What was it like and what is the state of retail today?
Those are the questions I keep being asked, as if we have passed through some portal and that I can speak for everyone's experience over every industry. I can't begin to do that. I can tell you what my experience was and felt like at various points on the journey. And I can say that I have shared this sentiment with several of my fellow small business owners. It was the hardest thing I had ever had to do in my thirty years of owning a small business. And it's not really over.
In March, 2020, I closed Imagine Artwear until no earlier than June, 2020. I activated my creative team of professional help. Ellen Banker, my graphic designer of more than 25 years never wavered and was always on message. Jila Shams, Two Hands Concepts, took on photography and store design. Laura Gosse has managed our emails and website forever. We went to work on getting on Instagram and adding an online store to the website. That meant checking the supply capabilities of my artists. Fortunately, since our products are mostly all American made, that has never been an issue. And working with creative people meant that they were willing to respond with creative ideas to help us all through the challenges we were facing.
Kay Chapman in California has been especially helpful. Ela, a New York based designer, kept her studio active despite hearing the endless wail of sirens in the West End in those early days. Calvin Hom at Christopher Calvin in Chicago came up with the best idea. When he called in June and asked whether we wanted our spring order—it had been ordered before the shutdown—he offered to send it all on consignment.That was a kick starter event and the rest is history. Harshita Lohia (Pennsylvania) sent one of a kind quilted silk jackets. Leni Hoch (Philadelphia), who taught Harshita how to paint silk, sent scarves. Marvin and Michelle Schaeffer of Q3 Art in Chicago agreed to participate in a Zoom interview about how their art got created and that was a lot of fun.
Redesigning the store layout to allow for proper distancing came next.That was a challenge both physically and strategically and required the assistance of two strong guys. And I can't say all went smoothly. Jila and I did not always agree on layout issues. At the same time, assessing who I owed what to—payroll, venders, taxes, landlord, etc and what my resources were (cash on hand) and what borrowing from line of credit and credit cards would cost and applying for help occupied a huge amount of time. In mid June, I reopened, with no staff so that I would risk no one's health except my own and reduced hours, although I was still open 7 days a week.
We offered facetime appointments and curbside pickup. Some brave souls came. But, sales dropped 60% that year. Who needed new clothes at that time? Nobody really. We marketed heavily to bring buyers in during the Holidays and they did shop as much as they could because they wanted to support Imagine. I was much moved by those sentiments and that got me through December, 2020.
Some of my smaller buying venues had started popping up as early as February of 2021. After giving the circumstances consideration, I went to those shows. Also in March, April and May. And, I was able to buy a few new things from my reps -- especially Atelier 5 (Philadelphia), Christopher Calvin, Fat Hat Factory (Vermont), IC Collection (Los Angeles), Maruca bags (Colorado) and Moonlight (California). It was enough that our regular customers started seeing new things. Place fireworks image at the beginning.
The Fall 2021 American Handcrafted show was a virtual event and I found some lovely new garden chimes from an artist in New Jersey. I also reconnected with Sue Burns at Baabaazuzu (Michigan) and Chris Paulson at Fused Glass Art (Oregon). Then Carol Furtado, a knitter and weaver from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Lori Ross of Moonglow Designs sent us silk jackets and scarves. Carole Amper of Toucan Hats in New York helped with great suggestions. New fleece and wool jackets arrived from Cameleon (proudly made in Minnesota) and were an immediate hit. I reached out to Caron Miller at that time, too. The shared sentiment of those calls was how wonderful it was to hear a familiar voice after not talking for a year and a half.
I went to Ireland and reconnected with our Avoca rep. He actually called me from Ireland. Will Adamson who made our Irish pottery cottages also called to say hello. On our last night in Dublin, we walked out of the hotel in the Temple Bar neighborhood and stood on one of the many bridges over the Liffey River. There were fireworks! I hoped that was an auspicious sign, like the rainbow and the incredible light in Ireland.