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Speaker 1: Welcome to the Therapy for Black Girls Podcast, a weekly

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Speaker 1: conversation about mental health, personal development, and all the small

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Speaker 1: decisions we can make to become the best possible versions

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Speaker 1: of ourselves. I'm your host, Dr Joy hard and Bradford,

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Speaker 1: a licensed psychologist in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information or

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Speaker 1: to find a therapist in your area, visit our website

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Speaker 1: at Therapy for Black Girls dot com. While I hope

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Speaker 1: you love listening to and learning from the podcast, it

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Speaker 1: is not meant to be a substitute for a relationship

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Speaker 1: with a licensed mental health professional. Hey, y'all, thanks so

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Speaker 1: much for joining me for session to the Therapy for

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Speaker 1: Black Girls Podcast. We'll get right into our conversation after

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Speaker 1: a word from our sponsors. Strap up your Mary Jane's

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Speaker 1: and stuff your tail forest. Today I'm in conversation talking

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Speaker 1: with two trailblazing black women in fashion. When Sherry McMullan

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Speaker 1: moved to Oakland twenty two years ago, the former buyer

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Speaker 1: at Neiman Marcus was drawn to the community fostered by

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Speaker 1: the area's local businesses, with fifteen years of experience under

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Speaker 1: her belt and a desire to support designers of color

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Speaker 1: and bring high fashion to the City. She founded the

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Speaker 1: eponymous McMullan boutique in two thousand and seven. The all

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Speaker 1: inclusive concept shop for luxury fair featuring emerging and established

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Speaker 1: designers from around the world, has introduced the work of

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Speaker 1: Christopher John Rogers, Peter Doe, and Sergio Hudson to the

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Speaker 1: town for the past fifteen years. In this week's special

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Speaker 1: episode Fitting for Fashion, we speak to the master of

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Speaker 1: brand discovery, Sherry McMullen, about her fashion entrepreneurship journey. Our

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Speaker 1: conversation explores how she cares for her mental health as

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Speaker 1: a business owner and champions black people in the fashion industry.

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Speaker 1: But it doesn't stop there. Across the country, in New

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Speaker 1: York City's Meatpacking District, there's a young woman following in

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Speaker 1: her footsteps, Telsha Anderson. Telsha opened her boutique and concept

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Speaker 1: shop t A amid the pandemic with a non traditional

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Speaker 1: fashion background. Since t A's founding, the shop has become

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Speaker 1: known for its commitment to emerging designers and buzzing indie labels.

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Speaker 1: Stay tuned for more on our chat with Telsha and

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Speaker 1: now Here's Sherry. I'm very excited to have this conversation

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Speaker 1: with you. Sherry, So, thank you so much for joining

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Speaker 1: us today. Thank you for having me. So for someone

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Speaker 1: who has never visited McMullan bouty, can you paint a

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Speaker 1: visual for us? What what can we expect to see

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Speaker 1: in the store? I've heard that it's gorgeous and lots

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Speaker 1: of beautiful different shades of brown mannequin, So can you

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Speaker 1: paint a picture for us? Sure? When you walk into

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Speaker 1: the store, you immediately see a pink neon sign, which

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Speaker 1: is my signature in cursive, and you see that in

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Speaker 1: the front of a pink large wall. There are shades

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Speaker 1: of pink tones and moth tones and sort of a

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Speaker 1: mustard color carpet, sort of the seven Ish field. They're

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Speaker 1: vintage chandeliers. That's something that people really are drawn to.

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Speaker 1: Above our accessories wall or pictures of my family from Oklahoma,

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Speaker 1: we have large blown up pictures of my mother and

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Speaker 1: my g and mother and aunts, the women who have

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Speaker 1: influenced me in fashion in life. Generally, you'll see velvet

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Speaker 1: curtains and paining, beautiful lighting within the dressing rooms. It

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Speaker 1: is a really very inviting store, and of course the

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Speaker 1: fashion is spectacular and we have brands from all over

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Speaker 1: the world. But that's what you immediately see and feel

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Speaker 1: when you walk into the space. Mm hmmm. It sounds

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Speaker 1: like a beautiful shopping experience. Yes, it is definitely say

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Speaker 1: it is worth visiting because sometimes when you see something online,

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Speaker 1: it's completely different than when you actually physically see it

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Speaker 1: and experience it in person. Mm hmmm, I've been, I've been.

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Speaker 1: So you spent fifteen years as a buyer before opening

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Speaker 1: your storefront. Can you talk a little bit about how

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Speaker 1: that experience leads you to opening your boutique? Sure. I

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Speaker 1: studied business in school. I studied accounting specifically, and really

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Speaker 1: it was great at no burs and really understood the

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Speaker 1: accounting side of it. And when I graduated from school,

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Speaker 1: I moved to Texas and I was really trying to

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Speaker 1: figure out what I wanted to do. Twenty one or

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Speaker 1: twenty two, and I was working in this industry that

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Speaker 1: I wasn't really enjoying, and I found myself still wanting

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Speaker 1: to do something in fashion, just not understanding how I

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Speaker 1: could get into the space and what that looked like.

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Speaker 1: Because I wasn't a designer, I didn't necessarily want to

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Speaker 1: work in a store, but I was very much interested

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Speaker 1: in the behind the scenes and figuring out how product

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Speaker 1: got into the stores. I just didn't know what that

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Speaker 1: job title was. And I was working my full time

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Speaker 1: job in accounting and then doing on the weekends and

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Speaker 1: after hours. I was working in the retail stores at

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Speaker 1: a few different boutiques and larger retailers. And then I

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Speaker 1: discovered that there was a program called the Executive Development

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Speaker 1: Program at Nemon Marcus, and they essentially taught you how

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Speaker 1: to be a buyer. And I joined the program. I

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Speaker 1: applied for it, I got in, I left my accounting job,

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Speaker 1: and the rest is history. I continue to work in

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Speaker 1: this space. I learned so much just working at large corporations,

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Speaker 1: and you know, I was figuring out, sort of do

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Speaker 1: I want to live in Texas? Do I want to

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Speaker 1: move and try something different? But I still wanted to

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Speaker 1: stay in this space. So I was deciding if I

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Speaker 1: was going to go to California or New York. And

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Speaker 1: I ended up in California and ended up with another corporation,

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Speaker 1: Williams Sonoma, and I was chosen to be a buyer,

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Speaker 1: a textile buyer for the company, and I ended up

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Speaker 1: moving to San Francisco and falling in love with California,

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Speaker 1: and here I am today, sort of twenty two years later,

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Speaker 1: still in California. But when I was with that company,

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Speaker 1: I started writing my business plan for McMullen because I

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Speaker 1: was in this space and thinking, is this really what

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Speaker 1: I want to do? Continue to work for companies and

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Speaker 1: helping them build their companies. I had the fastest growing business.

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Speaker 1: I was doing very well at my company. I was moving,

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Speaker 1: traveling around the world, and I learned so much. But

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Speaker 1: I knew in my heart that I wanted to do

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Speaker 1: something for myself and create something completely different than what

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Speaker 1: I was seeing and experiencing in the corporate world. So

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Speaker 1: you opened the boutique in two thousand and seven, can

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Speaker 1: you say a little bit about what the landscape look

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Speaker 1: like for black women in fashion at that time? Black

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Speaker 1: women are fashionable icons generally, So if you think about

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Speaker 1: Diana Ross and Diane Carrol and so many icons sort

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Speaker 1: of looking at you know, what they were doing, what

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Speaker 1: they were buying back in the twenties, the forties and fifties, sixties.

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Speaker 1: It keeps going on and on. When I opened in

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Speaker 1: two thousand seven, if you think about the number of

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Speaker 1: designers that were black women, there were very few that

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Speaker 1: you could actually get to. There was no social media

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Speaker 1: at that time, there was no e commerce, So the

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Speaker 1: discovering black designers was a little bit challenging during that

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Speaker 1: time because we were really heavily relying on showrooms when

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Speaker 1: you'd go to New York or go to l A

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Speaker 1: or whatever markets you were attending, really relied on those

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Speaker 1: showrooms too to show you the new brands. And Tracy

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Speaker 1: Reese was the first black designer that I had in

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Speaker 1: my store, and she's a woman, and she was at

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Speaker 1: the top of her game at that time, and she

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Speaker 1: was selling to huge company. She was dressing First Lady

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Speaker 1: Michelle Obama, she was dressing everyone, and it was just

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Speaker 1: such an honor to have her in thet or and

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Speaker 1: she happened to be my top selling brand, and everyone

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Speaker 1: was wearing her, so it wasn't just black women who

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Speaker 1: were supporting her, was everyone who was buying her clothing.

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Speaker 1: And I found myself wanting to bring more black designers

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Speaker 1: to the forefront because I just had a really hard

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Speaker 1: time finding them. And it became sort of my mission

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Speaker 1: to discover emerging, brand new talent and especially designers of color,

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Speaker 1: and make them accessible to people who wanted to discover

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Speaker 1: those brands. I love bit, yes, And can you say

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Speaker 1: a little bit about the evolution that you've seen now

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Speaker 1: fifteen years later. Well, there's definitely been an evolution over

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Speaker 1: the last fifteen years that I've had the business. I

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Speaker 1: would say the last five years, especially maybe even two

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Speaker 1: or three years. Really we're seeing more black designers on

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Speaker 1: the forefront thanks to organizations like Black and Fashion Council,

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Speaker 1: the fifteen Percent Pledge, even the c f d A

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Speaker 1: who's been really instrumental and putting more black designers in

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Speaker 1: the forefront and making them more accessible to other retailers.

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Speaker 1: For a really long time, we were the one. We

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Speaker 1: were the store to go to to discover those brands,

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Speaker 1: and now you're finding brands at stores from Anthropology all

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Speaker 1: the way to Birg Dwarf's and of course McMullan. You

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Speaker 1: will always find lots of different brands from designers of

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Speaker 1: color and all over the world. So we've definitely seen

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Speaker 1: a shift in definitely more desire and hunger to find

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Speaker 1: those brands. Mm hmmm. Yeah. I've been, you know, kind

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Speaker 1: of stalking the Instagram for the store for sometime now,

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Speaker 1: and so I love seeing like the telephon that you

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Speaker 1: have on displaying in Hanifa. You know, so you really

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Speaker 1: have done an excellent job. I think of showcasing some

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Speaker 1: very new talent. Yes, yes, that's something that I'm most

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Speaker 1: passionate about is the discovery, and that's what we're known for.

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Speaker 1: People come to us because they want to know who's

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Speaker 1: new and who should be wearing. We're, you know, considered

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Speaker 1: a tastemaker in that regard where people are looking for

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Speaker 1: what's new and hot and who should I be wearing?

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Speaker 1: And I'm like, you should wear right right? I love it.

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Speaker 1: I love it. So we talk a lot about the

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Speaker 1: excitement and the power of owning a business, but I

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Speaker 1: don't think we always talk about the stress and the

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Speaker 1: mental health impact that comes with entrepreneurship and owning a business.

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Speaker 1: Can you talk a little bit about what has been

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Speaker 1: most difficult for you, maybe mental health wise or stress

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Speaker 1: wise in terms of running a business well being an entrepreneur.

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Speaker 1: I would say it's not for everyone. You have to

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Speaker 1: really know that they're going to be a lot of

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Speaker 1: sacrifices along the way, and not just financial sacrifices, you know,

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Speaker 1: a lot of personal sacrifices. It's a constant grind really

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Speaker 1: every day, even fifteen years in. I mean, I work

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Speaker 1: every single day. I do take the time off when

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Speaker 1: I need to, because it is really all consuming. You

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Speaker 1: have a business, especially when you are the sole owner

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Speaker 1: and you don't have other partners, and I have had

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Speaker 1: to find balance in whatever balance is, you know, I

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Speaker 1: don't know if the balance really exists, but I've had

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Speaker 1: to find ways to really take time off from the

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Speaker 1: business and allow myself the space and time to take

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Speaker 1: in the day and wake up with setting intentions for

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Speaker 1: the day and what I want to do, and just

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Speaker 1: taking moments for myself and just for my mental well being,

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Speaker 1: waking up full of gratitude for just existing and and

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Speaker 1: being able to wake up in the morning and being

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Speaker 1: able to have a business that I love and enjoy,

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Speaker 1: and going for walks and taking twenty minutes even in

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Speaker 1: fifteen minutes just to meditate and have quiet time before

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Speaker 1: I get my son up or before I get on Instagram,

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Speaker 1: or before I even start breakfast for him. Like it's

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Speaker 1: so important to block off that time for myself because

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Speaker 1: for so long I didn't. I would wake up to work,

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Speaker 1: I would go to sleep to work. And we have

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Speaker 1: to find the balance in some way to make sure

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Speaker 1: that we're taking care of ourselves first and foremost, because

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Speaker 1: it can be all consuming. Yeah yeah, I mean, and

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Speaker 1: you know you talk about like, is balance even real?

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Speaker 1: I don't agree with you, Like I don't know that

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Speaker 1: it is right, because there will be times that work

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Speaker 1: calls more, there will be times that mothering calls for more.

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Speaker 1: So it really is kind of like, Okay, what needs

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Speaker 1: my attention and priority right now? That's right, that's right. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: you know, that's exactly how I feel. And I have

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Speaker 1: a young son who requires, you know, all of my

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Speaker 1: attention and I want to be present for him when

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Speaker 1: he's here. So he goes to school, so when I

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Speaker 1: pick him up and at night, my time is with him.

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Speaker 1: It's not working. My team understands that and respects that

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Speaker 1: if there's emergencies, they have someone else they can contact now,

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Speaker 1: but it did take some time to get to that place.

