You can’t miss her as she drives through the streets of Twisp in a bright orange, fake-fur-covered vehicle with pointy ears and a long tail — the Fox Mobile. Hillary Ketcham-Roseland, owner of the Thrifty Fox, part-owner of the Second Avenue Salon, silversmith, creator of fabulous costumes for the Trashion Show, and mother of two, could easily be a New York designer. I caught up with her last Saturday when she asked me to hold the Fox Mobile’s tail out of the way of a tree as she parked.
Saturday, June 7, marked the seventh anniversary of the Thrifty Fox, and the store was bustling. For seven years, Hillary has provided the community a place to drop off gently used items for 20% off anything in the store and to pick up a wide range of goods, from antique saltshakers to designer boots. The atmosphere was festive, featuring cookies and mimosas at the counter, all while everything was 50% off.
Thrift stores and second-hand shopping are experiencing a renaissance. Once stigmatized, the practices of recycling, repairing, and retrofitting are beneficial for both the planet and the pocketbook. Growing up in the valley, Hillary was compelled to thrift shop because that’s what her mom did, and she didn’t truly appreciate it until much later. Now, it’s her favorite way to shop.
Hillary loves making stuff into something she wants to wear because she has “champagne tastes on a beer budget.” The clothes she covets online are really expensive, she said, so she finds a way to make them herself so she can “wear the cool clothes I wish I could afford to buy.”
Her quirky sense of fashion is evident in the award-winning outfits she has designed for the Trashion Show over the past seven years. You can see several of her creations displayed at the Thrifty Fox. This year was the first year she didn’t have an entry, but she judged instead.
The Fox Mobile was inspired by the 1994 movie, “Dumb and Dumber,” one of Hillary’s favorite movies since she was a child. The car in the movie, called the “Shaggin Wagon” because it resembles a dog, was once a 1984 Econoline van. Hillary bought an old Suburban from a friend, spray-painted it orange, and had a friend weld on some ears. She said she wanted to cover it with fur, but “My friends said I couldn’t do it, but I did it anyway.” In her typically industrious and creative way, she hot-glued orange fake fur over the entire vehicle and added a tail made from the metal base of a trampoline.
The Thrifty Fox was born out of Hillary’s desire to provide a fun place for the community to shop for used goods. Customers donate items, or, if she ever takes a trip, she brings an extra suitcase to fill up with her finds. “I shop outside the valley for the glittery and sparkly stuff you can’t get here,” she said. In Seattle, she might hit up a Goodwill Store or shop the Goodwill bins where used items are sold by the pound. In Spokane, she shops at the Global Neighborhood Thrift, a huge warehouse where “all the dresses are the same price so you can pick through them.”
After seven years in business, Hillary said the Thrifty Fox pays for itself. “Lots of people have worked here, but it’s not anyone’s real job,” she said. “We’re here for fun and because we love it.”
She has no plans to change anything at The Fox and keeps herself busy with her duties as owner, creative endeavors, and a full-time job as a beautician and part-owner of the Second Avenue Salon. She recently branched off into silversmithing after taking multiple classes from Nicole Ringgold. The cleverly crafted ring she showed me featuring a rat attested to her talent (and her quirky creativity).
Hillary is a home-grown phenomenon. She left the Methow Valley after high school, but returned and moved away several times before settling down in the Methow for the past 12 years.
“This is where I wanted to raise my family,” she said. “I have no desire to live anywhere else. I love to take trips, but I’m always happy to come back home to the valley.”
