Visit our Brick & Mortar
in downtown Arlington, WA

105 N. Olympic Ave
Arlington, WA 98223

WED-FRI 11 AM - 5 PM
Sat 10 AM - 5 PM
Sun 11 AM - 4 PM

I started buying and selling vintage clothing in 2000 while in college.  For several years I sold every Sunday at the Fremont Sunday Market in a 10x10 pop-up tent. Back then it was first come first serve to secure a selling spot for the day and space was limited. I would get in line as early as 7 am with the event lasting until after 4 pm.

I quickly moved into making things to sell at these markets. I began upcycling hand bags and carry-on suitcases, covering them in Faux Fur, coining the name “FauxyFurr”.

In 2004, I juried into the Bellevue Arts Fair. I was the youngest artist that year and the only one upcycling at the event. I felt inferior to the other artists who were there that year. I felt like I needed more refined skills.

In 2005 I started the Apparel Design Program at Seattle Central Community College. After a year of pre-requisites, and two grueling years of school I graduated in 2008 with a 2-year technical degree in production sewing and pattern making. This degree was the hardest thing I had ever earned. Many who entered the program dropped out. It was project runway for two years. Even our summer break was 250 hours of internship work.

After college in 2008, amidst the recession, jobs were scarce in the clothing design industry. I knew I needed to think outside the box to find employment. I took a position in Arlington, at a small custom upholstery shop that specialized in hot rods & classic cars. I spent close to 3 years apprenticing under the WORST BOSS EVER. To this day I shudder at the mention of his name. Back then I promised myself, one day when I am the Boss I will create a work environment where people feel respected, important & part of my team—a place with leadership, not micro managers.

I continued fabricating full custom interiors into the spring of 2019 while simultaneously building my vintage clothing store. I split my time, 2 days a week on the vintage and 5 days per week on the upholstery. I worked long days with little time off. I was driven to carve out something that was mine, something I created. It’s taken me 20+ years to get to this point. No one can call me an overnight sensation, try a lifetime of achievement.

In 2019, with a small team around me, and capital in hand from selling a condo I bought years before, we started our handmade line. I was finally able to make the designs in my head that had haunted me for years. This was a defining moment in my career and required capital, faith, new sewing machines & tools, raw materials & a website. We started slowly with our handmade product line. Developing & producing one concept at a time. Today we have seven handmade lines we design, produce & sell in our store. 

2020 was the year everything became clear. Covid changed us for the better. We spent 90 days in isolation, 90 days questioning who we are, why are we doing this, can we be better. 2020 is the year we refined our store aesthetics. We beautified our retail space by painting everything we could espresso brown with copper accents. We brought in more living plants and upgraded our displays & mirrors. We organized every square inch of our manufacturing space. We became laser focused.

By the end of 2020 my interest in hat-making had become an obsession. I had watched every video & read every book I could find on the hat-making process. I was obsessed and curious, two traits that have remained constant in my life. I owned a few mis matched hat-making tools but nothing really. I made a phone call to Wayne Wichern in Ballard, Washington and asked if he would see me as a private student. He said yes, and I started immediately. It’s been 4 years and I still see him.

By July of 2022 we had outgrown both our manufacturing space and our little retail store on Olympic Avenue. Bursting at the seams, we had no idea where we could go, when out of the blue we got a phone call about an old building that was coming up for lease. It was on the south end of Olympic Avenue in Arlington and had never been used as a retails space in it’s 100 years of existence.

It took us 9 grueling months of renovations to get this old building retail-ready. We moved our manufacturing into the back half of the building and our retail experience into the front half. With 16 foot ceiling, old timber beams and 12x12 foot skylights in the middle we nestled in and found the perfect fit for our vintage/western boutique.

Jen Boede designer & maker for FauxyFurr:

Throughout my childhood, I spent many afternoons going to the craft store in Maryville, buying supplies and making all sorts of things. At 9 years old I wanted a piñata for my birthday party. I can remember checking out a book from the library on Piñata making, reading it, digging through my mom’s cupboards to find flour, water & newspaper, and making that piñata for myself.