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Speaker 1: And for me, it's like I have to set boundaries

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Speaker 1: and I have blocks of time on my schedule where

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Speaker 1: people can't reach me, and you know, that's my time,

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Speaker 1: and I have it blocked off for an hour every

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Speaker 1: morning and it says exercise, but that that time could

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Speaker 1: be spent doing anything. It just means that I'm not

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Speaker 1: taking any meetings and you can't schedule any time during

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Speaker 1: that time. Mm hmmm. So you mentioned practicing gratitude. Is

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Speaker 1: that something you do formally, Like, do you keep a

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Speaker 1: gratitude journal or is it more just kind of a

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Speaker 1: you know, talking to yourself or talking out loud kind

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Speaker 1: of thing. You know, I've journaled for years. I don't

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Speaker 1: do it as much, but I do keep great notes

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Speaker 1: of sort of my thoughts in my day. It's all

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Speaker 1: sort of in one personal and business binder that I

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Speaker 1: have it logged by day. But for me, it is

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Speaker 1: really just taking just the mental time. I'm not looking

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Speaker 1: at my phone when I first wake up, I have

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Speaker 1: a beautiful view, so taking that in in the morning

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Speaker 1: and just feeling so grateful for you know, being here,

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Speaker 1: for existing. So for me, those are those moments of

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Speaker 1: practicing gratitude. So what do you think makes pursuing a

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Speaker 1: career in luxury fashion different for Black women? What makes

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Speaker 1: it different? Well, I mean I think just generally for

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Speaker 1: black women, we are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs,

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Speaker 1: and not necessarily in the fashion space, but in just

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Speaker 1: generally business owners. I think one of our biggest challenges

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Speaker 1: that we face as black women entrepreneurs is that we

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Speaker 1: don't necessarily get the funding that we need to sustain

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Speaker 1: in our businesses and keep going. So black women, we

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Speaker 1: will make sure that our families are taken care of,

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Speaker 1: our communities are taken care of. It is just something

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Speaker 1: in us that we are nurturers and we lift people up.

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Speaker 1: We lift up everyone, and many times we are left

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Speaker 1: out of resources and being able to have these conversations

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Speaker 1: around finance. Like my friends and I now, like we

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Speaker 1: we get together, we talk about money. You know, I

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Speaker 1: think a lot of times, like black women, we shy

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Speaker 1: away from those conversations around investing and ownership and you know,

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Speaker 1: we're talking about a lot of different things. But I

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Speaker 1: think it's really important that we talk about how we

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Speaker 1: can create things for ourselves and have long lasting businesses.

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Speaker 1: It's really important to have that because we have for

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Speaker 1: a long time been left out of that conversation and

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Speaker 1: it's something that we have to really demand. Being a

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Speaker 1: business owner, it has probably been my biggest challenge. You know,

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Speaker 1: there have been a lot of things that I've been

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Speaker 1: up against, but getting funding for the business has been

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Speaker 1: by far from the very beginning. The biggest obstacle and

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Speaker 1: it's really growth. We have a solid business and I

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Speaker 1: make sure that we're good and we're solid, but how

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Speaker 1: do we get to the next level? And I mean

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Speaker 1: like really big growth because many times it's like, how

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Speaker 1: dare you? Black woman? You know want so much more

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Speaker 1: for yourself, especially as a single black person. You know,

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Speaker 1: I'm not married. I have gone to banks and they're like,

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Speaker 1: is someone supporting you? Do you have someone co signing?

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Speaker 1: Do you have a husband, you have a partner? You know?

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Speaker 1: Do you have a father? I mean all of these

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Speaker 1: questions and I'm like, I'm an adult, I'm actually a

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Speaker 1: grown woman, and I have to answer these questions. Still

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Speaker 1: I'm like, no, it's just me. But yeah, it's just

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Speaker 1: we still have so far to go, but we have

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Speaker 1: to keep having these conversations and demanding that we get

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Speaker 1: taken seriously in the business space. More from our conversation

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Speaker 1: at for the break, So you mentioned getting more comfortable

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Speaker 1: talking with your friends and colleagues about money. Is there

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Speaker 1: any financial advice that you received recently that has been

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Speaker 1: incredibly helpful in running your business or sustaining it, you know,

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Speaker 1: and running the business I do have really good mentors

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Speaker 1: and advisors, and you know, I've always been told sort

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Speaker 1: of asked for a lot more than you actually need.

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Speaker 1: Many times we're like, we'll just accept something because it's like, oh, well,

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Speaker 1: someone's giving me something, so I might as well accepted.

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Speaker 1: And now I'm like, am I going to spend this

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Speaker 1: many hours for a very little amount of whether it's

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Speaker 1: money or resources, when I could be spending the same

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Speaker 1: amount of time focusing on organizations or businesses or you know,

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Speaker 1: whatever it is, whether it's bcs or whatever, it is

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Speaker 1: getting a lot more. You know, I don't want to

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Speaker 1: accept just a little bit because someone is offering it.

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Speaker 1: You know, I'd rather wait, we talk about that and

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Speaker 1: sort of not accepting less than your worth. Or if

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Speaker 1: someone is saying, Jerry, can you work with me on

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Speaker 1: styling or doing this, and that I really have to

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Speaker 1: weigh out is this going to be worth my time?

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Speaker 1: And many times I have to say no to things

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Speaker 1: because I cannot give to everyone all the time and

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Speaker 1: then have very little for myself or very little for

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Speaker 1: my family at the end of it. It's like, is

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Speaker 1: this going to get me to the goal at hand?

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Speaker 1: I set real goals for myself and for my business

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Speaker 1: every single year, and I have to think about every

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Speaker 1: decision like, Okay, does this get me to my goal?

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Speaker 1: How much time am I going to put into this

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Speaker 1: that's going to ultimately get me to my goal? So

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Speaker 1: there are those thoughts that I go and most times

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Speaker 1: I'm saying no to things. M hmmm. You know, Jerry,

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Speaker 1: that sounds like a very seasoned business owner. And I'm thinking,

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Speaker 1: you know, to myself, like it feels like it takes

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Speaker 1: a while to get to that place in business. What

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Speaker 1: kinds of things do you feel like really helped you

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Speaker 1: get to that place where you were able to set

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Speaker 1: those kinds of boundaries. You know, it takes a while

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Speaker 1: to get there. For me, I was just figuring out

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Speaker 1: in the beginning, I didn't have a brand, we didn't

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Speaker 1: have social media. We're getting very little pressed in the

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Speaker 1: beginning because we're also sort of away from New York

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Speaker 1: where all the editors and magazines and publications were, so

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Speaker 1: I felt like I had to work a little bit

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Speaker 1: harder to just get our name out there. So I

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Speaker 1: was saying yes, just so many different things, and then

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Speaker 1: you get to a place where you're like, Okay, I'm

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Speaker 1: recognized I have a brand that is established, and I'm

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Speaker 1: able to pick and choose what I want to participate

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Speaker 1: in fifteen years in with my company, and my calendar

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Speaker 1: is always busy. But Eve and I was just thinking

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Speaker 1: right before I got on this call, I said, do

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Speaker 1: I have a window on Friday? Because I'm going to

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Speaker 1: go and get a massage. I'm going to get a

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Speaker 1: massage and I'm going to block off my day. I

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Speaker 1: have a couple of things in the morning at my

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Speaker 1: son's school, and then the rest of the day I'm

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Speaker 1: blocking off. And so I think you just get to

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Speaker 1: that place where you just say it's going to get handled.

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Speaker 1: Someone else can manage it. I don't have to do everything.

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Speaker 1: That's why I have a team now, and I can

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Speaker 1: say no to things and say yes to things that

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Speaker 1: are really going to move the company forward or things

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Speaker 1: that I'm most passionate about. Those are the things that

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Speaker 1: I want to do. It just takes time to that place,

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Speaker 1: right right, So, after your thirty plus year it feels

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Speaker 1: like career in the fashion industry, what are some things

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Speaker 1: that you still love? What still brings you joy about

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Speaker 1: being in this industry? Oh gosh, I love working with designers.

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Speaker 1: I love discovering new brands, having conversations with the artists

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Speaker 1: behind the company and the brands, getting to know them,

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Speaker 1: and many times like helping launch their careers and their

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Speaker 1: brands by giving them a platform to showcase their product

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Speaker 1: and watching those brands grow. I love working with our clients,

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Speaker 1: hearing their stories and how good they felt wearing McMullen,

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Speaker 1: whether it's them having a panel conversation, or they're on

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Speaker 1: stage or their promotion and they want to refresh, or

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Speaker 1: they bought something to where to an interview when they

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Speaker 1: got that job, or our customers who daughters or sons

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Speaker 1: are getting married and they're looking for the perfect dress

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Speaker 1: for the wedding occasion. I mean, there's so many stories

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Speaker 1: that we have. You have a client who's with me

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Speaker 1: from the very beginning, our first person who purchased from us,

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Speaker 1: she's still a client today, and she bought this Tracy

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Speaker 1: Reese beat at Capelet for an event that she had

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Speaker 1: and she yeah, always talks about that and how good

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Speaker 1: she felt in it, and she still owns that piece

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Speaker 1: to this day. So those are really special things and

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Speaker 1: it's really why I continue to do what I do,

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Speaker 1: helping discover brands, develop them, mentor them, investing in them

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Speaker 1: in a real way, and then our customers making sure

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Speaker 1: that they're taken care of. And I love when young

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Speaker 1: women and men are interested in working for McMullin. And

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Speaker 1: many times they followed us for a long time and

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Speaker 1: they love what we're doing and what we stand for

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Speaker 1: and they want to be a part of it. And

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Speaker 1: when they're like excited to share with me a designer

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Speaker 1: that they've discovered on their own, and I love those

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Speaker 1: moments and I feel like we're doing something right if

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Speaker 1: we are training that next generation to do the same

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Speaker 1: things that are making them happy and the discovery mm hmmm.

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Speaker 1: So for this episode, we're also speaking with Tilsha Anderson

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Speaker 1: and she definitely named you as an inspiration, so it

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Speaker 1: feels like it is very much a part of your

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Speaker 1: ethos to to really be mentoring and opening the door

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Speaker 1: for the next generation of people who are owning boutiques

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Speaker 1: and things like that. Yes, I love her and we

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Speaker 1: met for the first time in person. I think it

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Speaker 1: was last year a party after the CFDA Awards, and

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Speaker 1: I just hugged her and held her face and really

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Speaker 1: it was really special. I love what she's doing and

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Speaker 1: what she's creating for herself. Yeah, she's doing an amazing job.

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Speaker 1: So what's something on your vision board for your career

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Speaker 1: that you have not done yet. Well, we are focused

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Speaker 1: on growth in both the physical space and the e

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Speaker 1: commerce space, So right now I'm very much focused on

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Speaker 1: that and raising money for that part of the business.

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Speaker 1: We are opening a distribution center which is really exciting

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Speaker 1: and it hasn't even been announced yet, but we are

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Speaker 1: opening a ten thousand square feet distribution center in West Oakland,

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Speaker 1: and we'll be able to hire more people, which is

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Speaker 1: really exciting and higher within the community. And then really

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Speaker 1: continue to grow that part of the business that exploded

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Speaker 1: in the last three years and be able to get

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Speaker 1: our product out faster to customers and so forth. And

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Speaker 1: then we're doing these pop ups in locations. So I'm

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Speaker 1: just really focused on that and growing and expanding our

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Speaker 1: brand in that way through experiences as well as product offering.

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Speaker 1: I mean, that's something that we'll always do, is continue

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Speaker 1: to shine the light on new designers, black designers, emerging brands,

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Speaker 1: female designers. Yeah. So can you talk a little bit

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Speaker 1: about and you've mentioned this before, you know, New York

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Speaker 1: I think typically a scene as the place where you

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Speaker 1: are when you're growing fashion brands. But you have it

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Speaker 1: sounds like been very committed to staying in California and

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Speaker 1: in Oakland specifically. Can you talk a little bit about

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Speaker 1: that decision. Sure, I mean I moved two years ago

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Speaker 1: to California and I was living in San Francisco, and

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Speaker 1: I found myself being drawn to Oakland and the warm climate.

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Speaker 1: It was definitely warmer here, but also just the people.

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Speaker 1: There was this strong sense of community here. I found

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Speaker 1: that the small businesses have been around for a long time,

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Speaker 1: people were supporting them. It just felt right for me

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Speaker 1: to be in a city that at the time when

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Speaker 1: I moved, there were so many more black people who

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Speaker 1: lived here, and it just felt like a great community

432
00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:34,560
Speaker 1: that I wanted to raise my family at a certain

433
00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:36,879
Speaker 1: point in time. I didn't have children at that time,

434
00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:43,639
Speaker 1: and my friends were here. Beautiful lake, beautiful buildings, architecture, obviously,

435
00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:46,479
Speaker 1: so much history here. It just felt right for us

436
00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:50,399
Speaker 1: to be here. Mm hmmm. So you mentioned that you

437
00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:54,560
Speaker 1: take pride in kind of introducing others to new up

438
00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:56,840
Speaker 1: and coming people. So who do you have your eye

439
00:26:56,880 --> 00:26:59,879
Speaker 1: own right now and what are some black owned fashion

440
00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:02,960
Speaker 1: brands that we can spend our money on. Christopher John

441
00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:07,159
Speaker 1: Rogers is a deer and one of my favorite brands.

442
00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:12,320
Speaker 1: Were actually the first retailer to pick up Christopher's line

443
00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:18,240
Speaker 1: back in nine, twenty nineteen. But I also love brands

444
00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:22,120
Speaker 1: like ASHLEYN. Camps. She is a wonderful nitwear designer that

445
00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:27,960
Speaker 1: we also introduced first to the retail space. And hard

446
00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:32,960
Speaker 1: Well God Free Jewelry. She has an amazing luxury fine

447
00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:36,880
Speaker 1: jewelry line. She's based in the Bay Area as well.

