Stacy Maitland dreamed big and her dream came true. What began as a class project has become a “blessing” for people who want affordable, cute clothing for kids.
Maitland is the owner and operator of Kingston’s Kloset, a children’s retail boutique, located in the Irvington neighborhood of Indianapolis.
The Recorder spoke with Maitland to discover how her project became a reality and why she’s so emotionally invested in the business.
Indianapolis Recorder: How did you come up with the concept for a children’s retail boutique?
Maitland: When I started my doctoral program a few years ago, we discussed servant leadership as a part of our portfolio. At the time my little girl was 4 years old and had tons and tons of clothes. Other people in the program worked with people with autism, another guy in the program was Puerto Rican and thought of helping kids learn to speak Spanish. I thought, “what could I do to be a servant leader” and use what I had. I remembered all of the clothes she had and thought, “I can resell her clothes at a low price.” My sons had tons of clothes too. I put an idea together to open a consignment store for kids that sold quality clothing at a low price. I wanted this store to be a blessing to someone else. And I named it Kingston’s Kloset after my daughter.
Tell me about the homework you did to open the store.
I prayed about what I wanted and came up with ideas on how I wanted the store to look. I put my ideas on a dream board and gave it to my sister who’s really good with interior design. She got on the computer and created what I wanted electronically.
I already had the merchandise so I knew I needed to get the racks and décor for the store. My husband was a big help because he is an accountant. When I was putting a budget together, he said, “don’t come to me until you have a realistic budget.” I rode around the city and visited yard sales to find tables. I’ve refurbished almost everything in the store and got donations for things as well. My sister and I did all the painting ourselves, I learned how to prime. My husband’s friend put together the desk.
I also researched other children’s consignment stores to make sure our prices were lower. I then realized this thing is really going to happen.
What kind of setbacks did you face?
I found a location in the Irvington area of Indianapolis and it was the perfect. When creating the store, I thought about lower-income and middle class parents and wanted the store to be accessible to them. But I wondered would African-American people come to the store due to the location.
I was also able to find tables and things for the store, but finding the rounders and signs was difficult. I eventually found a fixture store in Beech Grove and told them what I needed. They showed me all of these sophisticated rounders and once they saw what I was trying to put together, they told me they sold used items. I said “that’s fine!” I refurbished those too.
Then it seemed like every time I crossed something off my list, another detail was added that had a cost. Like I needed to get different retail licenses before I even opened the doors. I didn’t realize I needed that.
I had to take the humility route when opening Kingston’s Kloset. I didn’t want everything high-tech and fancy. I knew this wasn’t about me, but about people who want to dress their children nicely for a low price.
It was blood, sweat and tears that opened this store.
When did you open the doors to Kingston’s Kloset?
We opened in August of 2014. I began all of this in October of 2013.
What kind of clothing do you sell?
We sell both boys and girls clothing. We go from newborn to size 16. The brands we sell are listed on our website, but we sell just about any brand. We don’t have clothing from places like Walmart. We have things like Lelli Kelly shoes and sell Ugg boots in the winter. We have brands like Hanna Handersson and the Greendog brand that’s sold in Macy’s. We have name brand jeans like Gap, True Religion and Joe’s Jeans – premium jeans. We sell high-end clothing, but it is very affordable. The majority of items in the store are under $20.
We also have fun things for the kids. One day we had someone come in and paint the little girls’ nails, we celebrated Dr. Seuss’ birthday – we do little events like that for the children.
When you look back over what began as a class project, what comes to your mind?
Perseverance. When you say “I’m going to do this” and put together your business plan, you run into brick walls. I prayed when things got rough and I put my ego aside and went out there and got the things I needed for the store. There were times when I wanted to give up but I knew I couldn’t.
What grade did you get on your project?
I haven’t gotten my grade yet! (laughs). This is my last summer at Indiana Wesleyan University.
Is there anything else you’d like to add or want Recorder readers to know?
I just want people to come to the store and be blessed by this. A lot of people say “this is a hidden treasure” but it’s not coming from African-Americans. I want it to be a treasure for everyone – for those who want affordable children’s clothing.
