Having opened just half a year ago in December 2013, New Normal Apparel is fairly, um, new, yet is already making fashionable waves in Richmond.
This clothing company, located on 212 E. Clay St in the Arts District, strives to create their products from ethically sourced, American made materials printed with eco-friendly inks.
Having opened just half a year ago in December 2013, New Normal Apparel is fairly, um, new, yet is already making fashionable waves in Richmond.
This clothing company, located on 212 E. Clay St in the Arts District, strives to create their products from ethically sourced, American made materials printed with eco-friendly inks. Co-founder Kelley Blanchard, explains that they focus on “keeping it local, keeping it collaborative, and keeping it quality.” Anil Rathore, Kelley Blanchard, Walker Wood, and Tony Dhillon co-founded New Normal Apparel with the belief that their mission and production process should be the norm–hence the name.
New Normal Apparel carries apparel and accessories for both men and women. They focus primarily on tops, as well as hoodies, maxi skirts, and yoga pants, printed with original designs. Their merchandise has a very free-spirited, bohemian aesthetic. New Normal produces versatile apparel and accessories; as Walker says, they “want our clothes to be about the everyday, something you can wear to work but that you can also wear on a night out. You can elevate it, dress it down, dress it up… layering. We’re all about that.”
There is a minimalistic design approach to the interior of New Normal Apparel. Clothes and accessories are spread out throughout the store. The space is airy and open, with large windows that let a tremendous amount of sunlight into the store. Blanchard describes the interior of New Normal Apparel as “a big collaboration space.” It was set up to serve not only as retail space but also as a gallery and production studio.
Both Blanchard and Wood graduated from VCU, partially leading to the opening of New Normal Apparel in Richmond. Wood explains that Richmond was the ideal location to open New Normal Apparel due to the fact that “Richmond is very up and coming, and there is a lot of room for growth” and that “in other larger cities, there’s not the sense of community that’s present here.” Blanchard and Wood love the way that Richmond is such a tight knit community and how everyone is interconnected.
Those connections allow for more collaboration between New Normal Apparel and various Richmond artists. They’ve worked with about half a dozen artists now, each of which produces two designs to feature on New Normal shirts. Wood states that “we see our clothes as canvases for our artists.”
In addition to creating the shirt designs, New Normal also hosts an art show for each of their Artists Of The Month, which premiere on First Friday of every month. It’s a great way for their artists to get themselves out there, and also has the benefit of bringing a new group of people into the store. It’s a win-win for both the artists and New Normal Apparel as it allows both to promote themselves to a new crowd of customers simultaneously. The owners report that these collaborations are becoming more and more successful each month, and they look forward to collaborations with more Richmond artists.
New Normal Apparel tries to get involved with Richmond in every way that they can. In addition to participating in First Fridays, they are a part of the South of the James Farmer’s Market and attempt to bring their merchandise to as many festivals and markets that they can. In the next few months, they plan on participating in the Watermelon Festival, RVA Makers, and the Virginia Pride Festival. Blanchard explains that they “take pride in what they make,” and love to share it with new people and engage with the community. Events like these make that possible for them.
This Saturday, July 26th, New Normal Apparel is hosting a release party for a new line of sunglasses, the first wooden sunglasses to be produced and sold on the East Coast. New Normal partnered with a local laser company to create the “Belle Isle” sunglasses for women and the “Manchester” sunglasses for men. Pre-sale of the sunglasses will begin during the release party. Additionally, there will be a small runway show featuring the sunglasses and other styles. Music and raffles will also be present at the event. The party will be held at the Postbellum deck (1323 W. Main Street, Richmond, VA 23220) from 3:00PM to 6:00PM.
New Normal Apparel is located at 212 East Clay Street Unit 1B, Richmond, VA 23219 and is open Monday-Friday 11AM-4PM. To keep updated on future sales and events at New Normal Apparel, check New Normal Apparel on Facebook and Instagram (@NewNormalApparel). Additionally, you can shop New Normal Apparel on their website, newnormalapparel.com.
