Visit our Brick & Mortar
in downtown Arlington, WA

105 N. Olympic Ave
Arlington, WA 98223

WED-FRI 11 AM - 5 PM
Sat 10 AM - 5 PM
Sun 11 AM - 4 PM

I started buying and selling vintage clothing in 1999 while in college.  I sold every Sunday for several years at the Fremont Sunday Market out of a 10x10 pop up tent. Back then it was first come first serve to get a selling spot for the day and space was limited. I would get in line as early as 7 am with the event lasting until 6 pm.

I quickly moved into making things to sell at these markets and began upcycling bags and carry-on size suitcases, covering them in Faux Fur, coining the name FauxyFurr.

I juried into the Bellevue Arts Fair in 2004, I was the youngest artist that year and the only one upcycling. 

In 2005 I entered into the Apparel Design Program at Seattle Central Community College. I graduated in 2008 with a technical degree in sewing and pattern making. 

After college and during the recession, very few jobs could be found in the clothing design industry. I took a position in Arlington, in a custom upholstery shop that specialized in hot rods & classic cars. I spent close to 3 years apprenticing under the WORST BOSS EVER. I told myself when I was the Boss I would create a work environment where people felt comfortable. A place where those involved feel like a part of something bigger than themselves. 

I continued fabricating full custom interiors into the spring of 2019 while simultaneously building my vintage clothing store. 

In 2019, with a small team around me, and capital in hand from selling my condo, we started our handmade line. This endeavor required the purchasing of new sewing machines, raw materials & a website.

To develop a concept, it can take hundreds of hours of research and development before you see a return. We started slowly with one product line at a time. Today we have seven handmade lines we design, produce & sell in our store. 

Covid changed a lot of things for us. We spent 90 days in isolation, 90 days questioning who we are, what we are doing, can we be better, and what really matters. 2020 is the year we found our store aesthetics. We started painting everything we could espresso brown with copper accents. We brought in more living plants and upgraded our displays & mirrors.

By the end of 2020 my interest in hat-making had become an obsession. I had some hat-making tools but not enough to call myself a hatmaker. I had watched every video & read every book I could find on the hat-making process. I was obsessed and curious, two traits that have remained constant in my life. I was ready to put myself into hat-making school, so I did. I began studying under a master milliner in the Seattle area. 

In April of 2023 after 8 grueling months of renovations, we opened a beautiful store in downtown Arlington. This 100-year-old building is able to house both our retail shop in the front half and our manufactuing concepts in the back half.

We will open a coffee bar and fine foods market in the front portion of the retail over the spring of 2024.

Today I am a full-time hat maker & curate the collections we carry in our brick-and-mortar.

Throughout my childhood, I spent many afternoons going to the craft store in Maryville, buying supplies and making all sorts of things. At 9 years old I wanted a piñata for my birthday party. I can remember checking out a book from the library on Piñata making, reading the book, digging through my mom’s cupboards to find flour, water & newspaper, and making that piñata for myself.

In high school, I moved on to ceramics. In college, I studied graphic design. During motherhood I found myself upcycling furniture & tackling home improvement projects. I’ve always loved color, creativity & projects.

My sister Jac and I have been collaborating through FauxyFurr since 2012. In the beginning, I would take photos of the vintage coats and create the Etsy listings. In 2020 I started working in production, making Boho Boots & cutting leather fringe. By 2021 I was our earring designer & maker, producing both short & long earrings.

I love being a part of FauxyFurr and building something I enjoy. I feel purpose in my work here and that purpose inspires me.

Today I am in charge of making FauxyFurr’s Boho Boots, Boot Bands & earrings. I prefer to be in the back of the store, out of the public eye, producing the handmade lines.

I have been a Snohomish county native for 41 years, graduating from Marysville-Pilchuck in 2000. I met my husband in 2007 and have been married for 11 years. When I am not at FauxyFurr, you can find me taking care of my 4 children between the ages of 8 & 21, enjoying a night in with my family and friends barbecuing while beating most people I play in cornhole.

Jill grew up in Washington State and moved around a lot. She has been a part of number of small start ups. Jills giftings

FauxyFurr has been around Seattle since 2002.

In 2002 FauxyFurr got it’s start buying & selling American made vintage clothing at Seattle’s Fremont Sunday Market in a 10’ x 10’ pop-up tent.

2003 - Jac started upcycling midcentury handbags and faux fur coats. These upcycled items were sold at Seattle area street fairs and the Bellevue arts show in 2004.

By 2006 - FauxyFurr was focused on becoming the vintage-boot-mafia, buying up every pair of American-made cowboy boots they found.

2007 - Joined the Etsy community selling vintage western boots online. Continues selling boots on eBay.

2008 - Jac graduates with her Technical Degree in Apparel Design from Seattle Central Community College. She is now versed in production sewing, pattern making, and textile history.  It’s the beginning of the American recession and job prospects are extremely limited.

2008 - She begins a new career in custom upholstery learning to pattern, sew, and fabricate for hot rods & classic cars.

2012 - Expanded our vintage store to include any USA-MADE winter coat that crossed our path. Pendleton, Woolrich, Pioneer Wear, Tweed, Corduroy, real fur, leather, we hunted for them all.

2013 - Started renting a 5’ x 5’ space at the Country Rose selling just vintage cowboy boots.

2014 - Doubled our space at the Country Rose to 10’x 10’ selling just vintage cowboy boots.

2015 - Jac and Jill meet and begin collaborating. Their first big adventure was a pop-up shop at the Winthrop Rythm & Blues Festival and vending out of a 10’ x 10’ all weekend.

2016 - They built (with help from friends), a 24-foot pop-up trailer shop. They spent the next 4 summers on the road vending at open-air music events. During this season of travel, women kept asking to buy ankle boots, the feather earrings Jac always wore, and our personal hats I had trimmed out.

2019- Rebrand to FauxyFurr Vintage + Handmade and started upcycling boots, making feather earrings, and hand-crafting custom hats. 

2019 - Expand our space at the Country Rose to a 10’ x 50’ and take over a front window. At this same time, we hired nikki to build our website and help us tell our story. She built this website and made the video above.

2020 - We survived COVID-19, re-evaluated our WHY as a company, and hired Jac’s sister and niece, part-time.

2021 - In January Jac starts studying under a veteran hat maker, Wayne Wichern. She has spent thousands of hours refining her craft.

2022 - We signed a new lease, and renovated a 100-year-old building in downtown Arlington. This process took us 9 months and boy was it worth it.

2023 - We opened the newly renovated store in April. This new space is 4000+ square feet split between a front retail experience and a fully functioning workshop.

2024 - Jac & Jill are at it again, Slowly open a specialty coffee shop and fine foods market. Join our mailing list for updates and come celebrate what’s new with us.