The soft opening of Na Nin’s Bon Air location in May (Photo by Jay Paul)
From its longtime Addison Street storefront, Na Nin has watched Richmond grow through a decade of rapid change for the city, evolving right along with it. As founder Kate Jennings and her team maneuvered changes in consumer markets — maintaining a physical location for vintage clothes, home goods, in-house designs and more while building a major retail operation online and expanding to a production facility — the brand has always had faith in the brick-and-mortar concept.
As of this spring, Na Nin’s reach has spread a little wider; specifically, across the river. The brand’s new storefront opened last month at 2614 Buford Road, a space in the Bon Air Shopping Center next to fellow local institutions Perk! Coffee & Lunchbox and Joe’s Inn Bon Air. “I felt like this would be the right place to introduce Na Nin to people and have a really exciting response,” Jennings says.
First founded in 2009 as an Etsy shop selling vintage finds, Na Nin has gone from solo venture to a sizable team producing a variety of house-designed and -made goods, including fragrances, candles, a clothing line and beyond. The brand moved into its Addison Street storefront in 2014 and gained recognition around Richmond for appearances at markets and its strong online presence.
The new location — roughly 2,000 square feet — greatly expands on the footprint of the Addison Street shop and allows the founders to host pop-ups from new Richmond-based brands while expanding their recurring events and sales.
For Jennings, the investment in a larger traditional storefront is an investment back in Richmond. “If people find us online and they want to participate in what we’re offering, they can have the opportunity for the physical presence, a place to go and shop,” she says. “It’s a nice way to keep being part of why Richmond is special.”