448
00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:41,920
Speaker 1: Black Woman Diotima is a brand. Rachel Scott is the designer,

449
00:27:42,119 --> 00:27:46,119
Speaker 1: but she is Jamaican and she does she has a

450
00:27:46,119 --> 00:27:50,480
Speaker 1: lot of hand crocheted pieces from Jamaica that are crocheted

451
00:27:50,480 --> 00:27:54,320
Speaker 1: by artisans in Kingston and she is very committed to

452
00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:58,439
Speaker 1: including that in her work. So those are a few.

453
00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:03,160
Speaker 1: We have a list of amazing designers, but those come

454
00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:07,080
Speaker 1: to mind first. There's also like no Mia Yara Flynn

455
00:28:07,359 --> 00:28:10,720
Speaker 1: is a designer we've had for almost a decade now.

456
00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:14,040
Speaker 1: She's based in New York, but she really focuses on

457
00:28:14,119 --> 00:28:19,239
Speaker 1: sustainability and just doing like timeless pieces. She is an

458
00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:24,240
Speaker 1: amazing woman. She's two women in her space and she's

459
00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:28,800
Speaker 1: doing so much herself still, but she's just an incredible

460
00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:32,080
Speaker 1: person that I love supporting and working with. Thank you.

461
00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:33,840
Speaker 1: I hadn't heard of any of these, so I'm very

462
00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:35,760
Speaker 1: excited to do a little bit more digging into all

463
00:28:35,760 --> 00:28:41,120
Speaker 1: of these great fines. Yeah, you would love them. So

464
00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:44,200
Speaker 1: a fun question for you. If you could only go

465
00:28:44,360 --> 00:28:47,360
Speaker 1: to one fashion week? Which shows? Would you go to

466
00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:53,440
Speaker 1: New York, London, Milan or Pears? Can I pick something else? Yes,

467
00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:58,360
Speaker 1: of course, because I've been to all of them. I

468
00:28:58,440 --> 00:29:01,880
Speaker 1: would select like Is Fashion Week because I have not

469
00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:04,560
Speaker 1: been yet and I've been dying to go the last

470
00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:07,280
Speaker 1: couple of years, but because of the pandemic, I haven't

471
00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:11,040
Speaker 1: been able to go. I'm hoping in October. But the

472
00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:17,719
Speaker 1: number of like just talented artisans, designers based in the

473
00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:21,920
Speaker 1: continent generally and they show at Lago's Fashion Week is

474
00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:28,120
Speaker 1: just incredible. We have three designers from Ghana and from Nigeria,

475
00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:34,040
Speaker 1: so combined from the store and the most incredible bead

476
00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:40,080
Speaker 1: work and hand dying, the textiles are just incredible, most

477
00:29:40,280 --> 00:29:44,520
Speaker 1: exquisite pieces. And if you want sustainable product like that

478
00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:48,719
Speaker 1: is the most sustainable pieces of garments that you can get.

479
00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:52,600
Speaker 1: It's slow fashion. You know, it may take you eight

480
00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:55,240
Speaker 1: months to a year to get a piece, but when

481
00:29:55,280 --> 00:29:58,080
Speaker 1: you get it, you're like, I'm cherishing this forever. Now

482
00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:00,640
Speaker 1: I understand why it took so long, because of the

483
00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:03,840
Speaker 1: amount of love and work that has gone into it.

484
00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:07,320
Speaker 1: So I would say that's probably where I would go.

485
00:30:07,480 --> 00:30:15,440
Speaker 1: And after that, Paris my heart. I love Paris. Are

486
00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:19,120
Speaker 1: there any other international areas that you kind of have

487
00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:22,480
Speaker 1: your eye on? Copenhagen is I've been to Copenhagen Fashion

488
00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:25,360
Speaker 1: Week as well, but it's just it's a really, really

489
00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:29,120
Speaker 1: just cool place. It's a beautiful city. It's a great

490
00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:33,240
Speaker 1: biking city if you enjoy that. People are just happy, generally,

491
00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:40,080
Speaker 1: very friendly, very clean, like beautiful architecture and home goods

492
00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:43,520
Speaker 1: that you can discover. Yeah, so I would say Copenhagen's

493
00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:46,760
Speaker 1: another one, Okay. And what advice would you like to

494
00:30:46,760 --> 00:30:49,120
Speaker 1: share for any younger black women who are wanting to

495
00:30:49,280 --> 00:30:52,920
Speaker 1: enter the business of fashion. I would say, if you're

496
00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:57,080
Speaker 1: wanting to enter the industry itself, not necessarily being a

497
00:30:57,120 --> 00:30:59,360
Speaker 1: business owner, but if you want to enter the industry,

498
00:31:00,080 --> 00:31:04,880
Speaker 1: I would reach out to other black women and men

499
00:31:05,640 --> 00:31:08,840
Speaker 1: in the space and just set up meetings with them.

500
00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:11,360
Speaker 1: Just calls and say I just want to pick your

501
00:31:11,360 --> 00:31:14,480
Speaker 1: brain about how you got into the business and what

502
00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:17,880
Speaker 1: would you recommend. So you know, for me, I started

503
00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:20,920
Speaker 1: a really long time ago, so the way I got

504
00:31:20,920 --> 00:31:24,040
Speaker 1: in was different than probably how many people can get

505
00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:28,440
Speaker 1: in today. I went through working for companies first before

506
00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:31,680
Speaker 1: I started my business, and you don't necessarily have to

507
00:31:31,760 --> 00:31:34,880
Speaker 1: do that, but I would say get some training for

508
00:31:34,920 --> 00:31:38,520
Speaker 1: sure if you wanting to start your own business, get

509
00:31:38,560 --> 00:31:41,360
Speaker 1: a little bit of training under your belt, and then

510
00:31:41,560 --> 00:31:46,440
Speaker 1: really have lots of advisors, have your people that you

511
00:31:46,520 --> 00:31:51,719
Speaker 1: can go to for really anything that you need. You know,

512
00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:54,760
Speaker 1: can you connect me with this person? You know, I've

513
00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:57,120
Speaker 1: been really trying to get this brand in my store.

514
00:31:57,560 --> 00:32:00,280
Speaker 1: Can you make an introduction like don't be afraid to

515
00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:03,360
Speaker 1: ask for what you need? And that's something that we

516
00:32:03,840 --> 00:32:06,560
Speaker 1: also have to talk about as like, let's not be

517
00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:09,440
Speaker 1: afraid to ask for whatever it is that we need.

518
00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:12,920
Speaker 1: There's no shame in it, there's like just ask. I

519
00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:15,680
Speaker 1: love it, And where can we stay connected with you?

520
00:32:15,760 --> 00:32:18,160
Speaker 1: Sharing you all the incredible work that you're doing well.

521
00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:23,680
Speaker 1: My website is shop McMullen dot com and our Instagram

522
00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:27,200
Speaker 1: handles also shot McMullan dot com, and my personal one

523
00:32:27,320 --> 00:32:31,880
Speaker 1: is Sherry dot McMullen, and you can find more sort

524
00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:34,880
Speaker 1: of behind the scenes my life as a business owner

525
00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:38,040
Speaker 1: and mom and all the things that we're doing. And

526
00:32:38,040 --> 00:32:41,120
Speaker 1: we're in Oakland, so you can discover our space at

527
00:32:41,400 --> 00:32:46,480
Speaker 1: two to five seven Broadway, Oakland, California, right in the

528
00:32:46,600 --> 00:32:51,280
Speaker 1: uptown in the heart of Oakland. Thank you. I definitely

529
00:32:51,280 --> 00:32:53,840
Speaker 1: planned to make a visit the next time I'm in California,

530
00:32:53,920 --> 00:32:56,920
Speaker 1: so I appreciate you sharing it with this. Thank you.

531
00:32:57,160 --> 00:33:00,240
Speaker 1: We look forward to having you. Thank you, Thank you

532
00:33:00,280 --> 00:33:03,320
Speaker 1: for joining us today. Sherry, thank you so much. Dr Joy.

533
00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:08,080
Speaker 1: I enjoyed it. Now Sherry drops gims in that conversation

534
00:33:08,560 --> 00:33:11,360
Speaker 1: with the tidbit about when she met t as Telsha,

535
00:33:11,440 --> 00:33:15,480
Speaker 1: Anderson warmed our hearts. Sherry and our next guest, Telsha

536
00:33:15,960 --> 00:33:19,560
Speaker 1: aren't only black women boutique owners. They both are committed

537
00:33:19,600 --> 00:33:22,600
Speaker 1: to protecting their peace of mind as entrepreneurs in an

538
00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:26,880
Speaker 1: unforgiving industry. When Telsha opened her store in twenty during

539
00:33:26,920 --> 00:33:30,000
Speaker 1: the height of the pandemic in the country's racial recogning,

540
00:33:30,600 --> 00:33:33,720
Speaker 1: the world and many storefront owners remained uncertain of their

541
00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:37,280
Speaker 1: future in part two of this episode, the young business

542
00:33:37,280 --> 00:33:40,840
Speaker 1: owner shares t as origin story, how she nurtures her

543
00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:44,040
Speaker 1: mental health as a budding business owner, and saying sweet

544
00:33:44,040 --> 00:33:49,040
Speaker 1: praises to Sherry and her pioneering boutique. Thank you so

545
00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:52,600
Speaker 1: much for joining us today. Tellsha oh, thanks for having me.

546
00:33:52,680 --> 00:33:55,680
Speaker 1: Dr Joy. How are you I'm doing will, How are

547
00:33:55,720 --> 00:33:59,240
Speaker 1: you good? I'm on my off day, So I relaxing,

548
00:33:59,800 --> 00:34:04,520
Speaker 1: very glad to hear about off days. Those are always necessary, right, always,

549
00:34:04,640 --> 00:34:11,400
Speaker 1: always the day of deep condition and relaxation. Hear you. So,

550
00:34:11,560 --> 00:34:14,160
Speaker 1: before you started working in the industry, what was your

551
00:34:14,160 --> 00:34:17,439
Speaker 1: perception of the kinds of jobs or opportunities that black

552
00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:20,840
Speaker 1: people were having in fashion. That's a really good question.

553
00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:23,520
Speaker 1: I mean, for me, I didn't know a lot of

554
00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:27,120
Speaker 1: the jobs within fashion for black women and black men

555
00:34:27,200 --> 00:34:31,399
Speaker 1: even existed. It was this whole myth that they were

556
00:34:31,440 --> 00:34:33,799
Speaker 1: just really pretty clothes out there. You really didn't know

557
00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:36,600
Speaker 1: about the behind the scenes aspect. We didn't really know

558
00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:41,040
Speaker 1: really anyone of any race that was really doing anything

559
00:34:41,040 --> 00:34:43,279
Speaker 1: within the fashion space unless you wear a model or

560
00:34:43,320 --> 00:34:48,520
Speaker 1: a designer. Then when I graduated college, actually is when

561
00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:52,879
Speaker 1: I was first introduced to the possibility of even being

562
00:34:52,920 --> 00:34:56,600
Speaker 1: a part of the industry and how many different people

563
00:34:56,640 --> 00:34:59,279
Speaker 1: were part of it as well. When it comes to

564
00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:04,840
Speaker 1: I faces specifically, I mean Andrey Leon was probably it.

565
00:35:05,360 --> 00:35:08,600
Speaker 1: In my end, I didn't really even though there was

566
00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:11,960
Speaker 1: any new thing else that could be out there other

567
00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:17,040
Speaker 1: than like a corresponding towards some type of editor. Mm hmmmm.

568
00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:20,319
Speaker 1: So what happened during your senior year kind of close

569
00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:23,800
Speaker 1: to graduation. It sounds like that exposed you to other opportunities.

570
00:35:24,160 --> 00:35:28,120
Speaker 1: So there was a ad that went out on fashionista

571
00:35:28,200 --> 00:35:33,000
Speaker 1: dot com and there was a few companies, specifically s

572
00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:39,120
Speaker 1: C looking for interns for fashion week. So my second semester,

573
00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:41,680
Speaker 1: which was around like February of the new year, right

574
00:35:41,719 --> 00:35:45,640
Speaker 1: before I graduated, I applied and I like took two

575
00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:48,040
Speaker 1: weeks off from school and I went to work behind

576
00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:50,920
Speaker 1: the scenes of all these different fashion shows. It was

577
00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:53,279
Speaker 1: my job to make sure that every model had their

578
00:35:53,360 --> 00:35:56,160
Speaker 1: nails done before they were on the runway. So I

579
00:35:56,160 --> 00:35:58,840
Speaker 1: didn't do their nails, but I was in charge of

580
00:35:58,840 --> 00:36:00,400
Speaker 1: the nail text and then I would a sign a

581
00:36:00,480 --> 00:36:04,080
Speaker 1: nail tech to a model. And so just being in

582
00:36:04,080 --> 00:36:06,279
Speaker 1: that field, I was like, oh my god, this is

583
00:36:06,320 --> 00:36:09,720
Speaker 1: so cool. I can't believe even like this little job

584
00:36:09,960 --> 00:36:13,399
Speaker 1: is was what someone could even have, but there still

585
00:36:13,440 --> 00:36:16,600
Speaker 1: weren't a lot of black people within the fashion space.

