FROM JOHN

Scuda was a shoestring tour de force. I opened this business with only $5,000 in my pocket. After the lease, licenses, & utilities were paid there was less than half of that to build out with. Using old windows, free wood & paint, salvaged shutters, discarded retail displays, hand me down cabinets, and lots of craigslist.. a small but vibrant vintage boutique began to take shape.

Scuda was both my first business and my first design project. At the time I didn’t think of it as a design project… I just wanted the shop to look cool. Something always stuck with me about this job though.. it was a remark from the Italian chef/ower of Paolo’s (the restaurant next door). One day Paolo walked in asked me how business was. I sorta shrugged as the recession had started to really affect us. While watching me fabricate a display he said “Forget clothing – you should do this.” while holding his palms out towards all the design work throughout store. Scuda would eventually be sold to another vintage clothing company and absorbed into their brand. Although mostly unsuccessful in a financial sense, Scuda was priceless in that it sparked my desire to create interesting spaces. Also, in an strange turn of fate, it was at Scuda that I would catch a first glimpse of the woman who would many years later become my wife and partner in crime. (She didn’t even buy anything!).