The Story of How a 25 Year Old Opened Her Own Retail Store Amidst a Global Pandemic

I lost my job when COVID hit the city. So I decided to open my own store.

Let’s back track.

A year or so ago, my dad and I went to California. I had just finished up an internship that goes where all internships go- nowhere. He had a business trip planned to Los Angeles to do research for a book he was writing at the time. The book had a not-so-simple premise: city guides of where to eat, drink and shop in a given area if you are an ice hockey fanatic. He brought me along to help, at which point I told him he had messed up.

“Dad, this book would be so much cooler, and easier to do, if it 1) had nothing to do with ice hockey, and 2) only featured local & small businesses.”

For some reason he agreed, and we decided to do it.

We launched The Butterfly Club, a guide on how to eat, drink & shop sustainably, a few months later. My dad designed the logo, the site, and the overall feel for The Butterfly Club, which is 50% of the brand itself. I built out the metric and started reaching out to brands for features on the website. Each month, I released a list of 9 verified brands who passed our metric- and were cool enough to join the club. I then started reaching out to each of them for interviews, and from there I grew Words from the Wise.

Ok, now we can fast forward.

COVID hits NYC and I’m furloughed from my retail job, which was kind of ok because I 1) needed a giant push out of retail and 2) needed a giant push into The Butterfly Club.

Now enters, Alex.

My boyfriend, aside from being an accountant + superintendent + contractor + artist + my therapist, is a property manager for a bunch of buildings throughout the East side of Manhattan. One of which is a retail space, right next door to where my whole fashion journey began.

Rewind again.

My dad and I come back from California with this idea. And while we’re still working on it once we’re home in Brooklyn, he has a book deal to finish, and I have a job to find. I had been wanting to transition out of international development, which I had just been studying for 4 years at a very expensive institution and committed all of my future income to, and into fashion. Why I switched gears is subject for another very long, confusing story so check back later for that one.

Where to start looking for a job in a new industry in which you have no experience or relevant contacts? The very, very bottom. Which for fashion, is retail.

A friend of mine suggested a small boutique in the East Village, Love Only, where he had just met the store owner who mentioned needing some retail help as she opened her second store. I DM’d her and had the job the following week.

As cheesy as it sounds, that job taught me everything I know about retail. Not just sales strategy, but the backend. It taught me inventory management, the importance of vendor relationships, wholesale vs. consignment and why margins matter. I became second in command and took on everything from building out a new POS (point-of-sales for you non-fashionistas) to throwing pop ups with local designers (one of which was for my own brand- again, another story, another time).

So fast forward back to Alex.

Love Only was right next door to a store called Reason’s Clothing. A guy named Empress worked at Reasons. Empress and I became fast friends. He introduced me to Alex. Alex and I fell in love (story #4).

Alex manages the building Reason’s was in. Reason’s left. The space was empty. Then COVID hit. The space stayed empty.

Until we opened The Butterfly Club General Store.

Sorry, one last rewind.

Eventually I quit Love Only to go onto another retail job with a larger company. I never wanted to work big box, but I wanted to take it one step further and see what it was like with a medium sized company- and one that was known for sustainability. I began working at Amour Vert a few months later.

Ok, fast forward all the way to the beginning now.

I was furloughed from Amour Vert in March when COVID hit the city. In June the website for The Butterfly Club was live and our first list of verified brands was up. In October we signed a lease for The General Store.

Remember the empty storefront Alex managed? We rented it.

In two weeks, we transformed the store into what is now home to over a dozen small & sustainable brands from The Butterfly Club.

From hand-dyed hoodies and socks, to gender fluid tees and totes, to upcycled leather bags & wallets, to soy wax candles, we’ve got it all. We’ve created a really special place for small & sustainable brands to meet new customers, some of which want to shop sustainably and some of which who just want cool stuff. And I get to be my own boss. And run my own store. And pick my own brands.

This isn’t just a feel good story about a 25 year old who was stuck in retail and somehow (a lot of hard work + patience + loving friends & family + coffee) managed to open her own store in the middle of a global pandemic. This is a feel good story for all of the small brands who have been hit hard by COVID. It’s hard enough to run a small business, especially a sustainable one that cares about its employees and the planet (which sadly, often means more $$$), but the pandemic didn’t make it any easier. And now these brands have a home in the heart of the East Village, where the streets (and wallets) are packed.

So to all small brands who are struggling to stay afloat, we’re here to help. Please get in touch.

And to all unemployed 25 year olds: figure out what you want to do and go do it. It might work out, it might not, but it’s worth a shot. It’s really hard and a lot of magic has to happen, but in a world where everything feels so uncertain it’s way more fun betting on yourself than on some job you don’t even like.

And to NYC: thanks for your resiliency during these absolutely insane and chaotic times. Even with so many apartments and offices abandoned, this city is still very much alive. There is no other city I could have done this in.

And to everyone else, please go shopping. Shop slow, shop small and shop local. Find brands who share your values and support the small business owners you want to see succeed. Not sure where to look? Head to The Butterfly Club, we got you.