Fashionistas and fashionistos everywhere, prepare to be forever envious of and inspired by fellow Knight, Jason Hood. Currently, he owns a boutique right off of Park Avenue in Winter Park called Things and FASHION, which has unique accessories and apparel acquired from the showrooms he visits as well as being a Communications student at UCF. If this doesnāt impress you yet, read on to hear about how he has spent time in all 3 of the United Statesā fashion capitals (Miami, Los Angeles, and New York City) as well as modeled and attended Mercedes- Benz Fashion Week. As an aspiring member of the fashion industry, I am betting on your being impressed and inspired by this Orlando nativeās story.
Q: Did you always want to own a boutique?
A: No, I never would have thought I would have ever been in this kind of industry. When I left Winter Park in ā99, I went to work for a few modeling agencies in New York. I started out in Miami, and then I moved out to New York. I thought I would just live the life of a model, and then I figured I might dab into some type of entertainment industry. Thatās what I was hoping for, but once I got a little older I realized I didnāt want the hard move and struggle of moving from Los Angeles to New York. I am not the struggling kind. I donāt like to live day to day. I like to know where Iām going to be and know whatās going on. Once I moved back home, I started to really evaluate what I was going to do, which was about 3 years ago now. I just realized I had to work for myself. I didnāt want to do anything else, so I opened Things and FASHION.
Q: How did you get into the store in the first place?
A: I got into the industry because a few years ago I was living out in Los Angeles. I started working for a news station. We started covering all the fashion news, editors, designersā¦any kind of entertainment industry, and then it just evolved. I got a gig with IMG, and I started doing fashion week. I did Mercedes-Benz fashion week, Miami, L.A., and New York. And Iāll be going to New York in February. Thatās how I kind of got started here in Orlando. I got out of the L.A. scene, came back home, and decided to start some kind of degree. I opened the store because I had a bunch of stuff left over. It really just started off in Maitland. It was just a little closet. It was just like all the extra stuff from fashion shows, front row seats, anything that I was given, and it evolved into this.
Q: Howās the store doing?
A: Itās doing well. One thing with the Winter Park community is that theyāre very loyal. People have been coming back. The success so far has been on repeat. Itās a little difficult to bring in new people, because weāre a little bit off the Avenue, so we have to really do a little more hustling with the marketing and advertising. But so far so good.
Q: So where did all the stuff come from?
A: A majority of the buying comes from the west coast: L.A., and I do have some showrooms that I go through in New York. But a majority of the stuff is from L.A.
Q: What is the best part of working here?
A: The best part of working here, besides ringing up the credit cards and counting up my money at the bank, is just being involved in the industry, watching it grow, bringing in the new trends and new ideas to Central Florida, and just trying to bring a new edge to this area.
Q: What is your plan for after graduation?
A: I would love to finish up my Masters at UCF and hopefully obtain a teaching job with communications in the Nicholson school or if it happens and I do something here in Orlandoā¦ Iām not really a 100% sure.
Q: Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to get into this industry?
A: If itās a passion of yours, follow your dreams and never give up. Once one door closes, another one will open. Just keep on keeping on.
Check out the boutique at this address:
180 E. Morse Blvd.
Winter Park, FL 32789