different ways, and I want to educate people that there’s other ways to look at it. It’s not just fast fashion, like clothes that we buy off the rack all the time,” she continued. “There’s an art to sewing garments that people forget about. I think we take advantage of the fact that we just wake up and we put on clothes every single day. Somebody has to design that, and so I want to bring more education to the art of sewing.”
In addition, Brockway was encouraged by another Phelps Street Gateway shopkeeper, Melanie Clarke-Penella, owner of Blue Heron Treasure Shop, 26 N. Phelps St.
Clarke-Penella, who is preparing to open Lucky Day Con Leche, an espresso shop within Blue Heron, said Brockway purchased vintage sewing patterns from the store. One-on-one services such as Brockway provides are “a lost art,” and buyers are moving away from cheaply made garments, she said.
“This whole little area is so small and charming, and we can’t just have restaurants,” she continued. “When you’re going downtown for the day, you want to park, and you want to be able to walk and do multiple things. There’s a captive audience when they come downtown, so we need to be able to provide more to the public, which will increase visitation and tourism.”
She also said after Brockway made a pair of jeans for her, she would “never go another way again.”
Sharon Letson, executive director of Youngstown CityScape, a nonprofit organization that focuses on downtown revitalization, also welcomed the growth of additional retail downtown. She noted that young people, such as those attending nearby Youngstown State University, are fashion minded and increasingly focused on repurposing.
“What we’re trying to get is for our city to be a destination,” she said. “This is one piece to the puzzle that we have to continue to build together.”
She also sees downtown Youngstown as “kind of up and coming.” There are a lot of amazing restaurants, and she wants to see more retail develop so it becomes a place where people want to come, shop and enjoy themselves.
Saturday’s opening will include a ribbon cutting and Fashion on Phelps fashion show that will feature Mended Apparel garments, and Brockway will explain to those attending what she does and why she does it.
“People can sign up for classes. They can purchase garments. They can come check out the shop,” she said. “If they have any questions, they can talk to me and just have fun.”
Pictured at top: Ariel Brockway, owner of Mended Apparel.