586
00:36:16,680 --> 00:36:18,520
Speaker 1: I was working at the time for a white woman,

587
00:36:19,160 --> 00:36:21,200
Speaker 1: she was working for another white woman, and then she

588
00:36:21,280 --> 00:36:24,319
Speaker 1: was working for a white man. So there weren't really

589
00:36:24,360 --> 00:36:27,560
Speaker 1: any tools really given. I just don't think that's something

590
00:36:27,600 --> 00:36:30,960
Speaker 1: that we're even exposed to as kids outside of the

591
00:36:31,040 --> 00:36:37,319
Speaker 1: sports or whatever other high profile jobs you could have. Yeah,

592
00:36:37,440 --> 00:36:39,120
Speaker 1: and so what do you feel like really got you

593
00:36:39,239 --> 00:36:41,440
Speaker 1: interested in fashion? Like, were you somebody who was just

594
00:36:41,480 --> 00:36:44,840
Speaker 1: always paying attention to like trends or how did you

595
00:36:44,880 --> 00:36:49,200
Speaker 1: really get interested in fashion? And definitely as a career. Uh,

596
00:36:49,280 --> 00:36:53,200
Speaker 1: my grandmother and my mom are like my inspirations for everything,

597
00:36:53,680 --> 00:36:57,839
Speaker 1: mainly fashion. They both have beautiful closets to this day,

598
00:36:57,880 --> 00:37:01,799
Speaker 1: and when I was younger, had amazing wardrobes that they

599
00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:05,520
Speaker 1: just cultivated on their own and took tips and little

600
00:37:05,560 --> 00:37:07,799
Speaker 1: tricks for style that were passed down to them for

601
00:37:07,840 --> 00:37:10,880
Speaker 1: generations to generations and then pass them down to me

602
00:37:11,120 --> 00:37:15,080
Speaker 1: and my sister and my brother, and so I think

603
00:37:15,200 --> 00:37:18,720
Speaker 1: that's where my first interests peaked. I was younger when

604
00:37:18,760 --> 00:37:22,759
Speaker 1: both my parents gave me like a coach set this patchwork.

605
00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:25,440
Speaker 1: Coach said that I wore to school even in the summer,

606
00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:30,239
Speaker 1: which was ridiculous. So I really just wanted to, i

607
00:37:30,280 --> 00:37:32,799
Speaker 1: don't know, look good and feel good. And I think

608
00:37:32,920 --> 00:37:36,719
Speaker 1: for me that was expressed through fashion and through wardrobe,

609
00:37:36,760 --> 00:37:39,520
Speaker 1: and they encouraged me to do the same and wear

610
00:37:39,560 --> 00:37:41,520
Speaker 1: what I wanted to wear, how I wanted to wear it,

611
00:37:41,680 --> 00:37:43,200
Speaker 1: when I wanted to wear it. If I wanted to

612
00:37:43,200 --> 00:37:48,759
Speaker 1: wear Sunday school shoes to a Monday school class, they

613
00:37:48,760 --> 00:37:51,080
Speaker 1: were great within If I wanted to wear jeans the church,

614
00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:53,200
Speaker 1: they were okay with that too. So they just gotta

615
00:37:53,280 --> 00:37:55,040
Speaker 1: let me be me, and I think that's where my

616
00:37:55,080 --> 00:37:58,600
Speaker 1: interests peaked. Of course, I'm like from the Arab tumbler,

617
00:37:58,920 --> 00:38:03,800
Speaker 1: so seeing like different kind of editorials on that platform

618
00:38:03,880 --> 00:38:07,880
Speaker 1: as well was really encouraging and exciting to see the

619
00:38:07,920 --> 00:38:11,239
Speaker 1: possibilities just of this what seemed at the time like

620
00:38:11,280 --> 00:38:16,000
Speaker 1: a make believe world. M M. I really got excited

621
00:38:16,080 --> 00:38:18,680
Speaker 1: hearing you say that your first it sounds like grown

622
00:38:18,760 --> 00:38:21,840
Speaker 1: up or maybe fashion bag was coach, because mine was also,

623
00:38:21,960 --> 00:38:24,440
Speaker 1: And I think they're so interesting, Like there's some brands

624
00:38:24,440 --> 00:38:27,000
Speaker 1: I feel like, especially for Black women that are like

625
00:38:27,080 --> 00:38:30,000
Speaker 1: this Hallmark, you know, kind of in your in your closet,

626
00:38:30,480 --> 00:38:32,920
Speaker 1: and I love that coaches like made. It feels like

627
00:38:32,960 --> 00:38:36,080
Speaker 1: this resurgence and is doing so well right now. It's

628
00:38:36,239 --> 00:38:40,440
Speaker 1: so good. I'm so excited. They're rebranding is in my opinion, incredible,

629
00:38:40,719 --> 00:38:43,239
Speaker 1: and I'm excited to see where they're continued. But you're

630
00:38:43,320 --> 00:38:45,640
Speaker 1: right there, like these staple brands, and for me it

631
00:38:45,760 --> 00:38:50,600
Speaker 1: was Michael Core's coach and Louis Vuitton, and those were

632
00:38:50,600 --> 00:38:53,719
Speaker 1: the brands that I feel like I always saw my

633
00:38:53,760 --> 00:38:56,040
Speaker 1: mom and my grandma wearing, or just different black women

634
00:38:56,120 --> 00:38:59,160
Speaker 1: wearing wherever they would take me, and excite to see

635
00:38:59,160 --> 00:39:01,920
Speaker 1: those brands are still round and steal to some degree

636
00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:05,120
Speaker 1: cater to us as like a consumer. M m mmm.

637
00:39:05,239 --> 00:39:08,160
Speaker 1: So what was your first job in fashion post graduation?

638
00:39:09,480 --> 00:39:14,360
Speaker 1: Post graduation? First job? So, my first job ever after college,

639
00:39:14,560 --> 00:39:18,800
Speaker 1: I sold part guides to the National Parks Association, I believe.

640
00:39:19,360 --> 00:39:24,319
Speaker 1: So I continue to intern at random, odd jobs within

641
00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:28,239
Speaker 1: the fashion space. So I continued to work for BPCM,

642
00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:30,759
Speaker 1: which was a part of like the sc program that

643
00:39:30,800 --> 00:39:35,400
Speaker 1: I mentioned earlier. Or I would beat different photographers and

644
00:39:35,400 --> 00:39:39,080
Speaker 1: try to be their assistance or just random weird things,

645
00:39:39,160 --> 00:39:42,760
Speaker 1: just trying to find that in and it really didn't

646
00:39:42,800 --> 00:39:46,840
Speaker 1: even happen for me until I want to say, I

647
00:39:46,880 --> 00:39:49,919
Speaker 1: became a social media manager at hype Beast, so I

648
00:39:49,960 --> 00:39:53,320
Speaker 1: was helping them out with social on the hype Kids side,

649
00:39:53,920 --> 00:39:56,000
Speaker 1: and so I was exposed to kind of streetwear culture

650
00:39:56,080 --> 00:40:01,239
Speaker 1: through that and then officially fashioned. It's funny, I don't

651
00:40:01,239 --> 00:40:04,120
Speaker 1: think I had an official fashion job until I opened

652
00:40:04,239 --> 00:40:07,279
Speaker 1: the store, and so that's when I would say, like,

653
00:40:07,400 --> 00:40:10,160
Speaker 1: that's when I had my first fashion job. Everything else

654
00:40:10,239 --> 00:40:15,799
Speaker 1: was either an odd job or very temporary, or it

655
00:40:15,800 --> 00:40:17,840
Speaker 1: would happen and then out people would go ghost on

656
00:40:17,920 --> 00:40:20,400
Speaker 1: me and then it would just thistle and fade, or

657
00:40:20,480 --> 00:40:24,480
Speaker 1: it was fashion adjacent but still not in the fashion world. Right,

658
00:40:24,640 --> 00:40:27,760
Speaker 1: So that feels like a huge leap to go from.

659
00:40:29,160 --> 00:40:31,960
Speaker 1: To go from like, Okay, I don't even have any

660
00:40:32,080 --> 00:40:34,759
Speaker 1: entry level jobs to I don't think I'm gonna open

661
00:40:34,800 --> 00:40:37,400
Speaker 1: my own boutique. I mean very bold, right, which I

662
00:40:37,400 --> 00:40:39,479
Speaker 1: think is very cool. But talk to me a little

663
00:40:39,480 --> 00:40:41,720
Speaker 1: bit about how you guys at that place without having

664
00:40:41,760 --> 00:40:44,360
Speaker 1: any really of those kind of entry level jobs that

665
00:40:44,480 --> 00:40:46,799
Speaker 1: you think you might have before you make the lead

666
00:40:46,880 --> 00:40:49,960
Speaker 1: to a boutique. Yeah, So I will trap back. I

667
00:40:50,040 --> 00:40:52,840
Speaker 1: did work at some retail stores, still, in my opinion,

668
00:40:52,880 --> 00:40:58,279
Speaker 1: doesn't count. But for me, I was a retail management

669
00:40:58,320 --> 00:41:02,719
Speaker 1: minor during my undergraduate with life, and then I went

670
00:41:02,840 --> 00:41:06,120
Speaker 1: to n y U for grad school under their brand

671
00:41:06,120 --> 00:41:09,000
Speaker 1: management program and a lot of the kind of classes

672
00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:12,319
Speaker 1: I took electives whatever people call them now, dove into

673
00:41:12,320 --> 00:41:17,480
Speaker 1: the fashion space and how we articulate ourselves within that world,

674
00:41:17,600 --> 00:41:21,239
Speaker 1: and how we communicate through our clothing, and how the

675
00:41:21,239 --> 00:41:24,080
Speaker 1: fashion world has figured out a way to communicate through

676
00:41:24,239 --> 00:41:27,919
Speaker 1: us with marketing tools, whether it be social or out

677
00:41:27,920 --> 00:41:32,880
Speaker 1: of home or newsletters, whatever tools they use. So I

678
00:41:32,960 --> 00:41:35,560
Speaker 1: had a lot of schooling in it, and then a

679
00:41:35,600 --> 00:41:38,040
Speaker 1: lot of my jobs working in social media and in

680
00:41:38,200 --> 00:41:42,440
Speaker 1: pr kind of always being adjacent to that world just

681
00:41:42,520 --> 00:41:45,120
Speaker 1: continue to encourage me to see what was needed within

682
00:41:45,160 --> 00:41:49,799
Speaker 1: the market. And hardily enough, I wanted to be a

683
00:41:49,840 --> 00:41:52,400
Speaker 1: buyer so bad, Which is funny. When I graduated and

684
00:41:52,440 --> 00:41:55,040
Speaker 1: no one was hiring, especially no one was hiring a

685
00:41:55,080 --> 00:41:58,400
Speaker 1: black girl that didn't have a lot of intern experience,

686
00:41:58,480 --> 00:42:01,279
Speaker 1: or it didn't come from this ash and family or

687
00:42:01,440 --> 00:42:04,440
Speaker 1: have a connection within that world. I think I've just

688
00:42:04,480 --> 00:42:07,319
Speaker 1: built my business plan. I've talked to different professionals within

689
00:42:07,360 --> 00:42:11,040
Speaker 1: this space. I had the background education wise, and I

690
00:42:11,080 --> 00:42:13,520
Speaker 1: had the background from just like I said, being close

691
00:42:13,600 --> 00:42:15,960
Speaker 1: to it, and then kind of went out and broken

692
00:42:15,960 --> 00:42:17,920
Speaker 1: out of my own and used the skills that I

693
00:42:17,960 --> 00:42:21,520
Speaker 1: did have to make up and encourage the skills I didn't.

694
00:42:21,800 --> 00:42:24,319
Speaker 1: And I would always say I opened the store or

695
00:42:24,320 --> 00:42:27,719
Speaker 1: t A when I was twenty six, and if I

696
00:42:27,760 --> 00:42:29,759
Speaker 1: opened it at forty eight, I think I still have

697
00:42:29,840 --> 00:42:34,040
Speaker 1: the same questions, even having whatever experience needed from then

698
00:42:34,120 --> 00:42:37,600
Speaker 1: until now. I think being an entrepreneur, while yes I'm

699
00:42:37,640 --> 00:42:41,960
Speaker 1: in the fashion space, has proven more needs outside of

700
00:42:42,040 --> 00:42:45,719
Speaker 1: that fashion space then within it, If that makes sense. Yeah,

701
00:42:45,800 --> 00:42:49,359
Speaker 1: can you say more about it? Yeah, Like a lot

702
00:42:49,440 --> 00:42:53,080
Speaker 1: of running a business, at least for me personally, has

703
00:42:53,120 --> 00:42:58,000
Speaker 1: been you know, very business administrative, people facing rapport, building,

704
00:42:58,480 --> 00:43:03,239
Speaker 1: working with landlord, contracts, negotiations, all of that. So a

705
00:43:03,280 --> 00:43:06,360
Speaker 1: lot of that. Of course, what I do is glamorous

706
00:43:06,400 --> 00:43:08,440
Speaker 1: to an extent, but a lot of what I deal

707
00:43:08,480 --> 00:43:11,239
Speaker 1: on a day to day basis is more kind of

708
00:43:11,239 --> 00:43:15,160
Speaker 1: people facing emails, administrative than it is fashion. That piece, well,

709
00:43:15,239 --> 00:43:17,720
Speaker 1: it's what I put forth, and it's the biggest piece

710
00:43:18,080 --> 00:43:21,560
Speaker 1: is often the smallest like a New York Fashion Week

711
00:43:21,640 --> 00:43:25,200
Speaker 1: or Parents Fashion Week or a by really only last

712
00:43:25,200 --> 00:43:28,160
Speaker 1: two weeks and then you still have a whole year

713
00:43:28,440 --> 00:43:30,920
Speaker 1: to get to get through. And so of course I

714
00:43:31,040 --> 00:43:33,680
Speaker 1: entered the space with okay, I had these fashion connects

715
00:43:33,680 --> 00:43:36,960
Speaker 1: that I've learned from or met through past. I'm gonna

716
00:43:37,000 --> 00:43:39,520
Speaker 1: dive in and use them for the buy and I'm

717
00:43:39,520 --> 00:43:42,200
Speaker 1: gonna make sure m appointment. But again, that's still two

718
00:43:42,239 --> 00:43:44,480
Speaker 1: weeks out of my whole year, or I'll even give

719
00:43:44,520 --> 00:43:46,960
Speaker 1: it a month out of my whole year. And the

720
00:43:47,000 --> 00:43:49,759
Speaker 1: other is just running and operating a business like I

721
00:43:49,800 --> 00:43:52,239
Speaker 1: would have to put in the same legwork if I

722
00:43:52,360 --> 00:43:56,000
Speaker 1: was selling kitchen sinks that I do that I'm selling clothing,

723
00:43:56,120 --> 00:44:00,279
Speaker 1: it's probably a different marketing approach, but I'm still within

724
00:44:00,280 --> 00:44:02,799
Speaker 1: this big pool trying to get someone to buy from me.

