July 2007: A Greensboro News-Record article about Kit and the move of Design Archives from Market Street to Tate Street:

» Move from downtown a ‘win-win’

Kit Rodenbough has been living in a fantasy world.

At least, that’s how Greensboro’s top vintage clothing maven describes her store: “A fantasy-fun lifestyle vision.”

That vision, of a freewheeling and funky retail world populated by plush furs, loud minidresses, wedge heels and structured handbags, is about to change.

After six years and $1-million worth of vintage clothing and accessories sold at East Market and Church streets, Design Archives is packing its old suitcases, hatboxes and steamer trunks and moving out of downtown.

Just over a week ago, Rodenbough signed a lease on a new space – the former Lagerhaus bar and restaurant on Tate Street. She plans to reopen there Sept. 1, six years to the day from when her store first opened at 304 E. Market St.

“We’re going to become a serious retail operation,” she says. “For six years now, I have had fun with it and enjoyed every moment, and I’m not going to stop doing that. But I didn’t really know what I was doing six years ago.”

Now, Rodenbough has a clear plan: A downsized shop offering seasonal vintage collections that rotate weekly and appeal mainly to college-age shoppers, who comprise about 70 percent of her customers.

With her current building up for redevelopment by a group of local investors, she’s been spurred to put that plan into action quickly.

“I knew they were looking at it a couple of months ago,” she says of the developers, who plan to turn that downtown corner into a revived office and retail complex. “And, at first, it was kind of a shock. .. and then as it kind of became a reality and I live with the idea, then I realized that, hey, this is going to be great.

“It’s going to be a win-win-for all of us.”

But the move is going to require some adjustments.

In 5,000 square feet downtown, Design Archives already is bursting at the seams. The new shop is only 3,200 square feet, and the former kitchen there will be used for an archive research room, where designers for brands such as Izod,, Urban Outfitters and Tommy Hilfiger can find inspiration from fabric swatches.

Only 25 percent of Rodenbough’s near-boundless inventory will make it onto the new floor compared to about 50 percent at her current location. The smaller space, she says, means she’ll have to move items out the door more quickly, rotating clothing and accessories often.

She’s leased nearby warehouse space for her overflow treasures, culled from consignors, customers and estates, and she plans to stop taking new merchandise until the move is complete.

Downsizing presents a challenge. But, she says, it brings another fantasy closer to reality: A chain of Design Archives stores dotting the country.

“Now that we have defined our customer as the student and the astute fashionista, my next plan is, in four years, to have this as a prototype to now take to Asheville and to Wilmington,” Rodenbough said.

A smaller space will be easier for her to duplicate in other cities mostly college towns where vintage already is popular — whether she decides to run the stores herself or franchise them out to a trusted local person in each new market.

“I’d never find a 5,000-square-foot space in any town. I got really lucky,” she says of her space downtown. “I got in at the right time, but these are the last days of people finding something like that.”

To help pay for the move, Rodenbough has planned a last hurrah at the downtown shop. She’ll host a retro dance party there starting at 6 p.m. on Aug. 11. Admission will be $5.

“I’m so excited,” she says. “It’s going to be a new adventure and, you know, anytime you make a change like that, for me, it just puts an incredibly amount of energy into that new adventure. And you just get revitalized.”

© Greensboro News-Record 2007

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» Kit Rodenbough Interview

Excerpts taken from an online article about the owner of Design Archives.

  "…To step into Design Archives on East Market Street in downtown Greensboro is to step back into the early 20th century, only with the conveniences and business-sense of our modern age.

Beaded clutches, petticoats and dresses adorned with lace decorate every corner. Men’s seersucker sport coats hang below old fedoras and vintage Hawaiian shirts. Costume and estate jewelry conjure up memories of playing at Grandma’s house for every girl that enters. Even the smell — musty, warm and thick — takes visitors back in time.

