Kathleen van der Spek plans to open Kspek on Nov. 28 in Gig Harbor’s downtown business district.
It will be her first brick-and-mortar shop, The News Tribune reports, for a beachy, vintage line of sweatshirts, jackets and bags made from vintage beach towels. Gig Harbor Now describes Kspek as her new retail and design studio, puts the opening on Small Business Saturday, and says the Sunset Chaser sweatshirt has sold more than 3,000 at $165.
Before the Downtown Studio
Van der Spek grew up on Lake Michigan, spent five years working for Tommy Bahama in Seattle, and in 2021 moved to Gig Harbor with her family and two children. She has said nostalgia for vintage beach towels inspired the work, and that the town’s maritime character inspires both the designs and the audience.
The clothes have a paper trail longer than the lease she’s about to use. She started the Kathleen van der Spek Collection, sold through her website, and in April 2023 began selling repurposed-fabric pieces through HarborNest. That is more than three years of towel-based apparel before a studio door. She ran the business from home until she needed more space. The downtown room is that next step, not a new label…