725
00:44:03,320 --> 00:44:05,200
Speaker 1: I think that's the fun part. I get to use

726
00:44:05,280 --> 00:44:08,279
Speaker 1: all my previous skills to build what it is I'm

727
00:44:08,280 --> 00:44:11,239
Speaker 1: doing now. And the great part is that fashion and

728
00:44:11,320 --> 00:44:15,320
Speaker 1: just somehow comes very naturally like the buyas is hectic

729
00:44:15,400 --> 00:44:18,480
Speaker 1: in a two week span is probably my least stressful.

730
00:44:19,280 --> 00:44:22,120
Speaker 1: Probably get more stressed out when I'm trying to create

731
00:44:22,120 --> 00:44:25,439
Speaker 1: a job description to hire somebody than it is when

732
00:44:25,480 --> 00:44:27,960
Speaker 1: I'm picking out a clothing for the season that's going

733
00:44:28,040 --> 00:44:32,279
Speaker 1: to be featuring the store that following season. So yeah,

734
00:44:32,320 --> 00:44:35,440
Speaker 1: I was gonna say, it does seem like your previous experiences.

735
00:44:35,560 --> 00:44:38,160
Speaker 1: Really we're a good set up for the kind of

736
00:44:38,160 --> 00:44:40,160
Speaker 1: work that you would be doing running this business. Right,

737
00:44:40,200 --> 00:44:42,920
Speaker 1: So your experience with marketing and brand management, I'm sure

738
00:44:42,960 --> 00:44:46,279
Speaker 1: coming incredibly handy. Yeah, they do, and I mean that's

739
00:44:46,280 --> 00:44:49,640
Speaker 1: not something It's funny. When I was doing all those jobs,

740
00:44:49,680 --> 00:44:51,879
Speaker 1: I didn't really know what I wanted to do, which

741
00:44:51,920 --> 00:44:54,920
Speaker 1: is what I'm doing now, until halfway through it. So

742
00:44:55,280 --> 00:44:57,040
Speaker 1: the first half it was just like, oh, let me

743
00:44:57,080 --> 00:44:58,960
Speaker 1: just do this random thing, let me get a check,

744
00:44:58,960 --> 00:45:00,600
Speaker 1: I want to live in New York City, And then

745
00:45:00,600 --> 00:45:03,920
Speaker 1: it kind of grew too Okay, now I know why

746
00:45:03,960 --> 00:45:06,000
Speaker 1: I'm at n y U, why I'm taking this class.

747
00:45:06,200 --> 00:45:07,719
Speaker 1: Let me make sure that it aligns with what I

748
00:45:07,760 --> 00:45:10,839
Speaker 1: want to do. So it's kind of a mid epiphany

749
00:45:10,920 --> 00:45:12,960
Speaker 1: that I had in the middle of schooling and in

750
00:45:13,000 --> 00:45:16,040
Speaker 1: the middle of my jobs and working in social and

751
00:45:16,040 --> 00:45:17,799
Speaker 1: all those same tools, like you said, I get to

752
00:45:17,920 --> 00:45:21,640
Speaker 1: use and applied to the store. M So, who are

753
00:45:21,680 --> 00:45:23,880
Speaker 1: some of the black people and black women specifically that

754
00:45:24,000 --> 00:45:25,880
Speaker 1: you kind of look up to in this space, or

755
00:45:25,960 --> 00:45:32,359
Speaker 1: any pioneers that really have been pivotal for you. Oh uh,

756
00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:37,720
Speaker 1: my head is spinning. Sherry McMullin, for sure. She owns

757
00:45:37,719 --> 00:45:40,880
Speaker 1: a store in Oakland. It is beautiful. They've been open

758
00:45:41,000 --> 00:45:44,600
Speaker 1: for about fifteen years, and I believe she was a

759
00:45:44,640 --> 00:45:51,080
Speaker 1: buyer beforehand. And Sharia Murdoch, she founded Liberty Fair. She

760
00:45:51,160 --> 00:45:54,520
Speaker 1: now works at kid. She's an amazing Black woman within

761
00:45:54,680 --> 00:45:59,000
Speaker 1: the retail space, fashion space, all of that good stuff.

762
00:45:59,000 --> 00:46:01,840
Speaker 1: And she's always been extra and be supportive just of

763
00:46:02,000 --> 00:46:05,719
Speaker 1: me and of other black women looking to find their

764
00:46:05,760 --> 00:46:08,759
Speaker 1: way and find their footing and what we do. I'm

765
00:46:08,760 --> 00:46:13,600
Speaker 1: probably missing so many. Carly Kushnie I love as well.

766
00:46:13,840 --> 00:46:16,239
Speaker 1: She's a designer. I haven't had the chance to beat

767
00:46:16,280 --> 00:46:20,120
Speaker 1: her officially, but I've been following her in her brand

768
00:46:20,200 --> 00:46:23,279
Speaker 1: for a while. I'm trying to think other women that

769
00:46:23,360 --> 00:46:25,919
Speaker 1: I love. There's so many, but I think the sad

770
00:46:25,960 --> 00:46:29,799
Speaker 1: part is they're not that many. And it's what we're

771
00:46:29,840 --> 00:46:33,000
Speaker 1: talking about, what we're talking about today, and a lot

772
00:46:33,040 --> 00:46:35,560
Speaker 1: of those women that I mentioned also are entrepreneurs in

773
00:46:35,600 --> 00:46:38,560
Speaker 1: their own rights, and so that I think it's what's

774
00:46:38,600 --> 00:46:41,680
Speaker 1: most inspiring to me as well. They found a way

775
00:46:41,719 --> 00:46:45,840
Speaker 1: to create their own business and their own voice within

776
00:46:46,600 --> 00:46:52,000
Speaker 1: the world that always and still continues to champion white

777
00:46:52,000 --> 00:46:56,160
Speaker 1: women or not black women. So yeah, it's funny you

778
00:46:56,200 --> 00:46:58,080
Speaker 1: mentioned Sherry because we'll be speaking to her for this

779
00:46:58,120 --> 00:47:01,760
Speaker 1: episode as well. So I love that named her because

780
00:47:01,800 --> 00:47:03,640
Speaker 1: I think it would be interesting to you you're insight

781
00:47:03,719 --> 00:47:07,319
Speaker 1: kind of as a newer entrepreneurs, but also her you know,

782
00:47:07,320 --> 00:47:09,280
Speaker 1: o G in the game in a lot of ways. Yeah,

783
00:47:09,360 --> 00:47:12,480
Speaker 1: she's an OG for real. She's great. I'm looking forward

784
00:47:12,480 --> 00:47:14,800
Speaker 1: to the chance that we have to sit down and chat.

785
00:47:14,920 --> 00:47:20,280
Speaker 1: But she is amazing. Oh my gosh, I'm missing Bethan

786
00:47:20,520 --> 00:47:26,400
Speaker 1: as well. I love Bethan. She, for those who don't know,

787
00:47:26,760 --> 00:47:30,640
Speaker 1: is just an incredible champion for black designers and black

788
00:47:30,680 --> 00:47:34,879
Speaker 1: faces within the space. She's done so much for all

789
00:47:34,960 --> 00:47:38,600
Speaker 1: of us in the space. So she definitely is someone

790
00:47:38,680 --> 00:47:41,960
Speaker 1: I'm like, I know, there's someone I'm forgetting, but she's amazing.

791
00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:44,080
Speaker 1: I just got an email from herself to email or back,

792
00:47:44,239 --> 00:47:48,520
Speaker 1: but she's great. Yeah. Nice. So, you know, thinking about

793
00:47:48,719 --> 00:47:51,120
Speaker 1: the shortage in a lot of ways, because it definitely

794
00:47:51,120 --> 00:47:54,000
Speaker 1: feels like there is a disproportionate number of Black women

795
00:47:54,080 --> 00:47:58,040
Speaker 1: kind of in these power positions as compared to the consumers,

796
00:47:58,160 --> 00:48:00,400
Speaker 1: and like, the black women who are like should be

797
00:48:00,560 --> 00:48:03,960
Speaker 1: very much into fashion. So I'm curious to hear from

798
00:48:04,000 --> 00:48:08,080
Speaker 1: you any kind of programs or any suggestions you would

799
00:48:08,080 --> 00:48:10,799
Speaker 1: have two younger Black women who are maybe interested in

800
00:48:10,880 --> 00:48:14,040
Speaker 1: kind of following your footsteps, are wanting to get into fashion,

801
00:48:14,080 --> 00:48:17,000
Speaker 1: because it sounds like you have just figured it out. Yeah,

802
00:48:17,040 --> 00:48:18,920
Speaker 1: and you know, I think that that is clearly is

803
00:48:18,960 --> 00:48:21,719
Speaker 1: a very realistic option for some people, but I think

804
00:48:21,760 --> 00:48:24,799
Speaker 1: it's harder when they're not like more formal pipelines. Can

805
00:48:24,840 --> 00:48:27,960
Speaker 1: you give us any suggestions about that? Yeah, for sure.

806
00:48:28,280 --> 00:48:32,200
Speaker 1: One that I just started working with is called Mentoring Matters.

807
00:48:32,520 --> 00:48:36,359
Speaker 1: It is a UK based program, but a lot of

808
00:48:36,480 --> 00:48:41,279
Speaker 1: the mentors that they find our U space. So I

809
00:48:41,360 --> 00:48:43,520
Speaker 1: was a part of the I think the seventh round

810
00:48:43,760 --> 00:48:45,799
Speaker 1: And what that is, for those who don't know, is

811
00:48:46,640 --> 00:48:50,160
Speaker 1: it's wonderful woman. She found that Mentoring Matters and she

812
00:48:50,320 --> 00:48:56,360
Speaker 1: essentially wanted to connect younger women and men to minorities

813
00:48:56,600 --> 00:48:59,719
Speaker 1: within this space, and so she essentially is kind of

814
00:49:00,000 --> 00:49:03,600
Speaker 1: pairing a mintee with a mentor every twelve weeks and

815
00:49:03,640 --> 00:49:05,960
Speaker 1: we're able to work with them on what it is

816
00:49:06,000 --> 00:49:08,759
Speaker 1: that they are looking to do within this space. It

817
00:49:08,800 --> 00:49:12,279
Speaker 1: doesn't always have to be fashion forward, but it typically is.

818
00:49:12,680 --> 00:49:15,560
Speaker 1: I'm working with a wonderful young woman. Her name is Amanda,

819
00:49:15,760 --> 00:49:19,520
Speaker 1: and she founded eight twelve, which is great stuff for

820
00:49:19,560 --> 00:49:23,480
Speaker 1: those listening could check it out, and so her businesses

821
00:49:23,520 --> 00:49:27,680
Speaker 1: center around like fragrance and since, but she's still looking

822
00:49:27,719 --> 00:49:29,520
Speaker 1: to have a brick and mortar. So that's kind of

823
00:49:29,520 --> 00:49:33,440
Speaker 1: where we align. But unfortunately, there aren't a lot of

824
00:49:33,640 --> 00:49:38,840
Speaker 1: formal programs that champion black faces within this space, and

825
00:49:38,840 --> 00:49:41,480
Speaker 1: I think that's part of the problem. Of course, I

826
00:49:41,520 --> 00:49:45,320
Speaker 1: think like mentoring matters kind of just started, so they're trying,

827
00:49:45,680 --> 00:49:48,400
Speaker 1: but there isn't one that's been rooted in what we

828
00:49:48,520 --> 00:49:51,040
Speaker 1: do for quite a while, and I think that's part

829
00:49:51,080 --> 00:49:55,720
Speaker 1: of the issue. I hope that does change over time.

830
00:49:56,160 --> 00:50:00,160
Speaker 1: I use Score, but that's not a place that is

831
00:50:00,239 --> 00:50:02,600
Speaker 1: minority focused. It's a place that you just go to

832
00:50:02,800 --> 00:50:04,640
Speaker 1: if you have an idea and can figure it out

833
00:50:04,680 --> 00:50:08,839
Speaker 1: from there. So, yeah, can you say a little bit

834
00:50:08,840 --> 00:50:10,840
Speaker 1: more about what's glory is? Is I kind of like

835
00:50:10,920 --> 00:50:15,360
Speaker 1: online platform? Oh yeah, yeah, okay, So pre pandemic. You

836
00:50:15,440 --> 00:50:17,640
Speaker 1: were able to if you had a business that you

837
00:50:17,640 --> 00:50:21,279
Speaker 1: were interested in, connect with a retired professional within that

838
00:50:21,360 --> 00:50:25,239
Speaker 1: space and they volunteer their time. It's free and you're

839
00:50:25,280 --> 00:50:28,680
Speaker 1: able to go and work with someone that's done it,

840
00:50:28,760 --> 00:50:30,560
Speaker 1: someone that's done what you do, and they can look

841
00:50:30,600 --> 00:50:33,239
Speaker 1: at your business plan, connects you to different people and

842
00:50:33,320 --> 00:50:36,680
Speaker 1: also kind of critique and change things that they see

843
00:50:36,680 --> 00:50:40,960
Speaker 1: fit based on what they've done before. It's based in

844
00:50:41,080 --> 00:50:44,239
Speaker 1: every major city. I used to go on my lunch break.

845
00:50:44,320 --> 00:50:46,920
Speaker 1: I don't suggest people do that, but I went on

846
00:50:46,960 --> 00:50:48,680
Speaker 1: my lunch break when I was at my nine to

847
00:50:48,800 --> 00:50:51,040
Speaker 1: five and I went there and they helped me just

848
00:50:51,080 --> 00:50:54,280
Speaker 1: build my plan up. I ran it through a series

849
00:50:54,360 --> 00:50:57,080
Speaker 1: of professionals that were in the retail space, the brick

850
00:50:57,120 --> 00:51:00,560
Speaker 1: and mortar space, and they kind of called different things

851
00:51:00,600 --> 00:51:02,880
Speaker 1: that I need to know for when I were too launch.

