Levi Powell (right) converses with a customer during a potential trade-in. Owner, Remi Whittenburg (middle), stood amongst them, providing his thoughts. Thursday, April 13, 2023. (Photo by Noah Keur).
Between their diverse shoe shelves, decade-old minifigures and colorful clothing racks, QuickStrike serves as both a blast from the past, as well as a present-day hotspot for all things modern apparel. While most enter with the intent to either buy, sell or trade, Remi Whittenburg walks in ready to get to work.
Founded in 2018 by Whittenburg and his two associates—Tanner Appling and Tanner DeHart, QuickStrikeTN is a clothing store located in East Brainerd that specializes in sneakers, streetwear and vintage clothing. From high-end Jordan 1’s to 40-year-old shirts, this store offers every category of up-to-date fashion within its walls.
Aisy Nix, sophomore at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, operates a personal business, reworking thrifted and vintage clothes. Nix creates colorfully patched, embroidered, and acid-washed masterpieces out of the “tired” clothing someone else decided to ditch.
Aisy Nix browses the clothing racks at America’s Thrift in Chattanooga, TN. Nix, a sophomore at UTC, buys second-hand clothing for her small business, A.Z. Thrift, in an effort to combat fast fashion through creating unique pieces out of pre-owned clothing. Photo by Stephanie Swart
Her mission is to offer a sustainable clothing option for people in her community.
“Fast fashion [in larger clothing corporations], utilizes child labor without taking into consideration the environmental impacts,” says Nix.
Nix started selling acid-wash reworks in the summer of 2019. Thanks to self-taught sewing lessons, her success and creative progress has grown significantly since.
Throughout her business and creative endeavors, Nix has learned, “the more chances you take, the more likely there’s going to be a positive outcome.”
Check out Nix’s work and business profile on Instagram, @a.z.thrift.
A Rising Rock Production
Stephanie Swart
Stephanie Swart is a Senior Innovations in Honors student pursuing a BFA degree in Photography & Media Art, with a double minor in Art History and Communication at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She is the Photo Editor for UTC’s newspaper, University Echo, and the Managing Editor of UReCA: The NCHC Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity. Swart is a storyteller and truth seeker, and she plans to continue these pursuits beyond her time at college.
