Fireworks on the Liffey River in Dublin on Sunday night, October 9, 2021.
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.
Standing on a bridge over the Liffey River, I shot these fireworks in the distance on our last night in Dublin.
Then came a major sea change. In mid September, a number of the larger New York shows held live, in-person shows. I debated the wisdom of going at first. But I got an early train and went for the day. The first person I saw was Marla Duran. I was so happy to see her, I couldn't stop gushing. That happened a lot at that show. Our reunions were heartfelt and joyful and one of the best things to happen after a year and a half of uncertainty. I had a long conversation with Sarah Cavender (Metalworks of Alabama) about how hard it was to make the commitment to continue.
I found my way to Kiki Vervoniotis's room (Go Lightly, Connecticut). At one point in our conversation, Kiki asked if I had been doing any visiting artist's shows. Of course, I had not. And she asked if we should do one. Of course, I said “Yes!” Reconnecting felt like manna from heaven had fallen, an unexpected blessing. We had the show on Saturday, December 4th, 2021. Here are some photos. I want to thank the people who came. For those who missed it, Kiki left a full rack of her designs. We did a little research and that's when we remembered that the last time Kiki had come to visit was Small Business Saturday in November, 2019. That meant that she was the last one to do a show with Imagine just before we shut down and the first to return. We had not planned any of that. It was sheer perseverance that has gotten us here.
Kiki’s daughter, Koula, is sitting on the bench—she was a baby when I first met Kiki at a New York show. Pictured above: Koula, Jila and Kiki.
I am so grateful to see Kiki back at Imagine. She designs and makes her sophisticated clothing in Westport, Connecticut
The last time I saw fireworks, prior to that night on the bridge, was at First Night Alexandria on December 31, 2019. I was an early supporter of First Night Alexandria. At first I attended First Night Alexandria as a guest in 1998. I loved hearing Bonnie Rideout, the Irish Breakfast Band and Tom Teasley in those early days. One day I was walking King Street and began picturing many more venues besides the bigger ones that were spread out and left a lot of streets dark. I realized that I had one of those places and immediately signed up to become a small venue in 1999. In 2000, the event was not held. In 2001, I signed up again to host First Night and had not missed New Year’s Even until now. I encouraged several others to do the same and they did. I even recruited my own talent and after that I could choose my talent. In 2017, I said I wanted Tom Teasley and Tom was available. We had such a good time, we repeated the experience in 2018 and 2019.
New Year’s Eve entertainment happened religiously at Imagine from 1999 to 2019. The scene at Imagine on December 31, 2017, 2018, and 2019. Tom Teasley and Peter Fields entertain.
Imagine was dark in 2020. The event went virtual. Then the six live venues that were planned for December 2021 were cancelled just days before. Only the fireworks went on as planned. So here we are. Fireworks in Dublin and fireworks in Alexandria. On New Year's eve, a quick storm blew through and just before sunset, I swear there was a snippet of a rainbow on the horizon!
Please keep going forward and looking up and know there will always be fireworks and rainbows. Have the Happiest New Year Everyone!
Carol Supplee