A secondhand fashion store on Jefferson City's east side is getting its own new owner.
Sherry King recently bought The Xchange Boutique at 830 E. High St. from founder Tina Cole, who announced earlier this month she was leaving the business to focus on her growing family.
"I've been talking about having a resell-it shop for the last five years," new owner Sherry King said.
The timing was perfect, as Cole put The Xchange Boutique up for sale just as King was preparing to move back to Jefferson City from St. Louis. (King previously lived in Jefferson City while working as executive director of Heisinger Bluffs Lutheran Senior Services Community.)
King's vision for the store is to continue what Cole started, with some room for growth.
"We're going to keep the store the same as it is, and we're following basically everything that Tina set up because, obviously, it's a good business model," King said.
That means customers can keep bringing their gently used clothing and household items to exchange for store credit - and a previously advertised expiration date for store credit no longer applies.
King plans to expand inventory in the store's furniture and household goods section, which Cole had introduced last year.
She also hopes to use the store's space to encourage reusing and repurposing items in other ways.
"Later on, hopefully in the summer or fall, I'm going to start offering some craft classes - kind of a 'make and take,'" she said.
A crafter herself, King said she'd love a place to work on projects where she could keep the mess out of her home, and she wants to offer that to customers. She also would like to sell some repurposed furniture at The Xchange.
"I am not a 'tree-hugger' by any means, but I think everybody could do a lot better if we weren't throwing everything away quite like we do," she said.
The Xchange Boutique's operating hours will remain the same - 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
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