Children's Resale Shop Kazoom Opens In Evanston

I’m really excited about Kazoom, a new children’s resale store carrying “recycled essentials for kids.” Kazoom opened Monday, July 8th for buying, and to me, the two best things about it are 1) a great location in Evanston Plaza (next to Dance Center Evanston) and 2) no appointment necessary selling items my kids have outgrown.

Kazoom’s owner, Kristen White, agreed to a quick Q&A about her experience starting a business from scratch in Evanston. I first met Kristen several months ago after she contacted me about a community group she and others formed to speak out against the waste transfer station on Church Street.

Kristen invited me to her home for coffee (or was it tea?), and as we sat in her living room while her young daughter napped upstairs, we discussed the community group’s progress and many other topics as well, including motherhood, life in Evanston, and finding ways to balance everything while exercising our passions. In this day of doing everything online, it was so nice to sit down with someone face-to-face.  I learned she was in the midst of forming a new business, and I urged her to share details when she was ready. Here, now, is a recent Q&A with Kristen White about her new business in Evanston:

How did you get the idea for Kazoom? After leaving a nonprofit career to stay at home with my daughter, I was surprised to find how difficult it was to get my gently-used children's items in to the hands of other people who might want them.  Charities often cannot accept the items so that left swapping with friends, doing a yard sale, selling on online, or dropping them off at a thrift store.  None of those options appealed to me.  Many of the new moms I was meeting shared the same experience.  After looking at the current, local, children's resale market, I realized it was easier to sell my used car at Car Max than it was to sell my kid's stuff.  That seemed wrong, and like a missed opportunity, given the billions of dollars parents spend each year on kid stuff.

What was the process like starting your own business? The process has been a roller coaster challenging me to go beyond my comfort zone on a daily basis and also reinforcing the things I do really well.  I ran a large nonprofit department before so much of the operational stuff is not an issue. Launching the business, securing capital, and dealing with all of the related details has been challenging. [In addition to] being a full-time stay-at-home mom with minimal child care support, it has been very challenging joggling the constant time demands of daily parenting and launching a business.

How was your experience working with the city? My experience working with the City has been excellent. Everyone I've dealt with has been so helpful and encouraging.  The Economic Development team reached out to the owners of Evanston Plaza to see if they'd be interested in meeting with me. They met with me and offered me a fantastic opportunity to launch and grow my business at Evanston Plaza.  They've been very generous and supportive and recognized that my business would could really had value to families of Evanston and would be a great fit for Evanston Plaza.

Why did you and your family choose Evanston as the place to live and (now) open a business? We chose Evanston to live because we found housing within our budget and it afforded us a close proximity to the Lake and all the other amenities we love. In addition, Evanston just feels like home and is a great community to live in. I'm opening the business here because Evanston is filled with families with young children who are eager for what we have to offer. We hope that our Evanston store will become the model we base our future expansion on as we grow in to new locations.

What are your dreams are for Kazoom? First, I want parents to come in and leave feeling like we are totally on their side and are here to make their jobs just a little easier.  My dream for Kazoom is to make Kazoom the Buffalo Exchange of children's resale. I want to build a national chain of stores that redefines the children's resale industry and appeals to a much larger audience of urban shoppers.

When’s the opening? We are open for buying clothing, shoes, gear, and toys starting Monday, July 8. Our hours are M/W/F 10-2 and Saturdays 10-4.  Our back-to-school grand opening will be Saturday, August 10, 2013. We will be open four days a week.

What should the community know about your business? Selling and shopping at Kazoom will be easy and fun.  We will buy, sell, and trade, clothing, shoes, infant gear, and toys for children from birth to age 8.  Sellers have several options of how they can sell to us and get paid but most importantly, there are no appointments so they can come in and see us when it suits there schedule.  Buyers will be able to count on a large and consistent inventory of essentials that help them affordably outfit their children for life.

What's your favorite thing to do (when not working!) in Evanston (with family and/or on your own)? I seem to only be working these days but when not working I like to garden at my Twiggs plot, which I've neglected since getting it set up for the season. I also like to cook and make lots of home made staples like bread, mayo, ketchup, sauerkraut, etc...Kind of odd, I know. Deb always teases me that I'm strange until she tastes the food. I also love getting together with close friends to share a meal or just spend the day in the park or at the beach.

What's your favorite Evanston restaurant these days? Sounds silly, but I always ask people. After all, we're the Dining Capital of the North Shore... Restaurants, hmmmm....we don't go out to eat much these days.  We really like Lucky Platter and Lupita's, old Evanston standbys.  The chorizo burger at Lucky Platter with sweet potato fries is my favorite.

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If you’ve started a business in Evanston, what was your experience like? If you’ve been operating a business for awhile, how have things changed through the years? What advice would you offer to someone considering opening a new business in town?

Click here to link back to the original column in this series. And click here for commentary on Race Relations and Historic Preservation.