McKenna Harford / mharford@skyhinews.com
What Lacey Sparks enjoys about thrifting is digging through bins of worn clothes, examining old accessories and browsing shelves of knick-knacks to find the buried treasures, but she knows that it can be a drag for many who are just looking for quality second-hand items.
That’s why when she opened her new store, Jackpot Resale in Tabernash, she wanted to get rid of the need to dig.
“(With) thrifting, you’re lucky to find something you like in your size, but here, I eliminated a lot of the junk,” Sparks said. “Working retail for years has given me an eye for nice fabrics and high-end stitching.”
Shoppers exploring Jackpot are bound to find an array of clothing and accessories in a variety of styles and sizes. Right now, the store focuses mostly on trendy women’s clothing, but Sparks wants to expand her selection for men and children too.
Even though the clothes Sparks features in her store are high quality, she aims to keep the price point low.
“I want everybody to come in here and instead of sitting on the fence, deciding whether to buy it, they go, ‘This is so inexpensive that I have to have it,’” she said.
Finding a home for her store in the 115-year-old building that used to house Morgan Mercantile seemed particularly serendipitous to Sparks, and it adds to the atmosphere she aims to provide.
McKenna Harford / mharford@skyhinews.com
“Everybody that comes in has been so excited about the shopping, but also the experience of being able to come into this old building,” she said.
It also pairs well with her passion for sustainability. A few of the original features of the building, including the tin ceiling and some glass window panes, remind visitors that everything old is new again at Jackpot.
As a thrifter, Sparks likes how resale doesn’t contribute to fashion waste and promotes a different kind of consumerism. While clothing options exist in the county, they are sparse. Sparks hopes that her selection helps fill the gap without encouraging wastefulness.
However, Jackpot doesn’t take donations or offer consignment, instead curating barely-used items that Sparks handpicks from various locations.
“I struggle with the standard level of consumerism, … that you have to have always new and it doesn’t matter where it comes from,” she said. “I want to be the difference in that.”