COFFEE WITH ...

Away from Factory, fashion couple focuses on their people

By Marques G. Harper
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, March 31, 2009

At parties and style events in the past year, I've been asked variations on this question: What ever happened to Le and Thomas Popov, the fashion-forward couple whose South Congress Avenue boutique Factory People brought national attention to Austin?

The Popovs and I spoke a few times by phone, but I lost touch with them until I recently sat down with Le Popov.

Over East Side lattes at Progress Coffee, she told me that she and her husband simply changed their priorities to focus on family and friends, philanthropy and travel.

That means you're more likely to see her driving her children to various activities or spending time with the family's new puppy, Gomez, than catching her at major Austin parties or placing orders for new merchandise. (For the record, the couple loves music and made it to several SXSW events and parties.)

"I definitely do the mom things," Le Popov, 42, said as we settled into an outside table in the late March drizzle. "It took me a while to not have that high-adrenaline work experience."

While being a mom is her focus, she has found time this week for her other passions, new and old. Thursday she'll support her friend, designer Elisa Jimenez. The "Project Runway" contestant and University of Texas graduate will be in town doing a pop-up store at Malverde in the Second Street district. And on Saturday night, Popov will serve as co-chairwoman for the St. Francis School's around-the-world-themed gala. (Tickets are $50 to $100, and information is available at www.stfrancis-school.org.)

The Popovs' son, Max, has Asperger syndrome and attends the school, which has students of varying educational backgrounds and social needs. "When they asked me to be the gala chair, I couldn't say no because they have been so kind to my family," she said. "You know me. If there's a party, I'd rather be putting it together. Maybe that's the ying and yang to Thomas and myself."

And maybe it was that ying-and-yang style that caused them to bring widespread attention to Austin's fashion scene. Their boutique, which took over the site of Just Guns, opened in 2003. Factory People was known for its parties and DJ booth as well as a list of hipster-friendly labels and designers; many a touring musician popped into the store while visiting Austin. The Popovs closed the boutique in 2007 and now rent the space to American Apparel. At the time, the couple announced a plan to turn their concept into an online store called FactoryPeople.com.

Those plans quickly eroded. Popov said her husband began to consider the Web site efforts to be just as time consuming as working in their store.

At one point, she said to him: "We need to write the orders today or not at all." She recalled him saying: "We can do that?"

The orders were never written, and the Web site closed with little fanfare.

"Since then, we've done a lot of traveling," she said. "One of the downsides to the shop is you're tied to it."

One of her favorite adventures abroad came last year. The Popovs attended Calvi on the Rocks, a music festival in the Mediterranean island of Corsica, and they also spent time in Monte Carlo. She and her entire family visited in Mexico as well, and recently she and Thomas took in the sand and turf of the Bahamas.

"Thomas and I will accept any travel opportunity," she said. "We are making up for lost time. All of our trips used to be for market."

Spending more time at home factored into the decision to close Factory People. Popov said she wanted to be at home during the critical moments in her children's lives. "I rarely cooked for my kids," she said. Now it's a different story.

"This is the last 10 years of me having children at home," she said.

Popov, who grew up mostly in Houston, moved to Austin in 1989. She met her husband, Thomas, in 2001, and 10 months later they married. They have five children from prior relationships ranging in age from 8 to 19.

Despite being a full-time mother, Popov hasn't given up on fashion to wear sweatpants and Snuggies. Let's take a moment to list what this mom wore to our chat: a vintage Karen Zambos dress, a vintage bracelet and a chunky necklace by Austin jewelry designer Brian Crumley. She finished her look with a Christmas gift, her Miu Miu handbag.

She said she still gets calls from designers who are interested opening stores in Texas.

And speaking of fresh fashion, who has caught her eye these days?

"I just saw some of the pieces from United Bamboo," she said. "And I'm always going to be obsessed."

She also named her favorite designers of the moment: Octopi ("beautiful and downtown elegant"); Nice Collective ("The women's [line] is just beautiful.") and their new off-shoot for men, Martin Clothing; and Crate Denim ("Thomas bought some shirts and jackets and really loves them.").

"And I rushed to Target to see the McQ collection first thing," she said of the Alexander McQueen line designed exclusively for the chain. "When you have four kids (at home), you spend way too much time at Target."

With her love for fashion still going strong, will Factory People ever return?

At the moment, the answer is no, she said.

Her husband, she said, is a bit stir crazy and might collaborate with artists and designers in the future. But for now, she is happy at home, she said.

"Now it's nice to see the world a little bit and spend time with friends more," Popov said. "It has been liberating. We didn't have any allusions of retiring with Factory People. It ended at a good place."

mharper@statesman.com; 445-3974