Storm Cellar has been a downtown Moscow staple of second-hand and consignment clothes for the last 12 years. Its shelves and racks hold hundreds of different dresses, shirts and pants. In-between them is a plethora of knickknacks, house goods and accessories.
On a Saturday afternoon, there is a constant bustle of people shifting through each article of clothing on its racks, people testing outfits in the dressing rooms and people sifting through old records.
The signature store is owned by Austin and Lauren Storm who opened it in 2009.
“My wife and I had just gotten married, and I got laid off and she still had a job. She was like ‘If you want to do something like entrepreneurial this is the time to do it because we don’t have an established career,’” Austin said.
From the start, the Storm Cellar was a passion project.
“Like (we’re) not really risking, you know, the life savings or anything, and we loved the idea of doing consignment because you don’t really have to put a ton of money into inventory overhead like you would with normal retail, and we love the communal feel that it gave it,” Austin said.
Consignment means that the store will sell clothes on behalf of a third party while taking a cut of the sale. This helps the Storm Cellar accumulate its unique and one of a kind finds.
“We actually looked into starting it as a cooperative, but unfortunately, it’s a lot harder to start cooperatives than it is to start corporations in the US,” Austin said.
The Storm Cellar was located farther up on Main Street, first opening in the building that is now occupied by Mad Greek. It later moved to its current location on the corner of Main and Fifth streets, a part of Moscow’s downtown culture.
“I feel like sometimes, culture in Moscow can be really polarized. So, our goal, and I don’t know how well we achieve that, is to occupy some middle space where it reflects our values,” Austin said. “But we hope it reflects the values of like a broad swath of Moscow population.”
Austin notes a definite demographic shift between the school year and summer as Moscow locals start to come out more.
“We hope that our offerings reflect the diversity of Moscow,” he continued. “Represents, you know, inclusivity and that kind of cultural neutrality based on the value of extending the visible life of clothing and celebrating the diversity of self-expression and fashion.”
Austin’s favorite item that had passed through The Storm Cellar is a Cowichan sweater similar to the one worn in The Big Lebowski.
“They’re made by the indigenous Salish people in Canada who knit them, and I think originally, they made them as a tourist item. I sold it and then immediately regretted it. I was like, ‘I love this thing so much,’” Austin said.
Luckily for Austin, later on the same person came into the store again to re-consign the same sweater.
“We couldn’t re-consign it. I was like, I’m taking this home. This is too cool.”
Initially a modest entrepreneurial startup, the Storm Cellar is now a key part to Moscow’s downtown.
“Moscow’s small business community is really cool, and the people are really supportive of small business in Moscow,” Austin said. “We’re grateful every day that we get to do it.”
Cory Summers can be reached at [email protected]