The Quality Makers: Angela Tafoya of NOOMOON
Photo by NOOMOON: Founder, Angela Tafoya
Welcome to The Quality Makers, an interview series highlighting pioneers in the direct-to-consumer space. Join us as we get an inside look at the world of digital shopping through the eyes of the individuals shaping it…
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Founded by longtime design and style editor Angela Tafoya (former editor at Domino, Lonny, and Refinery29), NOOMOON is a style-driven secondhand kids’ retail experience in San Francisco's Inner Sunset neighborhood. Raised in New Mexico but based in San Francisco since 2009, Angela created an intentional and design-forward space (designed by Rosy Fridman) that aims to have a positive impact on the planet and parents’ wallets.
With the opening of the shop in August of 2023, the goal was always to keep things out of landfills as much as possible. When you have a child, you are buying quite a bit because they're growing so consistently, so to offer an alternative solution with a lighter touch and slower pace, Angela wanted to extend her passion for second hand shopping into a physical space. Dive into her inspiring story below as we take you through her journey.
Tell me about the creation of NOOMOON.
The name and the shop are really inspired by the lunar cycle. Over the last 3-4 years, I’ve undergone a big personal growth from a spiritual perspective. I've found that when I really started living with intention, with the alignment of the lunar cycle, it just felt good. I’ve started journaling on new and full moons, and setting an intention for each of those.
In terms of the functionality of the space, people bring things in, I go through them and then I sell them, so I liked the idea of harkening back to that through following the lunar cycle. On new moons, you welcome in and then on full moons, you release, so people are getting rid of things whilst new people are then purchasing them.
I love the OOs because it's very playful, childlike and gives me a circular model to work with. I liked this idea of the circle as an inherent part of the store, and coming full circle in terms of secondhand clothing. I was craving an in person experience – a physical space that I went to, with people that I interacted with. It's kind of funny that I’m continuing to edit but just in a physical way. I’m curating a space for people and making sure they feel like the right fit for our store.
Credit: NOOMOON
What brought you into the clothing and fashion space, especially for children?
I come from the lifestyle space, so I was in Home for a bit and then moved into Fashion. It’s been the form of expression that I found myself gravitating toward from an early age. With children’s clothing specifically, there's kids brands that I've followed for a long time and I think there's something to be said about the quality in smaller brands and the slower fashion that it allows. Kids are always moving around, they're tearing through their clothes, so if you have a garment that is well made, it's going to last you longer. Even beyond that, the materials on children's skin and what it's made out of, matters. But the main thing I think about is fun – being a kid is playful, so I really wanted to incorporate that into what we sell.
We sell specialty brands that showcase various prints and colors. Many may not invest in higher end kids brands from a full price perspective because your kids are growing out of them so quickly. So offering something at a lower price point without sacrificing style, is something I’m passionate about. That's why I love secondhand shopping – it's great for the environment and that is super important to me, but it's also great for your wallet.
Is there a certain age range that you follow? It's interesting to think about at what age kids start to develop their own sense of style. Would you say your target audience is the parents who are shopping for their children or does that extend to the kids themselves as well?
It's a bit of both, to be honest. I have two children – a daughter, she's eight, and a son who’s 18 months old. My daughter developed her own sense of style very early on. Since she was 4/5 years old, she’s been adamant about what she wanted to wear, and it’s been incredible to really see that part of her personality flourish, and witness that expression really be vocalized. My hope is that kids come in here and find things that really speak to them.
Credit: NOOMOON
We go from 0-8 years. An older child definitely has more input on what they want to wear and their particular style, and I love catering to that. There was one girl who came in with her mom, and she only wore black and white as her color palette, so that was very fun to experiment with.
I don't know how much my customers are sharing with their kids about secondhand, but my vision is that you're teaching your children what it means to buy recycled clothes. I, like many others, can get overwhelmed in a thrift store, which led me to want to consider two things: (1) not all people love the hunt, and (2) it’s important to maintain the aesthetics and the feelings associated with it when you're shopping. I do believe that secondhand shopping and the circular model is the way of the future, but how do I challenge that in a way that still caters to various audiences? I still have lots of stuff to dig through, but the shop is more minimal than your average thrift store. I want it to feel like a cool concept shop. Although we do have pricier pieces, most of our stuff is sold at a lower price point.
How do you maintain the style and design-forward approach whilst still being sustainable and affordable?
The great thing is that I had a wealth of knowledge to begin with, but I'm really learning about a lot of new ones too. How it works is people bring things in, and then I edit it: I look at the brand, I think about the brand demand, the material, the condition, as well as the longevity factor. The pricing process is something I have to constantly navigate and I’ve come to the realization that it really just differs from piece to piece. Most importantly, it’s about the aesthetic of the store – we’re playful, fun and colorful. Not every piece is necessarily going to speak to that, but when looking through the items, I'm looking for pieces that really get me excited.
What differentiates you from other brands?
My idea was I wanted to take something that exists, that there's a market for, that there's a growing awareness towards, and put my own spin on it. Put my years as an editor, put someone who's interested in fashion, put somebody who has children, in a position where they can take on a challenge of what secondhand shopping feels like. I want people to walk into a space that feels artful and cool, secondhand with a twist. I want people to come in and feel excited about space, about the merchandise, about finding a piece that is perfect for their kid.
Credit: NOOMOON
What are some of your hopes, visions and dreams for the future and the growth of NOOMOON?
I'm a small brick and mortar and I’ve learned that retail is really hard. What I put into it, is what I get out of it. My dream is to develop NOOMOON into a larger brand that puts sustainability and parenthood at the forefront. We will be launching online very soon, mostly in monthly drops, so that people can shop outside of San Francisco. I want to stay local, but think global, so the online component is my way of doing that.
We're also starting to play around with event planning, and having more community driven moments here. I hope that I can offer people the ability to connect in person, especially as parents, in 2024. We've done two events so far - the first one was a pop up with Milk Teeth, which is a really cool, LA-based brand. And then we had another one, where a friend who writes a newsletter dedicated to children's books, came in to do a couple of book readings. We also had Lady Falcon, who's a local coffee roaster, come and serve coffee. I hope that this new year will allow me to plan events not only for the children, but also ones that will be replenishing for the parents. I'd love to host a new/full moon circle, with maybe 10 people in the shop, so that we can collectively think beyond the clothing and towards spiritual fulfillment. And lastly, I really want to host a new mama circle so new parents can meet each other.
Credit: NOOMOON