852
00:51:03,560 --> 00:51:06,400
Speaker 1: They also are connected to s b A, which is

853
00:51:06,440 --> 00:51:10,440
Speaker 1: the Small Business Association, and so they can help with

854
00:51:10,600 --> 00:51:13,280
Speaker 1: funding as well. So you kind of go through the program.

855
00:51:13,600 --> 00:51:15,840
Speaker 1: Then you go to check out the funding portion of

856
00:51:15,880 --> 00:51:18,320
Speaker 1: the program, and like I said, you can sign up whatever.

857
00:51:18,360 --> 00:51:21,600
Speaker 1: It's free and it's really great. They're like a list

858
00:51:21,640 --> 00:51:24,319
Speaker 1: of people they give you their bios. And the great

859
00:51:24,320 --> 00:51:26,080
Speaker 1: part about it, if you don't like the person you

860
00:51:26,120 --> 00:51:28,200
Speaker 1: get connected with at first, you can find someone new.

861
00:51:28,440 --> 00:51:31,040
Speaker 1: So I went through maybe five people till I found

862
00:51:31,040 --> 00:51:33,719
Speaker 1: my person. You know that score. Yeah, that sounds like

863
00:51:33,760 --> 00:51:37,960
Speaker 1: a great opportunity. Thanks for sharing that more from our

864
00:51:38,000 --> 00:51:47,600
Speaker 1: conversation after the break. So t A opened not only

865
00:51:47,719 --> 00:51:51,720
Speaker 1: during the pandemic but also shortly after George Floyd was murdered,

866
00:51:52,080 --> 00:51:54,000
Speaker 1: and I would love to hear from you what that

867
00:51:54,120 --> 00:51:57,920
Speaker 1: experience was like as a black business owner during that time,

868
00:51:59,040 --> 00:52:02,640
Speaker 1: that experience, it was tough. I was set to open

869
00:52:02,800 --> 00:52:07,320
Speaker 1: March and the world shut down, and because I still

870
00:52:08,080 --> 00:52:10,880
Speaker 1: had made these promises to these brands, and because I

871
00:52:10,880 --> 00:52:13,520
Speaker 1: have a new business with the brick and mortar space,

872
00:52:13,760 --> 00:52:18,360
Speaker 1: I needed to sell, So I sold during that space.

873
00:52:18,360 --> 00:52:19,839
Speaker 1: I mean, it was hard. A lot of people were

874
00:52:19,880 --> 00:52:23,319
Speaker 1: losing family members, people were sick. It was tough, and

875
00:52:23,360 --> 00:52:26,440
Speaker 1: so for me, it was about finding the balance between

876
00:52:26,600 --> 00:52:30,120
Speaker 1: being empathetic and sympathetic to what was going on and

877
00:52:30,120 --> 00:52:32,400
Speaker 1: still making sure that my business was heard and my

878
00:52:32,440 --> 00:52:35,920
Speaker 1: business had a voice within that time. And then while

879
00:52:36,920 --> 00:52:39,920
Speaker 1: that was occurring, like you said, George Floyd was murdered,

880
00:52:40,000 --> 00:52:45,239
Speaker 1: and so my business always was championing being a black

881
00:52:45,239 --> 00:52:48,120
Speaker 1: owned business within the meatpacking space. And I think for me,

882
00:52:48,600 --> 00:52:51,640
Speaker 1: it was just time to kind of say it louder,

883
00:52:51,840 --> 00:52:54,120
Speaker 1: if that makes sense, and to speak on what we

884
00:52:54,200 --> 00:52:56,600
Speaker 1: felt was injustice and to speak on what we felt

885
00:52:56,680 --> 00:52:59,399
Speaker 1: was not right, and to speak on what we would

886
00:52:59,440 --> 00:53:01,879
Speaker 1: not taller rate as a business and what I don't

887
00:53:01,920 --> 00:53:06,200
Speaker 1: tolerate from my own personal beliefs and politics whatever as

888
00:53:06,239 --> 00:53:10,520
Speaker 1: a black woman. And so around that time, Instagram started

889
00:53:10,560 --> 00:53:17,080
Speaker 1: the hashtag shot black, which was supposed to, from my standpoint,

890
00:53:17,160 --> 00:53:21,560
Speaker 1: supposed to encourage those who didn't know about black businesses

891
00:53:21,719 --> 00:53:25,040
Speaker 1: or who wanted to do something during that time, to

892
00:53:25,160 --> 00:53:27,839
Speaker 1: support us, to support who we were, and to call

893
00:53:27,920 --> 00:53:31,360
Speaker 1: out again the fact that we were still operating, still owning,

894
00:53:31,440 --> 00:53:34,279
Speaker 1: and that we were black. It to me felt like

895
00:53:34,320 --> 00:53:37,400
Speaker 1: a double edged sword, if I'm being honest. It was

896
00:53:37,440 --> 00:53:39,920
Speaker 1: a lot of pressure. It still is, but it was

897
00:53:39,960 --> 00:53:42,920
Speaker 1: a lot of pressure then because a lot of people

898
00:53:43,080 --> 00:53:47,560
Speaker 1: use that hashtag to appease their guilt, specifically white woman

899
00:53:47,800 --> 00:53:51,359
Speaker 1: used it at their time to feel better about what

900
00:53:51,440 --> 00:53:55,800
Speaker 1: was going on and to kind of in turn hide

901
00:53:56,480 --> 00:54:00,400
Speaker 1: from the issues that were happening so for instance, like

902
00:54:00,960 --> 00:54:03,040
Speaker 1: if I shop here at this store, whether it be

903
00:54:03,160 --> 00:54:05,720
Speaker 1: Telsha store or any other store that has black owned,

904
00:54:05,840 --> 00:54:09,120
Speaker 1: or if I order from this restaurant that's black owned,

905
00:54:09,280 --> 00:54:14,920
Speaker 1: or if I repost this Instagram flyer or this black square,

906
00:54:15,440 --> 00:54:19,960
Speaker 1: then I'll feel better about how maybe I treated my

907
00:54:20,040 --> 00:54:23,640
Speaker 1: black neighbor five years ago. Or I can ignore what's

908
00:54:23,640 --> 00:54:26,759
Speaker 1: happening right on my Instagram feed. I can ignore it,

909
00:54:26,760 --> 00:54:30,000
Speaker 1: I can pause it, I can mute it. And so, unfortunately,

910
00:54:30,840 --> 00:54:33,920
Speaker 1: because of the shop Black Hashteck, which yes did help

911
00:54:33,960 --> 00:54:38,680
Speaker 1: and did grow businesses at a crazy rate. It was

912
00:54:39,719 --> 00:54:44,440
Speaker 1: I hope, creative with good intention, it somehow can become

913
00:54:44,800 --> 00:54:47,000
Speaker 1: almost like a blanket, Like it's like blanket that you

914
00:54:47,000 --> 00:54:51,040
Speaker 1: can just use and hide. So because of that, what

915
00:54:51,320 --> 00:54:56,759
Speaker 1: I did was to my best ability. If someone were

916
00:54:56,760 --> 00:54:58,880
Speaker 1: to cover the store and ask me a question about

917
00:54:59,200 --> 00:55:02,480
Speaker 1: what was happening more why we were upset, or if

918
00:55:02,520 --> 00:55:04,839
Speaker 1: I were to do an interview and someone would ask

919
00:55:05,000 --> 00:55:07,560
Speaker 1: what do you want for black creatos within this space,

920
00:55:08,239 --> 00:55:11,279
Speaker 1: my answer will always be I just wanted to go

921
00:55:11,360 --> 00:55:15,040
Speaker 1: beyond where we're at now. I'm hoping for consistency. It

922
00:55:15,120 --> 00:55:19,080
Speaker 1: can almost feel and look like black business as a

923
00:55:19,160 --> 00:55:24,400
Speaker 1: trend and that was off the backs of George Floyd.

924
00:55:24,440 --> 00:55:29,560
Speaker 1: And that's also not why we do what we do.

925
00:55:29,600 --> 00:55:32,520
Speaker 1: You know. We do what we do because we're looking

926
00:55:32,520 --> 00:55:35,680
Speaker 1: to be a part of this industry or varying industries.

927
00:55:36,239 --> 00:55:38,759
Speaker 1: And someone that looks like me is murdered by a

928
00:55:38,840 --> 00:55:43,719
Speaker 1: police officer on my screen like I'm hurting and I'm

929
00:55:43,760 --> 00:55:46,239
Speaker 1: selling at the same time. And that's what I mean

930
00:55:46,239 --> 00:55:48,560
Speaker 1: by this double sword. You try to find a balance.

931
00:55:48,640 --> 00:55:52,760
Speaker 1: And then someone comes in and theysed to like their card,

932
00:55:53,040 --> 00:55:55,920
Speaker 1: this woman and she was like, um, she goes, you

933
00:55:56,000 --> 00:55:59,440
Speaker 1: probably saw my name on the like POS system and

934
00:55:59,440 --> 00:56:01,040
Speaker 1: I'm like, no, why don't really look for that. I

935
00:56:01,160 --> 00:56:03,799
Speaker 1: kind of just you know, want to sail. And so

936
00:56:03,880 --> 00:56:06,719
Speaker 1: she was like, well, my name is Karen, but I'm

937
00:56:06,760 --> 00:56:09,919
Speaker 1: not a Karen. And then you know, we'll laugh and

938
00:56:09,960 --> 00:56:14,360
Speaker 1: make a joke. What and that's why you're here. Please

939
00:56:14,400 --> 00:56:16,960
Speaker 1: don't return. We know that joke is a funny, That

940
00:56:17,040 --> 00:56:21,040
Speaker 1: joke hurts people, and the root and that even term

941
00:56:21,120 --> 00:56:23,919
Speaker 1: Karen is rooted far beyond I think you can even

942
00:56:23,960 --> 00:56:27,360
Speaker 1: understand our match. So it becomes that it becomes this

943
00:56:27,800 --> 00:56:29,960
Speaker 1: just this weird double edged sword, like of course you

944
00:56:29,960 --> 00:56:32,880
Speaker 1: want the exposure and you want to be seen, and

945
00:56:32,920 --> 00:56:35,200
Speaker 1: there's not a lot of black ownership, especially from the

946
00:56:35,239 --> 00:56:40,200
Speaker 1: fashion space. But then there's also this level of ignorance

947
00:56:41,239 --> 00:56:47,680
Speaker 1: that people just feel very comfortable showing, right. Yeah. You

948
00:56:47,719 --> 00:56:49,640
Speaker 1: know something else I heard from a lot of business

949
00:56:49,640 --> 00:56:52,680
Speaker 1: owners was there was this uptick in like sales, right,

950
00:56:52,719 --> 00:56:57,400
Speaker 1: which then may be delayed shipping or you know, delayed production,

951
00:56:57,600 --> 00:57:00,200
Speaker 1: and then there's all this like customer service back lash, right,

952
00:57:00,280 --> 00:57:02,680
Speaker 1: And so it's like, yeah, you want to support black business,

953
00:57:02,680 --> 00:57:04,600
Speaker 1: but you don't then want to give them the grease

954
00:57:05,120 --> 00:57:07,080
Speaker 1: of being able to kind of scale in such a

955
00:57:07,080 --> 00:57:10,600
Speaker 1: short amount of time exactly. And then it's also the

956
00:57:10,640 --> 00:57:14,839
Speaker 1: grace that we're moving at the pace that we can

957
00:57:14,880 --> 00:57:17,280
Speaker 1: move because of the resources that are given to us,

958
00:57:18,520 --> 00:57:20,840
Speaker 1: and wanting to support us, but then not wanting to

959
00:57:21,280 --> 00:57:24,880
Speaker 1: align with those resources or wanting to show us off

960
00:57:24,960 --> 00:57:27,360
Speaker 1: on Juneteenth but not wanting to talk to us the

961
00:57:27,440 --> 00:57:31,560
Speaker 1: month after, Like what is that? So it was a lot,

962
00:57:31,680 --> 00:57:34,080
Speaker 1: It was a lot. I was always often the only

963
00:57:34,120 --> 00:57:36,000
Speaker 1: black girl and a lot of the places I worked,

964
00:57:36,040 --> 00:57:41,240
Speaker 1: and so I'm not that I'm used to the ignorance,

965
00:57:41,360 --> 00:57:44,640
Speaker 1: but it wasn't as shocking as It wasn't as shocking

966
00:57:44,720 --> 00:57:47,760
Speaker 1: until I opened the store and it was like so blazant.

967
00:57:48,680 --> 00:57:50,760
Speaker 1: Like before, you know, people could hide behind the email

968
00:57:50,880 --> 00:57:53,240
Speaker 1: or hide behind the colleague or whatever the case may be.

969
00:57:53,840 --> 00:57:56,200
Speaker 1: But when you're like the owner of the store and

970
00:57:56,200 --> 00:58:00,520
Speaker 1: you're checking someone out and it's just all this, Yeah,

971
00:58:00,720 --> 00:58:03,120
Speaker 1: I don't even know what to call it. Just it

972
00:58:03,240 --> 00:58:06,920
Speaker 1: was just insane. So yeah, I don't know, it's crazy.

