NONPAREIL APPAREL AND MORE

Barrington Hills resident and former horse trainer Kiley King launched Mockingbird Markets a year ago. It has been a galloping success with no signs of slowing to a trot.

This past winter, the parents of the Barrington High School boys’ wrestling team members wanted to do more than just show up at the Mid-Suburban League Meet. They sought to show unity by wearing the same Broncos Wrestling red sweatshirt—customized and head-turning—while sitting together in the stands.

The thinking behind such a wardrobe choice? When seeing a sea of red threads adorning moms and dads in a bleachers section, the grapplers would get pumped up and rack up pins.

But a local store offering the desired fan wear did not exist.

No matter. A parent contacted Kiley King, owner and creative designer of a new Barrington-based business—Mockingbird Markets.

King got right on it and completed it in a snappy seven to ten days, too.

“I get a request like that pretty often,” says the 39-year-old Kiley, who launched Mockingbird Markets in July 2024. “Another example is parents or coaches of a travel baseball team heading to a tournament wanting T-shirts that feature the team’s name and the name of the tournament. I make everything to order and only use logos I design.”

Mockingbird Markets—located in the Kiddiewinks’ space at 112 Barrington Commons Court—also sells customized oversized Mom tote bags, “drippy” hats for kids, blankets, tumblers, backpacks, equipment duffels, practice shirts, fan shirts, and coaches’ apparel, among an array of other products for middle and high school athletes, proud parents of athletes, and anyone hailing from the 60010—Barrington’s ZIP code, which adorns several of King’s designs.

King’s path to becoming an innovative entrepreneur began with a fear of missing out. Not returning home until 6 p.m. from her job at a dentist’s office often meant she had to hear secondhand accounts or view footage of her four children’s athletic feats.

“I liked my job,” says King, who moved to Barrington Hills with her husband, Brian, in 2018. “I had a great boss, great team. But I wanted to be at the fields and courts to see my kids—Kira (now 19), Keagan (13), Degan (12), and Kaden (11)—compete.” She was confident she’d figure out her next work chapter and find happiness as a mother and as a professional.

“I’m a lover of all things design,” says King, one of five daughters of Dawn, a former self-employed interior designer, and Mike Batina, a former football and track and field coach at Hoffman Estates High School. “For years, I had been a mom hauling equipment from cars and being around the parents of my kids’ teammates. I knew what we needed and what we liked to wear at sporting events, and I knew what appealed to kids who love sports.”

King discussed her idea to start an apparel-plus venture with her husband, who was enthusiastic.

“Brian told me, ‘Do it!’” recalls King. “He encouraged me because there was a huge market for the personalized and unique merchandise I wanted to sell. His influence and support are the main reason why I was able to quit my job and start this business.”

It didn’t take an advertising campaign to attract Mockingbird Markets’ first customers. The King house had long been the popular “party house” for teams on the eve of seasons.

“Barrington is the most amazing community,” King says. “Brian and I talk about it all the time. The people here are caring, supportive, the best. I’m fortunate, owning a company in a special place like Barrington.”

“I modeled my business in part after what many tourist shops in Wisconsin offer their customers,” King says. “You walk in and along the back wall, they have all these designs you can choose to add to T-shirts, sweatshirts, tank tops, or hats.”

This fall, she’ll set up a Mockingbird Markets merch booth at Barrington Youth Football home games at Barrington High School’s Community Stadium.

King attended and played volleyball as a setter at Rosary High School in Aurora for three years before transferring to St. Charles East High School. After a year at Northern Illinois University and earning her associate degree at Elgin Community College, she trained horses in the sport of dressage for about 10 years.

“My parents told my sisters and me at a young age, ‘Follow your dreams. Don’t think you have to find a traditional path and stay on it. Find what you’re passionate about and pursue it,’” King recalls.

And look at her now—delighting future and current BHS Broncos and Fillies with merch that’s the talk of the town.