New clothing store geared toward (w)hole kid

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

By Melanie Stein

While shopping for clothes for the average middle schooler (or 30-something, for that matter) is still a challenge in Jackson Hole, finding the right article of clothing for newborns and young children just got a lot easier.

The Hole Kid, a new children’s clothing store at 35 W. Deloney, is the brainchild of local attorney Vonde Smith, her husband and her mother, offering clothes, shoes, gift items and accessories in sizes 0 to 3 months up to size 7.

“We wanted to provide an outlet for all of the kids that embrace the Jackson Hole lifestyle, the adventuresome kids that live here,” Smith said, “and provide an opportunity to have a store where you can pretty much outfit those kids for whatever adventure might come their way. That’s where the name came from.”

Accordingly, The Hole Kid offers fashionable skirts and dresses, high-quality winter active wear, even orthopedically appropriate footwear.

“It is great to have gear that is technically appropriate for what [kids] are doing,” Smith said. “The store is an evolution of that idea. We have some terrific lines coming in for winter that are very technical.”

Several lines of skiwear, such as Reima from Finland, are as high quality as what an adult would want to wear, and also different from what is already offered in town. Some foreign brands may not be well known here, but Smith vouched for their quality. Technical fleece, long underwear, socks and hats also will help keep little ones warm and comfortable throughout the long winter.

The Hole Kid also will specialize in organic cottons and other environmentally friendly clothing.

“That’s what really makes us unique,” Smith said. “We are trying to focus as much as we can on high-quality, environmental consciousness and safe products for kids.”
About 40 percent of the baby clothes are organic. Babies’ skin is much more sensitive and vulnerable to impurities in the environment, Smith noted. “Organic clothes have really taken off for the under 12 and even under 24 month range.” While it’s harder to find in bigger children’s sizes, she continues to research new lines.

The Hole Kid offers a wide range of prices, from high-end items to plenty of durable kidwear, like jeans and T-shirts.

“We’re working really hard to keep prices as low as possible,” Smith said.

Several of The Hole Kid’s longer-term objectives are to donate a percentage of profits to environmental, literacy and other children’s initiatives.

“We want to make The Hole Kid a sounding board for all the great things that are happening for kids in Jackson, and we want to contribute to children’s events in our community and, to the extent that we can, globally,” Smith said. “We want people to know that when they buy something from the store, it’s going to a larger cause. We want kids that are shopping there to grow up with the knowledge base that there’s a larger world out there and that we need to take care of it.”

Smith also hopes The Hole Kid will grow into a store that serves older kids, too, but that requires finding a bigger space and “getting on our feet with what we’ve got right now.”
The Hole Kid is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week. Contact the store at 733-2151 or visit www.theholekid.com.
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New clothing store geared toward (w)hole kid | Planet JH News Article: Business

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