Cherish Parish

Parish just gets better and better every time I check.


Read on for an interview with the genius behind the beauty of Parish...


Interview with Katherine Kepler of Parish.


NEST: How did Parish begin?
Katherine Kepler: Parish began in the summer of 2006. My friend Jeni Schmitz had just moved back to Wichita, KS from Lawrence, KS where she worked and graduated from KU. She is an insanely creative and talented person and she was just itching to put her talents to work. So, one night at our favorite place to have iced tea, the Vagabond, we started talking about various projects and ways to put her background in textiles and my background in advertising to good use. The result was Parish.
N: What inspires you to create?
KK: Basically, what inspires us to create is everything that surrounds us. Jeni is deeply involved in and knowledgeable about music and so that inspires her to look for very unique and edgy clothes, accessories,
etc. that would appeal to the type of people that she sees a little of herself in. I (Katherine) am inspired by good, fresh and clean design (that applies to clothes, housewares, our brand, etc.) I have been involved in advertising for several years, and
constantly being surrounded/bombarded with amazing and mediocre design has inspired me to reach above and
beyond when creating the parish brand.
N: What are some of your influences in film, art and music?
KK: Truthfully, you probably couldn't find two more different and alike people to start a company
together. As I mentioned earlier, Jeni is very knowledgeable about music, particularly metal and punk (Bad Brains, Municipal Waste, and most recently AC/DC :) while I (Katherine) enjoy indie music (The Microphones, The Robot Ate Me, The blow, The Mountain Goats, etc.) The same goes for film too! Jeni is a connoisseur of horror films while I stick to the
independent films. Still, despite our different tastes, our passion for the things that we love is the same deep down.

N: How, if at all, do you incorporate earth-friendly habits into your business routine?
KK: Essentially, our business is recycling, which is quite earth friendly. Giving clothes, accessories and housewares a second chance means more than just making a cool outfit and enhancing your individual style, it means reducing waste and that's something we can all get down with! Also, as a small business with virtually no budget we have learned to be resourceful when shipping and storing our items. I, for instance go to grocery stores and ask for old cardboard boxes
and use my old plastic grocery and shopping bags as packing material for fragile items.