If you can’t make it in person, the coupon code INVENTORY will let you shop with us virtually that day.

“What’s with the 5’s?” you might be asking, walking into our storefront this week. We bedecked our lovely yarn tree, a holdover from our Christmas window display, with a new kind of decoration to celebrate a major milestone for our store: it’s fifth anniversary!

This business is driven by our passions: for fashion, for sustainability and community involvement, and for you, our customers. We’re so happy to have had five wonderful years letting those passions guide what we do here in the Short North! With your help this past year, we’ve been able to lend support to educational programs in the US as well as Trees for Life International, and we’ve also been able to keep over 300lbs of clothing from taking up space in our landfills through our Design Lab Collections. And all the while we’ve striven to offer sustainably made clothing options as well as classic pieces that you’ll keep in your wardrobes for years to come. We’re so proud to be a part of this community, and to have such wonderful customers who embody both substance and style!

Please come visit us in the store as we celebrate this milestone, and check out our latest development: Substance Lofts, retail and studio space for local artisans and designers to show their wares and to give our customers a peek at the creative process.

Thank you for five rewarding years, and keep visiting us as we anticipate even more great things to come!

Some say New York, some say Budapest, and some say…the moon? Why not, as long as we’re just pretending! Our newest Design Lab collection is a group of easy-to-wear tops inspired by travel and the starry skies above, with a dash of vintage flair. We almost can’t describe it without a visual aid:

This whimsical portrait is like something you might discover during spring cleaning in a shoebox that belonged to an ancestor, along with some trinkets and buttons from long ago expeditions abroad. In “Over the Moon,” we imagine what you might wear in your own sepia-tinged souvenir photos, on your own journeys this spring–clean color-blocked silhouettes with whimsical details like scribble-stitched stars and flowers, and delicate vintage buttons, hand sewn here in the store, just for you.

Some big changes are in the works here at Substance, and we’d love for you to be a part of them! In our efforts to support local designers and our love for creativity in the name of fashion, we’re getting ready to announce the opening of our Substance Design Lofts, occupying the mezzanine of our store.

We are currently on the watch for local artisans and designers who need a space to make contact with customers and display their handmade wares. Two retail spaces are now available for rent in our second floor loft, and they need two very different vendors to fill them with exciting locally made products.

Space one is a retail “mini-booth,” a shelved space that is perfect for handmade candles, bath and beauty products, etc. We’re looking to highlight the work of an artisan whose handcrafted products display well on shelf space for this mini-booth.

Space two is a larger Retail Studio, with room for a work table as well as an available fitting room and mirror for interaction with customers. You’ll have space to meet and discuss custom designs with interested patrons and also to display your wares and your process. We love seeing creativity at work.

If you are a local designer who’s looking to get your handmade work seen by our flow of customers in an atmosphere of friendly fashion-conscious women, then send us an email at info@shopsubstance.com—we’d love to see your work, so any images would be welcome.

And for our customers—we’ll be letting you know when to expect to see the Design Lofts up and running, so stay tuned and stop by!

Click here to RSVP on our Facebook page!

With the holiday season upon us, shopping can be a stressful venture – a constant barrage of glitz and flash. But here at Substance we like to do things a little differently. See for yourself how much better it can be and come help us celebrate the unveiling of our holiday gown this Friday. Your weary eyes will thank you as they find respite in the soft graceful folds of brushed cotton poplin, and demure ruffles of silk. Mix and mingle while enjoying refreshments and sipping on a cocktail, and gaze upon our award-winning holiday window.

The Everlasting Luxe gown was lovingly designed and crafted here in the store. Should you fall head over heels, rest assured that is available for custom order. Take a peek at one variation of the versatile frock in the latest episode of The Real i – a monthly internet show dedicated to promoting “creative and emerging” talents.

So stop by this Friday anytime between 2-8pm and give yourself a break from the holiday shopping grind. Looking forward to seeing you!

- Emily

With Black Friday behind us and the holidays ahead, we’re starting to feel the cheer here in the shop—and with a new Design Lab masterpiece in the works, Everlasting Luxe, the holiday season couldn’t be looking more elegant. Though you’ll have to wait to see this one-of-a-kind gown when it unveils on Dec. 17th, our window display is ready to show it off.

You may have noticed us working away in recent weeks, crafting our own couture Christmas tree from a hefty branch, and a full skein of yarn. After lots of finger cramps, the tree is ready and waiting to frame the much anticipated Everlasting Luxe dress in its branches, and in the meantime, it also serves as a symbol of our commitment this year to the environment and the global community, through a gift that you can help us make to plant trees in areas in need.

We are so proud this year have made a pledge to Trees for Life International, an organization that not only plants fruit and forest trees in developing countries, but teaches local people to care for those trees, and to spread the seeds throughout their community. For every purchase you make of $100 or more, we will donate a tree to this wonderful cause. It’s an everlasting gift of true Christmas trees that you can help us give this holiday to communities near and far.

We’ve got some big plans in the works for the holiday season, not the least of which is a beautiful custom-designed holiday gown from our Design Lab! But you’ll have to wait just a bit longer to see everything we have in store—there are several new projects waiting to be unveiled in time for the holiday season. In the meantime, here are some quick peeks at what’s keeping us busy these days at Substance…

As always, we look forward to a relaxing staff celebration afterward at Basi Italia. Cheers!

Our next Design Lab Collection is in progress; our amazing summer intern, Sarah, has been hard at work crafting denim skirts, altered tees, and texture-filled leather accessories.  Check out that sneak peek above!  Look for this yet-to-be-titled collection to bow in the coming weeks.

We’ve been rolling out summer deals this month; starting with 25% off summer dresses.  Starting today all of our Organic 1/2 Sleeve V-Neck Tees are buy-two-get-one-free… time to stock up on this storefront favorite.  We’ve got 2+ racks filled with summery dresses of all varieties, so we’re continuing our sale on those as well and are expecting more shipments of jewelry soon.  Also just in – more handbags!  Smaller sizes, convertible clutches, in both leather and vegan-friendly materials.   Give us a call or stop by soon!

New in-store this week: piles of sundresses (have any weddings to go to?), easy silk and cotton camis, and drapey cotton tees by Julie Park.