In high school, I moved on to ceramics. In college, I studied graphic design. During motherhood I found myself upcycling furniture & tackling home improvement projects. I’ve always loved color, creativity & projects.

My sister Jac and I have been collaborating through FauxyFurr since 2012. In the beginning, I would take photos of the vintage coats and create the Etsy listings. In 2020 I started working in production, making Boho Boots & cutting leather fringe. By 2021 I was our earring designer & maker, producing both short & long earrings.

I love being a part of FauxyFurr and building something. I feel purpose in my work here and it inspires me, makes me feel alive.

Today I am in charge of upcyling cowboy boots into Boho Boots, making Boot Bands, dying feathers and designing/making our earring line.

I have been a Snohomish county native since 1981, graduating from Marysville-Pilchuck in 2000. I met my husband in 2007 and have been married for 11 years. When I am not at FauxyFurr, you can find me taking care of my 4 children, enjoying a night in with my family and friends barbecuing, & beating most people I play in the game, cornhole.

Jill grew up in Washington State. She briefly played college basketball. Jills giftings are too long to list.

FauxyFurr has been around Seattle since 2002.

In 2001 FauxyFurr got it’s start buying & selling American made vintage clothing at Seattle’s Fremont Sunday Market in a 10’ x 10’ pop-up tent.

2002 - Jac started upcycling midcentury handbags and faux fur coats. These upcycled items were sold at Seattle area street fairs and the Bellevue arts show in 2004.

2005- Jac applies to the Apparel Design Program at Seattle Central Community College. She spend 1 year completing the sewing requisites for entry into the program.

By 2006 - FauxyFurr was focused on becoming the vintage-boot-mafia, buying up every pair of American-made cowboy boots found.

2007 - Joined the Etsy community selling vintage western boots online. Continues selling boots on eBay.

2008 - Jac graduates with her Technical Degree in Apparel Design from Seattle Central Community College. She is now versed in production sewing, pattern making, and textile history.  It’s the beginning of the 2008 recession and job prospects are extremely limited.

2008 - She begins a new career in custom upholstery learning to pattern, sew, and fabricate for hot rods & classic cars.

2012 - Expands the online vintage store to include any USA-MADE winter coat found. Pendleton, Woolrich, Pioneer Wear, Tweed, Corduroy, real fur, leather, we hunted for natural fibers and American Staples.

2013 - Started renting a 5’ x 5’ space at the Country Rose selling just vintage cowboy boots.

2014 - Doubled our space at the Country Rose to 10’x 10’ selling just vintage cowboy boots.

2015 - Jac and Jill meet and begin collaborating. Their first big adventure was a pop-up shop at the Winthrop Rythm & Blues Festival and vending out of a 10’ x 10’ all weekend.

2016 - They built (with help from friends), a 24-foot pop-up trailer shop. They spent the next 4 summers on the road vending at open-air music events. During this season of travel, women kept asking to buy ankle boots, the feather earrings Jac always wore, and our personal hats.

2019 - Rebrand to FauxyFurr Vintage + Handmade and started upcycling boots, making feather earrings, and hand-crafting custom hats. 

2019 - Expands our retail space at the Country Rose to a 10’ x 50’ and takes over a front window. At this same time, we hired nikki to build our website and help us tell our story.

2020 - We survived COVID-19, re-evaluated our WHY as a company, and hired Jac’s sister and niece.

2021 - In January Jac starts studying under a veteran hat maker, Wayne Wichern. Since then she has spent thousands of hours refining her craft.

2022 - Signed a new lease, and renovated a 100-year-old building in downtown Arlington. This process took us 9 months and boy was it worth it.

2023 - We opened the newly renovated store in April. This new space is 4500+ square feet split between a front retail experience and a rear manufacturing/workshop.

2024 - Jac & Jill worked the hardest they had ever worked, delivering custom hats, refining back end systems, training staff, expanding the variety of merchandise for sale. Learning from their mistakes. We look forward to ringing in the new year.