Children's clothing outlet open in Sisters

J Newport Company is an outlet for quality children's wear and they are now in Sisters.

While a traditional "factory outlet" is a store attached to a factory or warehouse, today's outlets sell their products directly to the public through their own branded stores. Often the hours are not the same as a retail store due to manufacturing demands.

This is the case with J Newport Company. Located at 473 Hood Ave., Suite 103 (five doors down from Sisters Video in Pine Meadow Village), the hours are currently Wednesday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The hours will change for the winter due to manufacturing demands.

Josie Newport, who has had an outlet store here in the past, has returned to Sisters just in time for school clothes shopping.

Starting her business, Newport/Kidsport in 1988, Newport sold products wholesale to catalog companies and retail stores like REI and Nordstrom's.

"Wow, it's hard to believe 20 years has gone by; the kids who wore the products 20 years ago are all grown up...I'm excited to see their kids in Newport/Kidsport products," said Newport.

Newport, who has her degree in Early Childhood Development, loves kids. In fact, when the little ones are in her store it's a bit hard for her to concentrate on anything else. She's totally absorbed by them and delights in seeing them enjoying the products she has created.

Newport has a family history of retailing in Sisters. One of the first shop owners in downtown Sisters was Esther Perry, Newport's mom. Perry owned and operated Curios & Collectibles, a little antique and oddities store where the Bronco Billy's outdoor dining deck is now. Bill Reed was her landlord.

Perry and her family lived in Bend; her shop brought Newport to Sisters where she worked at the Sno Cap as a teen with Gary Frazee as her boss.

After a stint in Massachusetts as the Director of Newport/Kidsport with The Sigrid Olsen company, who purchased a license to sell Newport's products in 1995, Newport opened up her first store in Sisters in the old bank building at the corner of Cascade and Spruce (across from Soba) in 1997.

"We had a small retail section up front and did a lot of our manufacturing in the back at that time. All I ever really wanted, and still do, is to the get the best deal of the highest quality clothing to our customers," said Newport.

Newport gravitates to a sustainable lifestyle, and that includes her manufacturing company.

"I buy overruns from the mills that manufacture the materials for Patagonia and other top-quality brands. If there are overages that those brands don't use up, I can come in and scoop up the leftover materials (as long as there's enough of it to work my line) for a good deal then I eliminate all the resources it takes to manufacture my own materials, I have the satisfaction of knowing I'm using the highest quality material in the market today, they're made in the USA, and I get to pass on those significant savings to my customers!" she said.

Newport has moved her children's outdoor clothing line, Newport/Kidsport, sizes 0-14, under the business name of J Newport Co. In addition to her tried-and-true products, she is adding Color Wheel, an organic cotton line, sizes 6-14, that is easy for kids to play in, under the J Newport Co. banner as well.

"The company has taken me so many places, but my heart is in manufacturing," said Newport.

The entrepreneur is in Portland every Monday and Tuesday, creating samples, finding the quality materials that make her products stand out from the rest, and taking the thoughts of her focus groups to heart. The rest of the work week, she's at her outlet store in Sisters and getting into the mix of things with her customers.

On her desk right now is a line of swimwear one of her younger customers has drawn up for her, including material patterns. This input is vitally important to Newport. Another young Sisters resident who has worn one of Newport's dress coats for years is quite excited that a new line of dress coats is coming out, because her old, dearly loved Newport/Kidsport coat is way too small for her, with the sleeves ending far short of her wrists these days.

Erin Mulvaney of Reno, Nevada came into the J Newport Co. outlet last week and said, "I'm so glad I found you again! I've bought all my babies your clothing line because the quality is so good."

If you visit before school starts you'll be greeted by fashion diva, Delaney Newport, nine, who is often working the outlet with her mom.

To get on the e-mail list contact Newport at [email protected] Leave your name, e-mail and mailing address so she can let you know of product updates and give you the chance to view the new Web site: http://www.jnewportco.com when it's fully up and running in September.

For more information call 306-9797.