Meet Tami Kern, Founder of Kern-1, a Vintage Online Store for Rare Pre-owned Chanel Jackets!
I was very honored when Tami Kern said yes to an interview with Estér Magazine. Tami is an Amsterdam-based law graduate, who lives with her fiancé Ido and their little son Yavi. She decided a few years back to take a different path than initially planned. I truly admire what she has built with Kern-1, a beautiful online store for vintage and rare pre-owned Chanel jackets. As she tells me, “I shaped myself a dream occupation which brings me a lot of joy in my day-to-day life”.
Your online store Kern-1 is beautiful! Why did you decide to start Kern-1?
My love for vintage clothing started years ago at university. While being on a student budget, I found out that I could purchase the designer classics I loved so much second-hand online for prices that were more affordable. I spent hours online to find the pieces I was eyeing for in a good price. I wore them with a lot of care, because I knew that the items would then keep their resale value in case I ever wanted to sell them again.
During my online searches, I came across many beautiful garments and accessories, and I began to collect items that I bought to resell. After my graduation from Law School and internship at Vogue Netherlands early 2015, I decided to open a brick and mortar store along the canals of Amsterdam with a selection of pre-owned clothing from my favorite brands like Céline, The Row, Hermès and Chanel, as well as vintage furniture (from designers like Hans Wegner and Charlotte Perriand). With the store, I wanted to create a physical space where these handpicked pieces would be ‘exhibited’ in a balanced surrounding, and where I could connect to like-minded people.
After a short while, I noticed that from all the items in the shop, the Chanel jackets had a certain kind of appeal to my customers. Most of the people who entered the shop, were immediately drawn to the clothing rail in the back of the shop, the rack filled with Chanel jackets. They wanted to see, touch and try on all the different jackets and I noticed that somehow their posture and the look in their eyes changed right away when sliding into a Chanel jacket. At the time I didn’t know exactly why that was, but it was there that I understood there was something special with Chanel jackets.
For love, I closed my store at the end of 2016 and moved to Tel Aviv. It was there, at the beginning of 2018 that it hit me that I should create a platform that focuses only on Chanel jackets. I started thinking of what Kern1 should be and launched the shop in the summer of 2018. I didn't want to open just another vintage store. I wanted to create a different kind of experience for my customers. The fifteen years of experience I had of buying and reselling second-hand luxury goods for myself, gave me a lot of insights that I analyzed and used to create a trustworthy platform.
Buying second-hand/vintage online often comes with a lot of insecurities. You are never really sure what you are getting. It is always a surprise if the item you ordered will be authentic, and if it is in the condition, fit, color and size the seller promised you. And if that is not the case, it is often not possible to return the item. I had too many disappointing experiences myself while shopping vintage, so most important to me was that my clients would buy confidently from KERN1. That they would be assured of the quality and authenticity. Also, if a jacket is not a 100% match, my clients can return it to me, because I want them to be completely happy with their purchase.
Another thing I noticed that second-hand shops often looked quite messy with a mix of many different types of products, which are hard to display together in an elegant way. When working with consignment, which most second-hand stores do, you are very depended on what people bring you to sell for them. I wanted to create a coherent collection of the most classic and interesting pieces. So, I decided to handpick and collect all jackets myself. Only items that I think reflect the best of Chanel’s design and that are in practically perfect condition, are chosen. Every jacket is pictured for the website in a different way, to do the pieces justice. What I enjoy so much about them, is that each jacket has its own character, while all being so recognizable Chanel.
What does a Chanel jacket symbolize to you and where do you find these beautiful jackets?
A Chanel jacket expresses to me that good things take time. Decades of research, effort and knowledge by Gabrielle Chanel, and her successors, were put into these jackets. She had to find out what shape to give the jacket, to allow freedom of movement, what fabrics to use to make them long-lasting, what details to add to create exactly the right balance to make it look interesting, but not too much. She didn’t have these answers overnight. She never stopped learning and continued to perfectionize her designs by constantly adding, removing and reshaping the elements of the iconic jacket as we know it today, she sculpted the ultimate garment. This effort and time that was put into creating it, is what makes the difference. This is what you feel when you put a Chanel jacket on.
I find the jackets everywhere where I could possibly find them. I spend hours each day to source the best jackets and I am lucky enough to be offered many wonderful pieces by Chanel collectors.
Working with Kern-1, how does it feel to provide women around the world with such timeless and unique pieces?
The idea that I sell jackets that my customers can enjoy for many years and can pass on to their children, and even grandchildren (oftentimes I met women who wore jackets that were once their grandmother’s), is very valuable to me. These days so much money is spent on expensive trendy clothing that lose their value and importance rapidly in the everchanging and fast fashion world, often even within one year. When investing in a Chanel jacket, you know you won’t get tired of it, on the contrary, I believe you will even love it more over time, because it is a piece of clothing you will wear over and over again and many dear memories will attach to it. With every jacket I sell I hope that it is a jacket that will stay in the buyer's wardrobe for a lifetime, and it will become a piece that they can always fall back on.
