The One Stop Trev Shop is open and is exactly what it sounds: the one destination for all things New Trier. At the store, students can either pick up some New Trier gear, browse through the Trevian Xchange, or even customize a sweatshirt with a New Trier logo of their choice. 

Located on the 4th floor of the Winnetka campus in Room 463, limited-edition t-shirts hang on the walls, various types and colors of sweatshirts are placed on racks, stacked on shelves, and displayed on mannequins, and a variety of New Trier drinkware stands on built-in bookshelves. They even have some 2020-2021 Trevia copies for students still interested in purchasing one.

In 2019, Melissa Duffy, business teacher and co-founder of the shop, wanted to create an in-store school that could provide all students with flexible employment. So, Duffy approached Kari Nakayama, who works with New Trier’s transition program which gives special needs students the skills to independently thrive in the world beyond the school. 

Duffy wanted to collaborate with 266 Designs, a T-shirt company run by the Transition Program, to have the group use their heat press to create the products of the One Stop Trev Shop. 

According to Duffy, the store has already partnered with organizations both inside and outside of the school.

“We sold stuff for Habitat for Humanity last year, we partnered with Girls Club, we have the homecoming shirts for student council, 266 just made shirts for the soccer team,” said Duffy.

To add, they’ve brought into the store the sweatshirts of senior Gracyn Chessen and, for the week of Fall Break, Duffy contacted Shookies Cookies and ordered a variety of cookies to incentivize students to visit the store.

Already, the One Stop Trev Shop has employed a handful of students to work at the store, including senior Darragh Buckley and junior Abigail Boyle. 

Both began working at the One Stop Trev Shop recently with Buckley starting two weeks ago and Boyle starting last month. They were interested in gaining some work experience.

Boyle was interested in gaining job experience specifically in the retail sector.

Boyle and Buckley hoped their time working in the store would provide them with valuable skills for any workplace that they may be a part of in the future. 

“I want to be able to manage transactions for the business or for other businesses, along with getting better at marketing, even if it’s for a hard location or there’s other competition,” said Buckley, “I think it’s an important skill.”

The goal of the store is to become entirely student-run in the future. But, given that it’s still in its infancy, the store needs the support of Nakayama and Duffy.

Currently, employees are working without pay as all their profits are going right back into the store itself for purchasing their inventory. However, Duffy hopes that one day the store could be financially comfortable enough to be able to pay their employees in some capacity.

A unique facet of the One Stop Trev Shop is a sustainability initiative called the Trevian Xchange in which students can browse a selection of lightly-worn, vintage New Trier clothing and buy a piece for all of $5. Duffy explained how they held a drive last year for the seniors to donate their gear to give it a chance of a second home.

The shop originally opened on April 28, 2021, but it was more of a soft opening.

“We had a ribbon cutting on Instagram, but again, it was so small,” said Duffy, “Last year, we actually probably did a lot more online sales.”

Duffy said that the store’s location, tucked away on the 4th floor of the old building, isn’t ideal, and many students don’t know that it exists. opened during hybrid learning with only a fraction of the student body in the school at the time also didn’t help gain the store exposure.

Despite the difficulties the store has encountered so far, those involved in the One Stop Trev Shop are optimistic about the potential the store has and how with the proper marketing and advertisement of the brand, it can become the one stop for any New Trier merchandise a Trevian would need.