This is Kit Rodenbough’s brainchild. And a unique combination of passion and desperation led to this: a retail store that sells vintage and antique clothing and furniture…

In May 2001 Kit was driving through Greensboro and saw an empty storefront on East Market. On a whim, she inquired and took a look inside. The shop had recently been a photo studio, but it opened in 1921 as a Cadillac showroom. The interior space, with tile floors and tall ceilings, was inherently dramatic. Something clicked. ‘The real estate agent opened up those doors,’ she says gesturing inside, where two large glass doors stretch open, ‘and I just had this vision — an instant realization that, ‘This is for me.’…

Walking through her store, Rodenbough delicately touches the antiques and details their history, right down to who owned it and what room it came from. While 90 percent of her inventory is from consignments (she has 370 consigners), the rest comes from estate sales and yard sale shopping…

Rodenbough clearly loves what she does. Sitting outside the store she greets customers by name, compliments them on new pieces of jewelry they’re wearing and has a genuine rapport with them that isn’t found at huge retail establishments….

(Some) years into it, she’s found her niche, and she’s sticking with it: ‘We have something for everyone. But at the same time we’re not for everyone — and that’s OK.’ "

© The Business Journal/Triad Bizwomen.com 2004

Read the full article: http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/bizwomen/triad/content/story.html?id=995957

A video and audio biography of Kit and the store at the old location on Market Street:

Design Archives is shopped by designers for inspirational research, by other retailers who buy in bulk, and is shopped daily by trendy chic customers who want the latest vintage fashions. Design Archives is a treat to explore. Reminisce and enjoy this wonderful shop of treasures. Fashion shows, sidewalk sales, gift certificates, and more, Design Archives has something special for everyone.

From Wall Photos, posted by Kit Rodenbough on 12/29/2008 (289 items)

Generated by Facebook Photo Fetcher

A local news station – CBS affiliate WFMY NEWS 2 – has an early morning show which in 2007 celebrated 50 years on the air.

Rosemary Plybon – a co-anchor on the Good Morning Show visited Kit Rodenbough, the owner of the Design Archives store, to look at fashions from the 1950′s. Below are the two segments aired on the program, first broadcast on Monday 12 November 2007.

Kit and Rosemary talk about clothing worn back then and the Design Archives staff modelled some clothing.

Below is a series of video clips from the show that night.

Additionally Kelly was featured in the Greensboro News-Record.

A snippet from the article:

“…In Cox’s hands, an entire line of clothing has been revived. What was once relinquished by others – an old quilt, worn pillowcases, outdated men’s dress shirts – are now modern garments that appeal to women her age.

Skirts and dresses were fashioned from pillowcases and vintage buttons. She made a halter top from a man’s dress shirt, circa 1970 . She altered a leotard – who wears those now? -and added fabric from other dresses to create a short dress. Her favorite in the collection is a silky gray, pink and cream striped dress. She added a gathered peplum to the front of it for a layered or tiered skirt effect. Vintage red buttons were added for details.

“It’s very flattering on because it creates an hourglass figure,” the diminutive Cox says.

Take a stroll through Design Archives with her and you’ll start to see outdated clothing differently. Even a dress from the ’80s – one with shoulder pads and sleeves that poof out like lamp shades – can be restructured.

An oversize, cowl-neck purple sweater looks like something Jennifer Beals might have worn over a leotard in the movie “Flashdance.” But it’s a great color – a deep purple, like the children’s character Barney. Cox, who enrolled in UNCG initially as an art major, is attracted to garments with vivid colors.

If the sweater were taken in to better fit the female figure, it would be more updated. Remove the sleeves and shorten it, and it could be a vest.

“I really like clothing, and I really feel like there’s something interesting about vintage because (of) its history,” Cox says.

The older a garment, the more imperfect its condition. But that’s part of its appeal, Cox says. Worn fabric, tiny holes and sun stains don’t deter her. She can hide or cover the holes. Sometimes a discoloration can add an interesting pattern to a garment.

“I kind of feel like the people who are going to buy this stuff are going to have an appreciation for vintage stuff,” Cox says.

Design Archives is a giant treasure chest for someone like her. She became a store regular through friends. “We would go, and we would spend hours and hours literally trying on everything,” she says.

Cox’s mother taught her to sew and encouraged her interest in fashion. But it was Design Archives owner Kit Rodenbough who is responsible for her foray into upcycled vintagewear.
Rodenbough, a lifelong vintage-clothing collector, says Cox reminds her of herself at that age. In fact, Cox was just hired to design children’s wear for Bonaventure, a company Rodenbough worked for about 30 years ago.

» Full article

VIDEO: