Tuesday, Jun. 23, 2009
Boutique Peek: Myrtle Beach's Random - Coffee, Clothier, Vintage
Fashion is illuminated by a certain vision. And for Summer Karst, owner of boutique Random at The Market Common, visual merchandising happens to be her instinctive, inherited talent.
Her mother, Kathy Hillman, is a fashion visual merchandiser, first working for a department store, then branching out on her own as a freelance merchandiser for major malls in Chicago and throughout Illinois, the family's home state. So Karst, in turn, grew up loving the field of fashion, too, taking over a few of her mother's contracts when she was 16 and graduating with a degree in fashion merchandising from Western Illinois University. "The store was a concept that I did for my senior project," explains Karst, "where I had to do a store layout and a business plan. Obviously the store has been tweaked from my original project but is basically the same thing."
After a move to Myrtle Beach five years ago for her college internship, Karst originally opened Random in 2005 at Broadway at the Beach and moved to The Market Common in October. A second sister store, run by Karst's brother is located in Peoria, Ill. Hillman commutes between the stores; and Karst's father stays behind the scenes but is also co-owner.
The meaning behind the name is due to its random mix of merchandise. "When trying to come up with a name and going over the product mix for the store, I kept saying, 'a random mix' and Random stuck. It's the perfect way to describe us."
Major lines for men and women include Mavi, Mek, Buffalo, Local Celebrity and Chaser; for men, Jimi Hendrix, English Laundry, Fender, Johnny Max; and for the ladies only, Gentle Fawn, Colcci, Ryu and Ya. "We go to Atlanta, Las Vegas and Miami to trade shows to find companies to sell," says Karst. "I like to keep smaller, up-and-coming companies in the store, but we do incorporate a few larger lines. And we also feature a lot of local artists from Illinois and South Carolina."
Karst says hot (or cool) fashion trends for females this season are maxi dresses and "sundresses, sundresses, sundresses. "And men are all about comfort, so they want super-soft tees, denim, and woven shirts," she says. "And, of course, everyone wants a deal, so like always, we are keeping a very good mix of prices on hand for our customers."
To add to Random's random mix, the store also carries original vintage clothing and accessories from the 1940s to 1980s - something Karst has a real passion for and desire to share with others - and coffee. "Coffee is the same thing - just one more thing to make us random," she says. "It also helps to create the relaxed and comfortable environment we want to create for our customers, who love the fact that they can come in, shop with a cup of coffee, and then take some fresh-roasted beans home for later."
Random - Coffee, Clothier, Vintage is located at 3057 Nevers St. at The Market Common, Myrtle Beach. Hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. For additional info, call 448-9065 or visit www.randomclothier.com.
