Week 8 - Bishop Collective
Part 1 - Prior Knowledge of Bishop Collective:
Prior to going to Bishop Collective, I had very little knowledge of what this store was about. After conducting some research on Bishop Collective’s website, I learned some interesting facts about this shop. The first interesting fact about Bishop Collective is that this store is run by a Kent State University NYC Studio Instructor, which allows for her to not only continue to work in the industry but also, provide knowledge about fashion forecasting and such to her local community. Another interesting fact I learned deals with Bishop Collective being an ethically sourced fashion company. The fact the store prides itself on being ethically sourced means that the store makes sure that all of their products are being made locally, products are being made with the highest craftsmanship possible, and the workers behind assembly their products are working in suitable working conditions and are being paid livable wages. While most companies may or may not highlight how ethically sourced they are, I love that Bishop Collective is based around being ethically sourced and makes sure this value is being upheld every day at their factories.
Part 2 - Observations During Store Experience:
After looking around Bishop Collective and getting brief history from Mai, the co-owner of the store and a Kent State University NYC Studio Instructor, I enjoyed listening to her talk to us about how she came to own this store while being a professor at a local university. Though Mai had stopped working in the fashion industry after she decided to become a professor, she also talked to my class about how quickly she realized how much her experience in the industry would only be useful for the first two years of her teaching because the industry is always evolving and because of that, she found telling her class stories about her previous fashion industry experience could only work for a short period of time. Due to Mai’s stories about her fashion industry experience starting to become fleeting and not resonating with her students so much, she decided to launch her own clothing company and continue to enhance her industry skills. Due to Mai realizing how important having current experience in the fashion industry is, it made me realize how I do not want to go into teaching after I have years of experience in the fashion industry, I would love to hopefully create my own brand instead after years of working for other companies and create something for myself.
Part 3 - Overall Impression of Bishop Collective:
While I enjoyed Bishop Collective as a store and got to view some of their best-selling clothing items, it is actually something that Mai said to my class that really resonated with me afterward. What Mai said that resonated with me so much was how she explained when owning your own company/store, you can’t be afraid to do anything and everything for it. Essentially, she spoke about cleaning the store on a daily basis, getting to know your target market and interact with them, show up to the store almost every day of the week, and come to learn new tasks in your store, especially when it comes to your customer service. Overall, Mai explained to me and my class that if you are unwilling to get down and dirty when creating your brand on a daily basis, learning new things about your brand as it develops over time, and be willing to shift things around in a timely manner or with little notice involved, then you should really consider if you are up for the challenges that come along with owning your own store and clothing company. All in all, Mai and her ambition to build her own fashion company from scratch is what truly resonated with me and made me think about what I want to be doing if/when I decide to stop working for a company or someone else in the fashion industry.
