Mod Haus finding its niche in downtown

Owner: Lynn Loewen.

What: Boutique vendor of 1960s-inspired new and vintage clothing, accessories and curios.

Where: 812 Columbia St. in Vancouver.

Web: www.modhaus.biz

Phone: 360-694-5640.

Wearing a 1960s dress and thick-rimmed glasses, her white-blond hair stacked atop her head, Lynn Loewen surveys her boutique, looking for any dress out of place, any opportunity to improve. She adjusts a sign, straightens a scarf display.

“Is that vintage?” she asks, one of her favorite questions, when a customer walks in the door.

Her downtown Vancouver shop, Mod Haus, carries clothes and accessories curated with 1960s “mod” style in mind — clean lines, bold shapes, often with an Asian influence. But Loewen says she’s worked hard to incorporate the economic realities of the early 21st century into her business model, as well.

“I never want to stop asking how I can do business better,” she says.

Loewen’s last store, Nostalgia Vintage in Bellingham, won regional headlines and news write-ups for its stylish offerings, but even after five years she struggled to turn a profit. When her husband retired and they decided to return to Battle Ground, where she grew up, Loewen could not find a buyer for the business, which ultimately she shut down in 2012.

She learned from that experience when she started to scour neighborhoods in Portland and Clark County for a new location. After rejecting Portland’s Alberta Street — trendy but expensive — Loewen nearly settled on a location in that city’s up-and-coming Kenton neighborhood, but the space did not pan out.

She rejected east Vancouver, wanting a walkable community feel for her store.

“The artist in me just can’t go into a strip mall,” Loewen says.

And then she found the 700-square-foot spot at 812 Columbia St. in Vancouver: Smaller than her old store, but Loewen says she liked the walkable neighborhood, and she especially liked the lower rent.

When Loewen opened Nostalgia Vintage back in 2007, she spent $30,000 to prepare the store. Her startup investment in Mod Haus: $2,000, she says.

Lower overhead allows her to price most of her products at $20 to $30, a level that she believes prompts customers to buy. She also relies on supplier relationships developed over three decades in retail, including a stint as a manager at the Nordstrom store in Portland’s Lloyd Center.

“People give themselves permission to spend $20, and I want the prices of our clothes and accessories to reflect that,” she says. “It’s a new economy, and it’s not going back. My first store was too high-end, but at Mod Haus I’ve been profitable from day one.”

The result: Unlike in Bellingham, at her Vancouver store Loewen is finally able to pay herself. She also employs two people to run the store when she is not on the job.

Mod Haus’ shelves and hangars often include a mix of overstocked clothes from big-name retailers such as Macy’s and Urban Outfitters, obtained through the same networks that stores like T.J. Maxx use, but selected only if they fit the store’s aesthetic.

Vintage dresses, earrings and other items in the store come from a nationwide network of distributors. A jewelry specialist from West Virginia sells Mod Haus a few dozen rings at a time. Hats and purses originate from Chicago. A vendor from Portland, Maine, provides clothes from the 1930s through the 1980s.

Loewen says she prefers to work with her network of vintage wholesalers over scouring the racks at local thrift stores, because of the quality they provide, and because they can consistently supply clothes that fits with her vision.

“The more unique your concept, the more challenging the sourcing,” she says.

Loewen’s concept is one she’s been gradually developing since she was a teen.

“My passion for vintage clothing started 40 years ago, when I was at Battle Ground High School,” she says. “I got teased for it.”

Today, nobody is teasing. When Loewen met with a Columbian reporter before the store opened on a recent weekday, passers-by knocked on the door to come in. Though she planned to close early on New Years Eve, she says it took more than two hours to convince all her shoppers to go home.

“Finally, I had to turn the light off.”

Fourteen months after opening her doors, Loewen says she deems her Vancouver boutique to be a success.

“They always say turn your passion into a business,” she says. “And that’s just what I’ve done.”