Your mom plays a vital part in your business. Tell us more about her role, and how it is working with her!
That is completely true. When I started the business, I lived abroad, and all the jackets were located in the Netherlands. I asked my mom if she could send the sold jackets to my clients until I would move back to Holland. The ‘issue’ is that my mom wants to do everything perfectly and she felt very responsible to ship the jackets out to my clients in the best way possible. Back then she was still working as a lawyer and knew only the basics of sewing. Her knowledge was limited to attaching a button to a piece of clothing. She started to study the jackets and taught herself everything there is to know about them. All new jackets are checked by her. She examines if the condition is good enough to be sold on the KERN1 website and what she can do to optimize the condition.
The jackets we sell are often between twenty to thirty years old, so even although I pick only items that were hardly worn, most of the times there are still quite some things to repair. There were jackets of which she had to restitch the complete lining by hand, but most jackets have smaller issues like buttons or labels that were moved to a different place. She takes them all off, calculates where they originally were and places them back. She gets rid of any smell a jacket might have. If a fabric happens to be pilled, she cuts it off by hand with her much loved mini ‘Tweezerman’ scissors. Often when I think a jacket looks already in wonderful shape and is ready to be sold, she refuses to give it to me, because there are some more things she wants to repair. Because of her the jackets almost don’t feel like they are second-hand anymore.
What are your ambitions for the future of Kern-1?
What I enjoy most about having this business, is being able to make a connection through KERN1 with other like-minded people. I love to explore the versatility of the jackets through research, conversations, and collaborations. There are so many projects I have in mind that I would like to execute.
In the past, for instance, I sent one and the same vintage black Chanel jacket to five selected women in five different European countries, amongst them Maria Foerlev, the owner of the Copenhagen based gallery Etage Projects and Veronique Tristram, the Fashion Director of Glamour Germany. I gave them the opportunity to keep, wear and experience the jacket for a few days and asked them to capture their perception of the jacket in one or multiple photographs.
Before COVID I collaborated with other boutiques and design initiatives from all over Europe that invited me to host Kern1 pop-up shops. We were already in Copenhagen at The Audo and did a pop-up shop at Departement Feminin in France. I would love to get back to doing more projects like this.
I would love to know, have you kept a Chanel jacket for yourself?
I have a few. The one I wear most is a short sleeved black linen top with simple black and gilt CC-logo buttons from the 1995 spring collection. I mainly fall for jackets that I can wear often, because they fit with everything. Therefore, I also size up the jackets I buy for myself one or two sizes. That way I can wear them as an overcoat and get more use out of them.
What are your thoughts on creating a sustainable wardrobe?
From a very young age it was clear to me that surrounding yourself only with items that last, that are functional, and that make you happy every time you see them, contributes to well-being. I believe that items of a wardrobe (or interior) should be chosen thoughtfully in harmony with function and aesthetics and should completely fit your style. This takes time. It takes time to figure out what your own style is (not influenced by others), what kind of pieces suit you best, what kind of pieces make you feel truly comfortable and beautiful. Then it takes time to understand where to find these items and once you figured that out, you might need to save money to be able to purchase it. You need to be patient and put effort in it, but by investing only in such pieces of clothing you build a ‘sustainable wardrobe’ full of garments and accessories that you will treasure for years and never get tired of. By that you benefit yourself and the environment.
How does having an online business affect the way you view and spend time on social media?
Currently I almost only use Instagram professionally. I post about new arrivals and speak to my clients, but furthermore try to limit the time I spend on social media and that works out really well. I find it less interesting, and only go ‘online’ when I am searching for something specific. We are currently thinking about renovating our bathroom, so then I like to look for some inspiration. Also, when we are planning a trip, next week we are going to Paris for instance, I am searching for some nice spots to visit.
Your favourite….
Food? I have a sweet tooth, so I love almost anything sweet: cinnamon buns, fruit, almond croissants, candy, pancakes, you name it. Anything with sugar. And pasta.
Destination for a vacation? Tel Aviv. Since I lived there this place stole my heart.
Book? Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. I read it almost every year.
Go-to places for cultural input? Museums. My favorites are the Guggenheim in New York, the Peggy Guggenheim museum in Venice and Voorlinden in the Netherlands.
Pair of jeans? Vintage Levi’s and I have some newer jeans from Levi’s by there Made & Crafted line, which I wear often.
Pair of shoes? My nude colored barely-there By Far boots
Chanel collection? The ones from the early 90s till the mid 90s.
Interior design account on Instagram? @etageprojects, a Copenhagen based gallery, specialized in limited edition contemporary design/art. And @pibsen, the founder of another gallery in Copenhagen. His office and home are dreamy. The light, the wooden floors, the ornaments, the art and minimalistic interior, exactly the way I would like to live.
Skin care product(s)? From Paula’s Choice The Unscrub and the skin perfecting 2% BHA Exfoliant.
