Katherine Martinez, the blogger and designer behind the repurposed vintage brand La Petite Marmoset
confirmed that she and business partner
Ashley Turchin will close their Georgia Avenue loft showroom on January 15.
“I decided that I want to spend time taking design classes and interning with a brand—basically
immerse myself in the industry so I can start over again and do an even better job,”
says Martinez, who is moving to New York.
We wrote about the six-month-old, appointment-only
shopping experience back in
June,
when Martinez—whose redesigned vintage pieces include studded
collars, flirty dresses,
and shredded denim—opened the brick-and-mortar operation. She
had been selling her
pieces online and in local boutiques since 2010, but, as she
told Shop Around, she
saw the showroom as a necessary next step for Washington’s
evolving fashion scene.
Turchin, meanwhile, is starting another online store featuring little-known brands
and indie designers for the District’s fashion-forward set, called Anthom. Her website
is still under construction.
Martinez will keep La Petite Marmoset up and running in a limited capacity online,
but she is trying to liquidate as much merchandise as she can before her move mid-month,
so it may be worth watching the site for sales in the next couple of weeks.
Unfortunately, this is yet another in a string of
local purveyors of vintage clothing
to close their doors. In 2012 we watched local favorites It’s
Vintage Darling, Black-Eyed
Susie, and Annie Creamcheese phase out of DC’s retail scene,
demonstrating the challenges of operating a small, independent
business in our pricey
community.
“It was a difficult decision to make,” says Martinez of closing the store, “but I
want to live with no regrets.”