973
00:58:06,960 --> 00:58:09,760
Speaker 1: I mean, it's what led me to therapy. So it

974
00:58:09,880 --> 00:58:13,360
Speaker 1: was a lot. So what are some of the other

975
00:58:13,440 --> 00:58:16,040
Speaker 1: hurdles you feel like you've experienced opening your shop as

976
00:58:16,040 --> 00:58:18,760
Speaker 1: a young black woman. That's a good question. I think

977
00:58:18,840 --> 00:58:22,960
Speaker 1: COVID and opening and operating around the border of George

978
00:58:23,000 --> 00:58:26,640
Speaker 1: Floyd was my biggest. I think the other ones I

979
00:58:26,960 --> 00:58:30,280
Speaker 1: face are just the constant I don't want to call

980
00:58:30,320 --> 00:58:35,160
Speaker 1: it a need, but they're constant. I get ignored a lot,

981
00:58:35,560 --> 00:58:38,680
Speaker 1: let me just say that. So I have to almost

982
00:58:39,240 --> 00:58:43,560
Speaker 1: metaphorically scream louder to be heard, whether that be in meetings,

983
00:58:43,840 --> 00:58:46,680
Speaker 1: whether that be over emails. I oft didn't have to

984
00:58:46,800 --> 00:58:49,680
Speaker 1: like have my third eye on everything to make sure

985
00:58:49,680 --> 00:58:52,760
Speaker 1: I'm not being taken advantage of because I'm new within

986
00:58:52,760 --> 00:58:55,320
Speaker 1: the space or young within this space. It's a lot

987
00:58:55,360 --> 00:58:58,200
Speaker 1: of self protecting. I had to learn how to do

988
00:58:58,280 --> 00:59:01,800
Speaker 1: from a business standpoint, and also kind of breaking the

989
00:59:01,840 --> 00:59:04,960
Speaker 1: barrier down of taking a lot of things personally. And

990
00:59:05,000 --> 00:59:09,000
Speaker 1: I think that's been my biggest turtle so far. I'm

991
00:59:09,040 --> 00:59:11,880
Speaker 1: sure I'll have more, but so far, I think that's

992
00:59:11,920 --> 00:59:16,680
Speaker 1: been the biggest one. Just being taken seriously, being heard

993
00:59:17,680 --> 00:59:20,560
Speaker 1: and being heard on a consistent level. So like, Okay,

994
00:59:20,600 --> 00:59:25,240
Speaker 1: you heard me back in March, hear me now, Like

995
00:59:25,520 --> 00:59:27,760
Speaker 1: I'm still a part of the space. I'm not going

996
00:59:27,800 --> 00:59:30,720
Speaker 1: to go away because certain things are being shown on

997
00:59:30,720 --> 00:59:33,440
Speaker 1: Instagram anymore because they figured out agorhythm to hide it.

998
00:59:33,920 --> 00:59:37,760
Speaker 1: Like I'm still amongst the voices that are in this space,

999
00:59:39,320 --> 00:59:42,760
Speaker 1: like hearing me roar. So I think that's been one

1000
00:59:42,800 --> 00:59:46,400
Speaker 1: of my biggest hurdles. And also like internal battles again

1001
00:59:46,440 --> 00:59:49,280
Speaker 1: I mentioned like not taking things personally and trying to

1002
00:59:49,520 --> 00:59:52,520
Speaker 1: still operate from a level of integrity even if integrity

1003
00:59:52,600 --> 00:59:56,400
Speaker 1: is not shown towards me. M that feels important. Yeah,

1004
00:59:56,400 --> 00:59:59,280
Speaker 1: and you mentioned therapy kind of entrepreneurship and you know,

1005
00:59:59,320 --> 01:00:01,360
Speaker 1: dealing with everything during the pandemic. As we led you

1006
01:00:01,440 --> 01:00:04,400
Speaker 1: to therapy and I've heard that from other entrepreneurs, right,

1007
01:00:04,440 --> 01:00:06,640
Speaker 1: like people who you know. Even though therapy can be

1008
01:00:06,640 --> 01:00:09,040
Speaker 1: great for lots of people, it does feel like there's

1009
01:00:09,080 --> 01:00:12,800
Speaker 1: something about like opening a business that really kicks up

1010
01:00:12,800 --> 01:00:14,840
Speaker 1: all of this stuff that then leads people to feel

1011
01:00:14,840 --> 01:00:16,960
Speaker 1: like they need to talk with someone. Can you talk

1012
01:00:17,000 --> 01:00:19,920
Speaker 1: a little bit more about how therapy has helped you

1013
01:00:19,960 --> 01:00:22,920
Speaker 1: to be successful with entrepreneurship. I mean it's given me

1014
01:00:23,000 --> 01:00:28,040
Speaker 1: the tools to kind of look inward first, for disclaiming,

1015
01:00:28,120 --> 01:00:31,760
Speaker 1: my mother is a therapist, so I love that for me.

1016
01:00:32,120 --> 01:00:36,160
Speaker 1: And when we opened the store sheet, I mean, it's honest,

1017
01:00:36,160 --> 01:00:38,400
Speaker 1: she's like, Tosha, I think we're gonna think we're gonna

1018
01:00:38,440 --> 01:00:41,520
Speaker 1: have to go outside of me because she's my mama,

1019
01:00:41,560 --> 01:00:45,040
Speaker 1: So of course she's like mama bear will always. But

1020
01:00:45,080 --> 01:00:47,680
Speaker 1: I think just using the tools to look outside myself,

1021
01:00:48,080 --> 01:00:53,040
Speaker 1: trying to see situations from another person's perspective, not feeling

1022
01:00:53,080 --> 01:00:56,360
Speaker 1: like the pressure is only on me, not feeling like

1023
01:00:56,440 --> 01:00:59,120
Speaker 1: I have to perform. And I think fashion is a

1024
01:00:59,120 --> 01:01:01,800
Speaker 1: lot of perform me. And I think one of the

1025
01:01:01,800 --> 01:01:04,840
Speaker 1: good things that came out of the pandemic was I'm

1026
01:01:04,840 --> 01:01:06,919
Speaker 1: not sure even if you remember, but that moment where

1027
01:01:06,920 --> 01:01:10,200
Speaker 1: everyone was talking about their experiences within the fashion space

1028
01:01:10,840 --> 01:01:14,240
Speaker 1: and their experiences from a negative standpoint, like what was

1029
01:01:14,320 --> 01:01:18,520
Speaker 1: happening to them behind closed doors. And so I think

1030
01:01:18,560 --> 01:01:21,200
Speaker 1: for me, a lot of what I was used to

1031
01:01:21,320 --> 01:01:24,480
Speaker 1: prior to was just performing, like being an entrepreneur is great,

1032
01:01:24,560 --> 01:01:27,320
Speaker 1: it's easy, and it's glamorous and all these things, and

1033
01:01:27,880 --> 01:01:31,920
Speaker 1: finally coming to groups with Okay, it's not always the best,

1034
01:01:32,040 --> 01:01:34,160
Speaker 1: and it's okay to share that, and it's okay to

1035
01:01:34,760 --> 01:01:39,160
Speaker 1: tell your story and have a real level of transparency

1036
01:01:39,520 --> 01:01:42,240
Speaker 1: with your audience should you choose to want to do that.

1037
01:01:42,440 --> 01:01:45,440
Speaker 1: And so I think for me it was okay, I

1038
01:01:45,480 --> 01:01:49,120
Speaker 1: am going to a hundred percent show up in this space.

1039
01:01:49,200 --> 01:01:52,080
Speaker 1: I'm going to show up as Telsha Anderson Boone. I'm

1040
01:01:52,120 --> 01:01:55,040
Speaker 1: not going to show up as how you all expect

1041
01:01:55,080 --> 01:01:58,960
Speaker 1: me to show up. So if on Tuesday that means um,

1042
01:01:59,120 --> 01:02:02,800
Speaker 1: glamorous and I haven't been excited, then that's after entrepreneur

1043
01:02:02,880 --> 01:02:04,680
Speaker 1: I am. And then if all when they have you know,

1044
01:02:04,760 --> 01:02:07,800
Speaker 1: something different, or I'm battling with DHL trying to get

1045
01:02:07,800 --> 01:02:10,760
Speaker 1: a pathoge out of customs, then that's how I'm showing up.

1046
01:02:10,920 --> 01:02:15,280
Speaker 1: So I think that's how therapy helped. And I think

1047
01:02:15,320 --> 01:02:17,840
Speaker 1: for me, I went to therapy when I had a

1048
01:02:17,920 --> 01:02:20,440
Speaker 1: really great press run and that was kind of just

1049
01:02:20,560 --> 01:02:24,360
Speaker 1: in everything, and I started to feel very repetitive and

1050
01:02:24,400 --> 01:02:26,480
Speaker 1: how I showed up and in what I was saying.

1051
01:02:26,720 --> 01:02:29,320
Speaker 1: And so when I recognized that, I was like, yeah,

1052
01:02:29,360 --> 01:02:31,960
Speaker 1: this is cool, girl, but like, who are you really

1053
01:02:32,720 --> 01:02:35,520
Speaker 1: that I was to therapy. And I also got married

1054
01:02:35,560 --> 01:02:37,320
Speaker 1: around the same time I opened the store, and that's

1055
01:02:37,320 --> 01:02:40,439
Speaker 1: a whole another level of everything. So I just wanted

1056
01:02:40,480 --> 01:02:43,960
Speaker 1: to show up as myself as a businessperson, as a businesswoman,

1057
01:02:44,120 --> 01:02:48,120
Speaker 1: as a wife, and as a daughter or sister, friend,

1058
01:02:48,240 --> 01:02:51,280
Speaker 1: all those things. So and I'm not just gonna you know,

1059
01:02:51,320 --> 01:02:53,320
Speaker 1: I love my business, but I'm not gonna let it

1060
01:02:53,880 --> 01:02:57,760
Speaker 1: consume me. And it's a small reflection of who I am.

1061
01:02:57,800 --> 01:03:02,600
Speaker 1: It's not the only reflect ship of who I am.

1062
01:03:02,640 --> 01:03:05,560
Speaker 1: In addition to therapy, are there other practices or any

1063
01:03:05,680 --> 01:03:10,440
Speaker 1: mantras or affirmations that you use to kind of support yourself. Yes,

1064
01:03:10,600 --> 01:03:14,960
Speaker 1: I'm a believer, so I am strong in my faith.

1065
01:03:15,240 --> 01:03:18,440
Speaker 1: I try to read daily, I pray a lot, I

1066
01:03:18,520 --> 01:03:23,680
Speaker 1: pray all day long. And my mantra I need the

1067
01:03:23,720 --> 01:03:26,320
Speaker 1: Bible says you have to forgive seventy seven times, seven

1068
01:03:26,360 --> 01:03:30,440
Speaker 1: times a day, So I think that's my biggest thing.

1069
01:03:30,520 --> 01:03:32,840
Speaker 1: For giving someone for stepping on my foot on the train,

1070
01:03:33,000 --> 01:03:35,640
Speaker 1: and for giving someone talking crazy to me in the email.

1071
01:03:35,680 --> 01:03:39,640
Speaker 1: It kind of just all balances. So yeah, I mean,

1072
01:03:40,000 --> 01:03:42,160
Speaker 1: like I said, I pray a lot. I'm a believer

1073
01:03:42,200 --> 01:03:44,960
Speaker 1: in my husband's a believer, members, all members of my

1074
01:03:45,000 --> 01:03:48,280
Speaker 1: family are, so I also lean to them as well

1075
01:03:48,800 --> 01:03:51,920
Speaker 1: for advice or for wisdom when I just don't have it.

1076
01:03:52,480 --> 01:03:54,880
Speaker 1: And I'm still new in my faith. I've been a

1077
01:03:55,320 --> 01:03:59,160
Speaker 1: believer since I was a baby, but obviously adult level

1078
01:03:59,280 --> 01:04:01,560
Speaker 1: is different out I'm new and that and I'm learning

1079
01:04:01,640 --> 01:04:03,520
Speaker 1: and then just being open to learning, being open to

1080
01:04:03,560 --> 01:04:06,120
Speaker 1: what's new. So do you have people who work in

1081
01:04:06,160 --> 01:04:09,000
Speaker 1: the story with you? Has that been an additional challenge

1082
01:04:09,040 --> 01:04:12,480
Speaker 1: like figuring out like how to manage people? Now I

1083
01:04:12,560 --> 01:04:16,320
Speaker 1: have sales associates, and so now I'm transitioning to bring

1084
01:04:16,440 --> 01:04:19,000
Speaker 1: someone on that can help me a bit more directly.

1085
01:04:19,840 --> 01:04:25,400
Speaker 1: It is difficult, I think because I operate from sometimes

1086
01:04:25,440 --> 01:04:29,280
Speaker 1: an overly compassionate level. So it's like, oh, you were

1087
01:04:29,320 --> 01:04:33,200
Speaker 1: three minutes like, oh, it's okay, I understand. So I'm

1088
01:04:33,240 --> 01:04:36,800
Speaker 1: trying to manage that, and I think when you manage people,

1089
01:04:37,560 --> 01:04:41,960
Speaker 1: the idea of like needing to be liked is like

1090
01:04:42,440 --> 01:04:45,120
Speaker 1: for some and for me, oh, I want you to

1091
01:04:45,160 --> 01:04:46,640
Speaker 1: like me. I want them to say they had a

1092
01:04:46,680 --> 01:04:50,760
Speaker 1: good experience with me, because I've had terrible experiences with others.

