Visit our Brick & Mortar
in downtown Arlington, WA

105 N. Olympic Ave
Arlington, WA 98223

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

Available by appointment

I started buying and selling vintage clothing in 2000 while in college at the University of Washington.  For several years I sold every week at the Fremont Sunday Market in a 10x10 pop-up tent. I loved the market. It was so different that anything I had been exposed to by 21. People making a living as artists & makers, I was so curious. Could I be an artist for a living? I spoke this sentiment 23 years ago.

By 2001 I was making things to sell at these local markets. I began experimenting by up-cycling hand bags and carry-on sized suitcases. I would cover them in Faux Fur using glue & hand sewing the fur. This is where the name “Fauxy Furr” originated.

I was having so much fun at this time making & selling at craft shows in the Seattle area. In 2004, I juried into the Bellevue Arts Fair. I was a young artist and the only one up-cycling at the event. I was thrilled I was there but also feeling inferior to other artists I met. This event really inspired me to refine my skills in sewing & pattern making. I wanted to know more-fast.

In 2005 I started the Apparel Design Program at Seattle Central Community College. After a year of sewing pre-requisites, and two grueling years of clothing design school I graduated in 2008. With a 2-year technical degree I was ready to get to work.

After graduating in 2008, amidst the recession, jobs were scarce everywhere! I was lead to an upholstery position in Arlington. Hired on to cut & sew leather for a small custom upholstery shop. We specialized in hot rods & classic cars. I spent close to 3 years apprenticing under the WORST BOSS EVER. 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 that inspired others to grow, not make them uncomfortable. But that was Bob. He had a sick humor.

From 2008-2019 I was producing full custom car interiors. 1931 Model A, 1968 Ford Pick up, 1978 Datsun Pick up, 1961 Comet, 1964 Nash Rambler, Window coverings and panels in a cool Peterbuilt Long Haul Truck, So many to list. I am curently restoring a 1955 Nash Rambler.

I continued patterning, sewing & fabricating full custom interiors into the spring of 2019 while simultaneously building my vintage clothing store. I split my time, 2-3 days a week on the vintage and 4-5 days per week on the upholstery. I worked long days with very little time off for years. I felt hurried most days.

In 2019, with a small team, we started our 1st handmade clothing concept, up-cycling boots. Basically crossing my upholstery skills with my clothing design skills. Today we have seven handmade concepts we design, make & sell in our brick n mortar.

Then there was 2020. That was weird. We spent 90 days in isolation. 90 days questioning why? Can we be better? 2020 is the year we refined our retail aesthetics and organized every square inch of our business. Jill loves organization, I try to love it.

By the end of 2020 my interest in hat-making had become an obsession. My curiosity and enjoyment had lead me to watch every video & read every book I could find on the hat-making process. At this point I owned a few mis matched hat-making tools and I had so many questions. I knew about a hat maker who offered classes in Ballard, Washington and decided to call. I didn’t want a weekend class, I wanted to be a private student. Wayne Wichern said yes, and I started immediately.

By 2022 we had outgrown our spaces. We were bursting at the seams and we had no idea where we would go. That’s when a little birdy told us about a big old building for lease in downtown, Arlington. The building I had been in love with for years. The high ceilings & old timber beams captivated me.

It took us 9 grueling months of renovations to get this old building retail-ready. We moved our manufacturing into the back half and our retail experience into the front half. 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 fell madly in love. 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, her 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 up-cycling midcentury handbags and faux fur coats. These up-cycled 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 she found. Pendleton, Woolrich, Pioneer Wear, Tweed, Corduroy, real fur, leather, silk, we hunted for natural fibers and American Staples.

2013 - Started renting a small space at the Country Rose, 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 Rhythm & Blues Festival and vending out of a 10’ x 10’ tent all weekend.

2016 - They built (with help from friends), a 24-foot pop-up trailer shop. They spent 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-making custom hats from scratch. 

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 re-hired Jac’s sister Jen.

2021 - In January Jac starts studying hat-making under 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 grueling months. looking back, the kind of work you can’t believe you did 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 manufacturing systems, training staff, expanding the retail merchandise. Learning from their mistakes, a lot of learning…