Students launch new fashion accessory

Her arms already overflowing with knitted neckwear, senior Lauren Culp counts out nine of the handmade accessories and realizes that she needs one more. She scoots back through the throng of women crowded into B Boutique and snags one more of the colorful scarves. \nIf Amanda Gibson and Tara Jones' design becomes the next trend this season, all of Culp's friends and family will be prepared. \n"I called my dad and he wants to buy them for my mom and stepmom and sister and aunt -- basically all my girl relatives," Culp said.\nCulp was just one of more than 50 women who crowded into B Boutique for the opening of her friend and sorority sisters' line of scarves, called "The Nic."\nNamed after the women's best friend, Nichole Birky, who passed away in April, The Nic is an abbreviated version of a scarf adorned with vintage buttons.\n"It's a really unique product," IU senior Lindsay Cole said. "You could wear it for function -- to keep you warm -- or for fashion."\nThursday marked the first time Jones and Gibson sold the scarves in Bloomington -- they are already selling in a Louisville store -- and was scheduled to start at 8 p.m. But 15 minutes before, women were already lined up outside, Jones said. Latecomers who arrived even a half-hour after the opening faced slim pickings, as the punctual or early already snagged the majority of the neckwear. \n"We'll definitely sell out," Gibson said, only 20 minutes after the event started. \nSeveral customers noted that the product appeals to women across the age gap. \n"Some of the girls are buying one for their mothers or grandmothers, and also for themselves," said Tammy Gibson, Amanda Gibson's mother. "It looks nice on any age group." \nJones, a senior, had just taken up knitting again when she and best friend Gibson came up with the idea, she said. The two stayed up all night perfecting the idea, and The Nic was born. The two quickly set to work creating their company, Groundless Youth Designs, to market the design. \nJones and Gibson also hoped to commemorate Birky both by naming it after her and by providing 5 percent of the profits to Birky's financially strapped family for as long as the product sells.\nFor now, The Nic will be sold exclusively at B Boutique, 601 N. College Ave., a new apparel and gift store that opened last August in Bloomington. The store offers a mix of designers and unique and affordable pieces, said owner Brooke Magdzinski. When Jones and Gibson approached Magdzinski about selling them, she agreed.\n"I feel really lucky that I'll be exclusively selling them," Magdzinski said. "I think they're going to be huge. They are fashion-forward and that's what people are looking for." \nMagdzinski will offer the neckwear for $45 each, she said, though she hosted the opening, where all scarves were offered $30 because Magdzinski did not take a profit Thursday night. \nBut having nearly sold out of the product within the first half hour of the opening, Jones and Gibson have set their sights even bigger: They hope to mass produce The Nic by next year. \n"This is basically to create a buzz," Gibson said. "We are going to send our idea to Saks and other boutiques." \nAnd if the success of the opening is any indication, The Nic could be the next big trend, several customers said. Culp, still grappling with an armful of Nics, agreed. \n"The Nic is coming," she said.