1093
01:04:51,480 --> 01:04:55,080
Speaker 1: And realizing that's not something that I can control is

1094
01:04:55,120 --> 01:04:59,320
Speaker 1: my new thing. So I am kind, yes, I am direct, yes,

1095
01:05:00,160 --> 01:05:05,120
Speaker 1: and hopefully that will help your experience within the fact

1096
01:05:05,200 --> 01:05:07,800
Speaker 1: of space. I do not have to be someone's best

1097
01:05:07,840 --> 01:05:09,840
Speaker 1: friend in order for them to do a good job

1098
01:05:10,200 --> 01:05:14,560
Speaker 1: at the store. So I'm learning that. Yeah, lots of

1099
01:05:14,600 --> 01:05:20,360
Speaker 1: growing pains and transitions. It sounds like lots it's but

1100
01:05:20,480 --> 01:05:26,440
Speaker 1: we're still here. Indeed, So there's been a lot of

1101
01:05:26,480 --> 01:05:30,040
Speaker 1: like online chatter about black girl luxury. I'm sure you've

1102
01:05:30,080 --> 01:05:32,520
Speaker 1: seen this hashtag and videos and you know, like just

1103
01:05:32,600 --> 01:05:36,520
Speaker 1: lots of conversations, and I'm wondering, what does luxury mean

1104
01:05:36,560 --> 01:05:38,600
Speaker 1: to you and what does it look like or what

1105
01:05:38,640 --> 01:05:42,440
Speaker 1: could it look like for black women to incorporate luxury

1106
01:05:42,440 --> 01:05:45,320
Speaker 1: into their lives, whether that's big or small. I mean,

1107
01:05:45,320 --> 01:05:48,440
Speaker 1: the first thing I think that I've realized, and I

1108
01:05:48,520 --> 01:05:51,200
Speaker 1: do believe other women are realizing from like the hashtag

1109
01:05:51,280 --> 01:05:54,160
Speaker 1: or from the movement, is that luxury doesn't always have

1110
01:05:54,240 --> 01:05:57,640
Speaker 1: to add up to a materialistic good, until luxury isn't

1111
01:05:57,680 --> 01:06:00,960
Speaker 1: always three doctor dollar bag. I think luxury can be

1112
01:06:01,000 --> 01:06:04,160
Speaker 1: as small as giving yourself thirty minutes in a day,

1113
01:06:05,480 --> 01:06:08,160
Speaker 1: giving yourself a facial, taking yourself out to dinner, go

1114
01:06:08,200 --> 01:06:11,240
Speaker 1: into the movies. It could be as small and like

1115
01:06:11,320 --> 01:06:13,080
Speaker 1: low skill as that. And then yes, of course you

1116
01:06:13,120 --> 01:06:15,680
Speaker 1: can also be these beautiful bags. And I think for me,

1117
01:06:16,000 --> 01:06:18,960
Speaker 1: luxury really had just been self care, having telshia time,

1118
01:06:19,600 --> 01:06:21,600
Speaker 1: make sure that the days that I'm off are to

1119
01:06:21,760 --> 01:06:24,800
Speaker 1: myself unless it's something that I genuinely want to be

1120
01:06:24,840 --> 01:06:28,200
Speaker 1: a part of, and that's just how the schedule works out.

1121
01:06:28,640 --> 01:06:31,439
Speaker 1: With the luxury for me also too, which is has

1122
01:06:31,520 --> 01:06:35,080
Speaker 1: been just being like overly transparent with people in my space.

1123
01:06:35,840 --> 01:06:39,360
Speaker 1: So if it's like, hey, I need an hour and

1124
01:06:39,400 --> 01:06:41,840
Speaker 1: I need everyone not to speak, or I'm gonna go

1125
01:06:41,960 --> 01:06:44,880
Speaker 1: take myself out to lunch. That has also proven itself lucky,

1126
01:06:44,880 --> 01:06:46,840
Speaker 1: because the luxury of just being yourself, the luxury and

1127
01:06:46,920 --> 01:06:49,640
Speaker 1: being free, to luxury of being open. But I love

1128
01:06:49,680 --> 01:06:53,840
Speaker 1: the hashtag. I'm glad we're as a collective finally realizing

1129
01:06:53,880 --> 01:06:58,040
Speaker 1: that luxury is for us. I think it's great as well,

1130
01:06:58,600 --> 01:07:02,320
Speaker 1: and I'm excited to see how the hashtag continues and

1131
01:07:02,360 --> 01:07:04,800
Speaker 1: what it means. I bought myself a bottle of rose

1132
01:07:04,960 --> 01:07:07,200
Speaker 1: at the pool the other day, and that was luxury.

1133
01:07:07,480 --> 01:07:11,200
Speaker 1: So I mean, there we go. It just depends, It

1134
01:07:11,280 --> 01:07:13,400
Speaker 1: just depends. I mean everyone's version is different. I think

1135
01:07:13,440 --> 01:07:15,720
Speaker 1: that's what they got noticed with the movement. Everyone has

1136
01:07:15,760 --> 01:07:19,600
Speaker 1: a different idea of what luxury is to that, right, right, Yeah,

1137
01:07:19,600 --> 01:07:21,480
Speaker 1: And I think that that is the important piece, right

1138
01:07:21,520 --> 01:07:25,160
Speaker 1: that we all get to define that for ourselves. Yeah, exactly,

1139
01:07:25,280 --> 01:07:31,520
Speaker 1: like I love it. Like I said, deconditioned day, that's luxury. So,

1140
01:07:31,560 --> 01:07:34,160
Speaker 1: since you are a trusted fashion girl, we wanted to

1141
01:07:34,280 --> 01:07:37,080
Speaker 1: play a little game with you. So I have a

1142
01:07:37,120 --> 01:07:39,800
Speaker 1: couple of fictional TV characters and I would love to

1143
01:07:39,840 --> 01:07:42,960
Speaker 1: hear what designer you would suggest if they were shopping

1144
01:07:43,000 --> 01:07:48,640
Speaker 1: in t A. Oh, okay, are black? They're gonna be black? Okay,

1145
01:07:50,120 --> 01:07:54,760
Speaker 1: my TV skills only go so far. Okay, great, let's play. Okay,

1146
01:07:54,800 --> 01:08:01,720
Speaker 1: what about Jody from Daria? Oh tell far telefore? Okay,

1147
01:08:01,840 --> 01:08:05,600
Speaker 1: we love it. What about Raven Baxter from that? So Raven.

1148
01:08:08,000 --> 01:08:12,840
Speaker 1: I loved her. What designer I'm going to pair with her?

1149
01:08:13,840 --> 01:08:16,360
Speaker 1: Oh my god? Can I? I don't know if she

1150
01:08:16,360 --> 01:08:19,320
Speaker 1: gives me vintage like she gives me the rift, she

1151
01:08:19,400 --> 01:08:23,360
Speaker 1: gives me like high luxury thrifts like yeah, like Raven

1152
01:08:23,400 --> 01:08:26,280
Speaker 1: at post college, like could totally be seen like a

1153
01:08:26,360 --> 01:08:30,439
Speaker 1: fire like Captain from like nineteen whatever, like who knows,

1154
01:08:30,600 --> 01:08:32,200
Speaker 1: but yeah, that's what I gonna do is she's a

1155
01:08:32,280 --> 01:08:34,799
Speaker 1: vintage girl for sure, because she used to wear those jeans,

1156
01:08:35,320 --> 01:08:37,880
Speaker 1: those Jeane jackets with the fur around the rent, the collar,

1157
01:08:38,280 --> 01:08:40,679
Speaker 1: the collar and then the fur around the wrists as well.

1158
01:08:40,920 --> 01:08:44,120
Speaker 1: So yeah, I'm gonna just say vintage. Okay, what about

1159
01:08:44,200 --> 01:08:50,400
Speaker 1: Kim Parker from Militia. Oh I love Kim. Kim always

1160
01:08:50,400 --> 01:08:53,719
Speaker 1: wear a lot of color, So I'm gonna say Christopher

1161
01:08:53,760 --> 01:08:58,439
Speaker 1: John Rodgers being on color. She was being on color. Yeah,

1162
01:08:58,720 --> 01:09:01,439
Speaker 1: and then her as her mom used to match her

1163
01:09:01,680 --> 01:09:07,040
Speaker 1: like that was so cute. Yeah, but one more Tony

1164
01:09:07,120 --> 01:09:15,040
Speaker 1: Child's from Girlfriends faith. She's giving like Dree, she's giving product.

1165
01:09:16,280 --> 01:09:19,559
Speaker 1: She probably have that meal like little set that went viral,

1166
01:09:20,000 --> 01:09:24,000
Speaker 1: like the little mini skirt and you could definitely well

1167
01:09:24,520 --> 01:09:28,360
Speaker 1: yeah that's that. Yeah, that was like great suggestions. So

1168
01:09:28,400 --> 01:09:31,559
Speaker 1: what experience do you hope that people take away from shopping?

1169
01:09:31,600 --> 01:09:34,960
Speaker 1: And TA TA is really about discovery, So I really

1170
01:09:35,040 --> 01:09:38,000
Speaker 1: want someone to come in and discover something new. You

1171
01:09:38,080 --> 01:09:39,639
Speaker 1: can come to the store, I'm like, Okay, I want

1172
01:09:39,680 --> 01:09:42,560
Speaker 1: to buy this autoling her top and then to the

1173
01:09:42,680 --> 01:09:45,400
Speaker 1: right of you could be something from Bosma's or something

1174
01:09:45,520 --> 01:09:50,639
Speaker 1: from bev'sa or Christopher Esper, Like just the idea of discovery.

1175
01:09:50,680 --> 01:09:52,400
Speaker 1: And it also doesn't have to be just closed, like

1176
01:09:52,479 --> 01:09:55,000
Speaker 1: we have books that you can kind of not buy,

1177
01:09:55,200 --> 01:09:58,920
Speaker 1: but you could totally browse, take a photo by yourself.

1178
01:09:59,240 --> 01:10:02,759
Speaker 1: So there's oh, I mean, there's a whole level of discovery.

1179
01:10:02,760 --> 01:10:04,479
Speaker 1: I just want someone to walk in and feel fresh,

1180
01:10:04,640 --> 01:10:07,680
Speaker 1: like you're walking into my brain and my closet or

1181
01:10:07,760 --> 01:10:10,639
Speaker 1: my living room at any giving time. So I hope

1182
01:10:10,680 --> 01:10:12,679
Speaker 1: that's experience you and then you leave with a piece

1183
01:10:12,760 --> 01:10:15,240
Speaker 1: of like, wow, what a great shopping experience. I was

1184
01:10:15,320 --> 01:10:17,280
Speaker 1: able to talk to Telsha where I was able to

1185
01:10:17,360 --> 01:10:19,600
Speaker 1: feel like until she was there and we have this

1186
01:10:19,720 --> 01:10:22,840
Speaker 1: in common and like, wow, they're black girls within this space.

1187
01:10:22,960 --> 01:10:26,000
Speaker 1: That's so cool, Like I can aspire to something like

1188
01:10:26,080 --> 01:10:29,679
Speaker 1: this or something similar moment and like that. That sounds

1189
01:10:29,720 --> 01:10:33,280
Speaker 1: like a great experience. So where can we stay connected

1190
01:10:33,360 --> 01:10:35,400
Speaker 1: to you and the work? Where can we go shopping

1191
01:10:35,479 --> 01:10:37,559
Speaker 1: at t A? What's your website as well as any

1192
01:10:37,640 --> 01:10:40,439
Speaker 1: social media handles? All love it? So our website is

1193
01:10:40,680 --> 01:10:45,720
Speaker 1: www dot shop dash, t A dot com. My Instagram

1194
01:10:45,960 --> 01:10:49,800
Speaker 1: is Telsha Anderson T E L s A J Anderson

1195
01:10:50,120 --> 01:10:53,880
Speaker 1: s O N. And the storagsagram is t dot A

1196
01:10:54,040 --> 01:10:56,320
Speaker 1: dot New York and that's where you can find us.

1197
01:10:57,200 --> 01:10:58,880
Speaker 1: Will be sure to include all of that in this

1198
01:10:58,960 --> 01:11:01,120
Speaker 1: show notes. Thank you so much for joining us today,

1199
01:11:01,160 --> 01:11:04,160
Speaker 1: tells you, I really appreciate it. Thanks thanks for having

1200
01:11:04,160 --> 01:11:08,680
Speaker 1: me talk to Joy. It's not every day you get

1201
01:11:08,760 --> 01:11:10,840
Speaker 1: to hear from two black women in an industry as

1202
01:11:10,920 --> 01:11:14,840
Speaker 1: fast paced and riveting as fashion. The TVG team thinks

1203
01:11:14,920 --> 01:11:18,240
Speaker 1: both Sherry and Tellsha for being pioneers and an inspiration

1204
01:11:18,360 --> 01:11:22,000
Speaker 1: to so many aspiring business owners and fashion eastness. If

1205
01:11:22,040 --> 01:11:24,799
Speaker 1: you're ever in Oakland or New York's be Packing District,

1206
01:11:25,120 --> 01:11:28,200
Speaker 1: make sure to visit McMullan Boutique and t A respectively,

1207
01:11:28,960 --> 01:11:31,200
Speaker 1: and be sure to text two of your girls to

1208
01:11:31,280 --> 01:11:34,720
Speaker 1: tell them to check out this episode right now. If

1209
01:11:34,760 --> 01:11:37,280
Speaker 1: you're looking for a therapist in your area. Check out

1210
01:11:37,320 --> 01:11:40,160
Speaker 1: our therapist directory at Therapy for Black Girls dot com

1211
01:11:40,280 --> 01:11:44,000
Speaker 1: slash directory. And if you want to continue this conversation

1212
01:11:44,439 --> 01:11:47,120
Speaker 1: or just be in community with other sisters, come on

1213
01:11:47,240 --> 01:11:49,680
Speaker 1: over and join us in the Sister Circle. It's our

1214
01:11:49,760 --> 01:11:52,360
Speaker 1: cozy corner of the Internet design just for black women.

1215
01:11:52,920 --> 01:11:55,320
Speaker 1: You can join us at community dot Therapy for Black

1216
01:11:55,360 --> 01:11:59,400
Speaker 1: Girls dot com. This episode was produced by Freda Lucas

1217
01:11:59,479 --> 01:12:02,720
Speaker 1: and at last Ellis, and editing and sound engineering was

1218
01:12:02,800 --> 01:12:05,800
Speaker 1: done by Dennis and Bradford. Thank you all so much

1219
01:12:05,840 --> 01:12:08,240
Speaker 1: for joining me again this week. I look forward to

1220
01:12:08,320 --> 01:12:12,160
Speaker 1: continuing this conversation with you all real soon. Take it

1221
01:12:12,280 --> 01:12:12,519
Speaker 1: care