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Fancy Tiger, hidden passion

Local shop gets guys stichin' and gives local crafters room to stretch

By Mercedes Jackson
mjacks57@mscd.edu

“I think it was a little weird that I was so obsessed with it. I just knew I liked it,” said Matthew Brown, a 33-year-old Denver businessman. It started in the fifth grade, and now it’s his business. It’s sewing.

Brown said he knew in the fifth grade that he was interested in fashion design. Not knowing why he was obsessed with the way his pants fit, Brown soon learned the only way he was going to love his clothing was if he designed it himself.

“I was getting kind of focused in on the fit and cut of clothing,” Brown said.

Brown and his wife, Jaime, created the “doit- yourself ” shop, Fancy Tiger, at 1 S. Broadway in Denver, last year.

“I thought of myself as a buyer — you know the one picking the clothes,” Matthew Brown said. He did not know that one year later he would be picking up sewing.

The idea for Fancy Tiger came with an epiphany that led to the conversion of his coffee shop to a place that would be the state of fashion for men.

“It’s not so much men’s fashion — it’s men. They don’t take a lot of risks with fashion. I decided I am going to give men’s fashion a kick in the ass,” he said.

From there, women’s fashion and a craft section were added.

Fancy Tiger is not only a clothing store, it is also a place for crafters to buy supplies and practice their skills in house.

Jaime Brown leads the majority of the craft and sewing classes, which range from sewing and knitting 101, to book binding and zine making. Matthew Brown runs the men’s only sewing club called Seamster.

Seamster started three months after Fancy Tiger opened as a club for Matthew Brown and his friends to practice sewing. It then turned into a club that inspired other men to sew.

The free monthly meetings have two to four participants. Though most of the guys are beginners, they are all given the opportunity to showcase their work in the store. Matthew Brown said he enjoys the intimacy of the group, not only because of the lack of space, but he is also able to get a lot of work done and build relationships with other crafty guys.

“I am passionate, but I am pretty new at this. Most of the men come because it is a club for men,” he said. Ideas, inspiration and sewing are discussed at the two-to-three hour stitchfest. Seamsters range from the beginner sewer to the single dad who wants to sew his daughter’s clothing.

Denver was chosen as the location for the boutique because Matthew Brown wanted to start a clothing business in a place where fashion is emerging. Denver has the perfect elements of a city, but is more intimate with room for a lot of possibility, he said.

“It is the city of opportunity,” he said.

In the boutique, shoppers will find naturemeets- retro wear and rock that intersects with granny’s sewing room in a dark, intimate, eclectic shop where local music is played throughout the store.

The personality of the shop comes directly from both Jamie and Matthew Brown. They want to constantly express their passion for all things fashion to the public.

Shoppers will find clothing from local designers, including Matthew Brown, and crafts by Jamie Brown.

“It’s a constant process of our ideas evolving,” Matthew Brown said.

Matthew Brown said he is focused on getting quality clothing from really talented individuals that design clothing that even he would wear.

“I wanted to find those local designers that are from the cream of the crop and still affordable,” he said.

Over the next three years, the boutique is expected to expand. The basement will become a “full-blown sewing room,” and the owners will have more time to work on designs by hiring more employees. An increase in production and more time to work on designs are at the top of Fancy Tiger’s checklist.

Fancy Tiger will be hosting a holiday craft fair to showcase 25 to 35 emerging local designers and their alternative crafts 6 to 9 p.m. Nov. 30 and 10 to 6 p.m. Dec. 1 at the Capsule Event Center at 560 Santa Fe Drive in Denver. For more information on participating in the fair, or for a schedule of the variety of sewing classes Fancy Tiger offers, visit http://www.fancytiger. com.