Luke Attebery Hosts the Coolest Weekly Pop-Ups in New York City
We spoke to the founder of LifeStyle Clothing, the awesome cooperative that sells the freshest threads, and throws the sweetest party in Chelsea
We’re back with another Member Spotlight, because our members are FRIGGIN’ AWESOME and always worth bragging about!
A few weeks ago, I interviewed the wonderfully spooky, unconventional artist, River Coelho. When he suggested the place we’d meet, a location in Chelsea in which he’d be displaying his work, I erroneously assumed it would be some sort of stuffy art gallery. Boy was I wrong. What the venue ended up being, was one of LifeStyle Clothing Cooperative’s weekly Thursday pop-up shows, by far the coolest thing happening in this part of town. There were artists, musicians, fashionistas… and me.
All of this was run by LifeStyle’s founder, Luke Attebery, a young entrepreneur doing his best to establish and grow this kickass brand. I met Luke at that show, and over the past few weeks have been bugging him to answer some of my questions about his business.
Check out our conversation below:
Can you tell me more about your background and how you came to found LifeStyle Clothing?
The LifeStyle Clothing Cooperative started back in 2014 in my college apartment in SUNY New Paltz. I had known that I wanted to start a business since the beginning of college, but in all honesty the model changed a lot since it’s inception. This is actually the second company I’ve started in my life, the first being an e-commerce gift basket company that I dissolved after quickly discovering my disinterest in gift baskets.
LifeStyleClothing.com started with a model where I would finance small run T-shirt prints for local artists and sell them on our online platform at a 50/50 split. I went around campus putting up flyers to convince artists to send me their work and after a while I was able to get a decent collection. After doing that for a bit I decided to start going after pre-established brands and that’s when we started to grow and get to where we are today.
Now, the focus of the company is to work with big brands to provide a retail platform to conduct sales and to connect with their customers, but at the same time still provide a creative platform for artists and smaller designers to sell their work online and through our weekly Manhattan pop-ups.
How did you come to start throwing these pop-up shows?
The pop-up shows started as just an idea with friends Ian White and Jessette Bautista. We already had the functioning online platform and we wanted to connect more with the customers in person. It just felt natural to experiment with brick and mortar and it’s been an awesome experience for us and the artists and musicians we’ve been teaming up with!
How do you curate the various artists and musicians that perform at these shows?
We’re actively looking for artists and musicians to be a part of our pop-ups. We want to create a new experience every pop-up so we try to schedule each act to complement each other and create an environment for the people and passerbys to shop our pieces and enjoy themselves.
How would you define the aesthetic of the company and of the brands you work with?
I think the best way to describe the vibe of our company is a free form expressive platform. Our roots originated in skateboarding and action sports but over time we have grown to embody more than that. We are focused on curating a superior shopping environment where our customer can be stimulated and inspired yet comfortable all at the same time. As I’ve grown personally and professionally we have began searching for true quality and aesthetics in the brands that we work with from Patagonia to 10 Deep. Our great customer service, easy return policy, and reliable shipping are all things that add to our shopping platform.
How do you decide what brands to work with?
When I first started the company the only way to get brands working with us was to reach out to them myself. I probably sent over three hundred emails before we got our first retail agreement. It got to a point where I think reps were just giving us wholesale access to get me to stop hitting them up. But I have no shame because it worked and has allowed us to work with some amazing people. Nowadays we travel to tradeshows to pick up most of our new accounts. Right now I’m on a plane to LA to visit Agenda Trade Show and meet with some new companies, which is always a fun time.
What is your goal? Where do you see the company in a few years?
I want to continue building a company where investors see a safe place to hold long positions in. I see us growing our collective of artists, reaching a level where our inventory covers every piece of clothing imaginable and where people think of us first when they need to add to their wardrobe. We’re on track to accomplish this and I’m excited for what the future holds.
What shows or events do you have coming up?
We have our pop-ups every Thursday in the shipping and receiving bay of our 510 West 27th warehouse featuring different artists and performers from around the world. Sometimes we move around so follow us on Instagram @lifestyleclothingcoop to see what we’re up to next. Last week we had international model and entrepreneur @i.ndyamarie for a meet and greet which was a huge success and great time.
Is there anything else you’d like to mention?
I want to emphasize our core values of creative expression. I think the people who have come by our office or pop-ups have seen what we stand for as a collective and we encourage more people to create and build and support each other. Also thank you Ollie for coming by and connecting and letting me tell some of my story!
That’s it for this week’s Member Spotlight. Make sure you check out lifestyleclothing.com and add them on Instagram @lifestyleclothingcoop for more news on their awesome Thursday pop-up shows. These are seriously the best, so go and check one out!
