It's All in the Name

re•volve

[ri-volv]

1. to move in a circular or curving course or orbit: The earth revolves around the sun.
2. to proceed or occur in a round or cycle; come around again in the process of time; recur.
3. to focus or center on.
4. a downtown Corvallis boutique of consignment, gently used, and new merchandise.

When we were thinking about a name for our store, we really wanted something that captured the benefits of consigning unwanted clothing. Working off of the principle of the three R’s, the name revolve was born.

Reduce: The average American throws away 67.9 pounds of clothing and rags annually. Collectively, 2 quadrillion (2,000,000,000,000,000!!!) pounds of clothing and textiles end up in landfills every year, and it is estimated that 95% of used clothing is still usable (e.g., made into rags) or at the very least, recyclable (http://charityguide.org/volunteer/fifteen/used-clothing.htm).

Reuse: There’s a very good chance that your unwanted items of clothing will find new life in someone else’s closet. Even if that sassy shirt has lost its luster for you, just think of how fabulous it might make someone else feel…maybe they’ve been looking for THAT SHIRT for a long time, and you get to be the one to give that little gift!

Recycle: This one has proven to be a little tricky. Textile recycling programs are out there, but they’re most often found in more metropolitan areas. We’re hoping to collaborate with Corvallis Disposal to establish a textile recycling depot here – we’ll keep you posted as information comes in.

So what is in a name? Well, we’re hoping that our name will become synonymous with the three R’s around here. A lofty goal, yes. But the business’ mission was formed around the idea. It’s not new or crazy, but it is at the heart of how we conduct ourselves personally and now professionally. And we think that the word “revolve” fits in nicely with reduce, reuse, and recycle. It kind of caps the phrase off, bringing it all together. And that, friends, is what is in our name.

Some of you might also be wondering, “What’s the deal with the dot in the middle of your name?” That’s really open for interpretation – ours changes all the time! But we always come back to the clichéd idea that change is constant and that we should be ever-vigilant of opportunities to, well, evolve. Our location also reflects a desire to evolve a space: there it was, a rundown and oddly divided space in an historic building in downtown Corvallis. To us it was practically screaming for someone to come in and love it into being! Something about it felt magical…we could see beyond the scrappy carpet and wood paneling, the weird nooks and the smell of years of being uninhabited. We envisioned a space created with intention that would at once honor its history while entering the modern realm. We are so ecstatic to have been able to be the catalyst for this space’s evolution and to have had the support and encouragement of the owners of the Hotel Julian. It is our hope that you feel the goodness when you come in our store!