Hood College opens new gear shop

By Zoe Finholm//

The college opened its updated gear shop on Jan. 23 with new designs and lower prices.

Plans for an updated gear shop began about a year ago, according to Rowela Lascolette, director of business services. Faculty and staff from different departments including athletics, marketing, admissions and alumni relations collaborated to create gear that would appeal to students and designs that would fit Hood’s brand, Lascolette said.

Updating the space to remove textbooks and put in the new gear took six days, Lascolette said.

Chad Chadwick, Hood College gear shop manager, said, “Everybody got their hands into it- facilities, IT, electricians. Everyone really came together to make that turnaround time happen.”

Over summer break, they plan to fully renovate the space. University Gear Shop will pay for the remodel, so there is no negative financial impact to the school.

Hood now uses University Gear Shop for clothing and the college has terminated its contract with Barnes and Noble, Lascolette said.

Students can purchase textbooks and other course materials online through eCampus. Lascolette said the college plans to make textbooks available for pick up and return in the gear shop soon– either by the end of this semester or the beginning of the fall 2023 semester.

Generally, feedback from students has been positive. Chadwick said. “Price point is always a concern for a lot of people, so I think people like the $9.99 tees and certain clothes they can afford and feel like a part of the Hood community,” he said.

Lascolette said the change is not just about operations, but being able to “sell something that students actually want to buy… not only was it not affordable, but it’s not the type of product you want to buy.”