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“She’s not from around here.” You would expect Chatham Hellmers to be a “Glamazon” from another planet living in a 1950s B-movie where she has used her superior abilities and feminine wiles to steal a spaceship and return to Earth.
But, she explains, “I’m just your average girl who loves bugs and sea life, pretty things and drinking margaritas.”

To say that Chatham is multi-talented is an understatement. She is versatile, resourceful, and an all-around larger than life character. She is a quintuple threat—she paints and draws, is a makeup artist, a hair and prop stylist, a jewelry designer and shop owner. She’s like the space-hydra of freelancers.

Rockport, Long Island is where Chatham spent her childhood. “It was pretty, but pretty boring,” she confesses. At 17, she moved to Manhattan, which can be argued to be the center of the universe. She attended the Fashion Institute of Technology—“FIT, OMG!,” receiving a Bachelor’s degree in general illustration. Chatham enthusiastically says, “I wanted to be a fashion designer too!” But what she really wanted to be was a medical or biological illustrator, or her dream job of marine biologist.

She landed a job as a window dresser and in-store display designer for Macy’s in Herald Square. Chatham then worked as a freelancer with the cheeky,provocative, out–of–this–world Simon Doonan on the infamous Barney’s Christmas windows. “The apex of my display work was with Simon and Barney’s,” she states.

While living in Gotham, Chatham had the unique New York City “job” of club kid. “I was paid to turn up at various hot night clubs.” She laughs, “I’m as close to a drag queen as a woman can be.”

Beaming herself to Atlanta, she continued working in display for Macy’s, Lenox Square. “I thought Atlanta would be up and coming and hot, but that was a lie,” she chuckles. So, she opened up a store called West of Heaven in Little Five Points, focusing on mid-century modern design and Western kitsch. Her travels brought her to the monthly antique and flea market at the Birmingham Fairgrounds searching for “new/old or old/new” distinctive pieces for her store.

Feeling another need to liftoff, Chatham moved to Birmingham in 1998. She then opened Jinx, her first store here soon after. Jinx was a “hipster must-have” accessory store located in 5 Points South for seven years. Luxe was its Forest Park successor that was in business for a year.

As the saying goes, “third time is a charm,” and Chatham opened her third store named “Charm” in September 2009 helping to make 2nd avenue north between 23rd and 24th streets the new up-and-coming hot place to be.

Chatham is a self-proclaimed “organized hoarder” with an incredible eye. She continues to scour flea markets, garage and estate sales, and thrift stores for unique, vintage pieces that she can re-use, re-invent, and re-purpose for her store. From there she creates one-of-a-kind new jewelry.
She describes her approach as “ready-made crazy”.

Apart from her three cats – Wild Nasty, Chi Chi Larue, and Shrimp Scampi and her boyfriend Walt, her influences are as interesting and varied as she is.
The list includes Dorothy Parker, Phyllis Diller, Lee Bontecou, Elsa Schiaparelli, Warhol, Stanley Kubrick, Hemingway, and Jim Jarmusch. Her aesthetic influences also include 18th century Dutch masters and 19th century Victorian furnishings and accessories.
In the hamster wheel of fashion with its spinning trends, Chatham describes her personal style as, “ I’m like a bag lady with a twist.” Well, maybe a bag lady from outer space.