Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Becky Tonkin & Nicholas Wheeler Owners, Shift + Wheeler . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Becky Tonkin & Nicholas Wheeler, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?
This is Becky speaking for all of the answers:
We’re a hybrid business, in that we were once two businesses but now operate as one. When we started out, I was Shift, and Nick was Wheeler Bag Co. Shift came out of my massive typewriter collection; the Shift key being quite prominent and often (historically) beautifully designed. A friend gave me a Shift key pin, and it made me think of how the word means many things, including a very simple style of dress, and also a movement. I wanted my clothes to be a paradigm shift in how we approached basics for fat people.
Nick’s name was based on his last name, and is also a callback to his dad’s tarp company name. Naturally, when we joined forces we didn’t want to erase either one of us, and the names flow together naturally and evoke machinery, movement, and production, we think.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
We are a clothing and bag company that focuses on fat and queer customers, but everyone is welcome. Nick and I both began sewing at the sides of our relatives, and when we met as adults, we encouraged one another to begin our respective sewing-based businesses. Slowly growing until we could quit our “normie” jobs, we both separately and together sold at regional and local craft fairs, wholesaled at small businesses, tried out other venues for sales, and really got to know our customers. In 2020 we opened our brick and mortar and merged our two businesses together, and weathered the storm that came out of the Covid years, and here we are.
The most special services we provide comes from our ability to customize garments and bags. Because we are a small team and make everything with our own hands, we can offer special sizing on a dress, or an extra long strap on a bag, for example. We’re proud of our connection to the fat and queer communities. Because we, ourselves, are both fat and/or queer, our work is truly a reflection of our true selves, making our relationships with our customers pretty amazing! We know what they want. Because we’re a “fashion” brand, we won’t be everything to everyone, but for the people we do work with, we’re able to offer an authentic – and often much needed – experience.
How’d you meet your business partner?
We met through a mutual friend and discovered we had a lot of similar interests and were both sewing in small batches. This was maybe 10 years ago? Nick said “we should do the (local) Astoria Sunday Market together” and I scoffed, having done outdoor markets for years (in produce, not garments) and remembering the harrowing hours and long cycles of busy/boring. But I think I trusted Nick from the beginning and we just grew our business babies together. I picked this question because I wanted to address the subject of having a business partner, which is, while challenging at times (we both have strong opinions) is, for me, one of the most comforting things you can have in a fresh business. Not everyone is so lucky, but sharing the struggles and joys and most importantly, the responsibilities, with someone else, is a true gift. We live in a very small town and know so many single-owner businesses, and when it comes down to staffing and representing (not to mention doing the work), it all comes down to them. For us, we can divide responsibilities and both reap the benefits. Not that it’s all easy, but it’s shared.
Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?
We do manufacture our own products, we make everything in our 1300 square foot workshops/showroom space. We did know how to make clothes and bags before we opened the business, but we’ve learned a LOT about efficiency and sourcing since. I’m pretty sure we do a lot of things the long way, or the wrong way, compared to most but we stubbornly stand by our reasons. For instance, we prewash all of our garment fabrics, because (as we specialize in natural fiber fabrics) we understand how shrinking your dress after you wore it once can be devastating, and we want your investment to last. We understand that how something feels is just as important as how it fits. Over the years we’ve gotten better at embracing shortcuts (I used to think that was “cheating”) that give the same results, and have found better and better quality fabrics, leather, and findings. We’re currently at the precipice of outsourcing some of our items, but have yet to figure out how to make it work just right for us.
Contact Info:
- Website: shiftwheeler.com
- Instagram: @shiftwheeler
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShiftAstoria/
Image Credits
Becky Tonkin Nick Wheeler