We recently connected with Geoff Hoen and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Geoff thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
Beard MKE was born almost 5 years ago under unfortunate circumstances, and has since flourished into something uniquely being here in Milwaukee. My dad passed away suddenly in a car accident & I was left with an inheritance that I could either stow away as a safety net of sorts for myself, or I could take those funds and put them towards creating something bigger than myself safety net be damned. I chose the latter, and I stand by my decision to this day. My dad was a very quirky guy with a big heart, a sharp wit and an unwavering sense of self, and I am grateful to have inherited those traits from him as well. He was always the type of person who marched to the beat of his own drum, and you were either in on the joke or, well, you thought he was a bit crazy, which in many ways he was- but it was a GOOD crazy. When conceptualizing Beard MKE I chose to take this energy and channel it into everything we do here- you’re either in on the joke or you’re not & we always strive to produce a product that is true & genuine to who we are- to hell with conventionality! It is in that spirit that Beard MKE became the adult humor, LGBTQ+ focused, local art & gift shop that it is today. As a gay man myself, I saw the need for more inclusive queer spaces in Milwaukee that directly catered to our community, more specifically in the world of retail, so I set out to create just that- and if I could give back & create positive change within my city even better. I am proud to say that in our nearly 5 years in business we have partnered with multiple different social justice/LGBTQ+ organizations & nonprofits including but not limited to the Cream City Foundation, Planned Parenthood, Diverse & Resilient, FORGE, the WI Humane Society, Courage MKE, ACAP, the Milwaukee Rescue Mission plus many more. Essentially Beard MKE is more than just a local gift shop, but rather a vehicle to raise funds and awareness to better our community and a way of honoring my dad and this opportunity he afforded me all in one which is why I am so proud of the work we do here & I believe my dad would be proud too.
Geoff, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Growing up in rural Wilmot Wisconsin I always knew that I was meant for more than what this small town could provide. I was the kid growing up who wore whatever I wanted & who drove 30 minutes to the closest mall to work in retail instead of a local grocery store or gas station that were essentially the only local employment options available for someone my age. When I left Wilmot for college in Milwaukee, I got a job working in radio where I worked my way up the ladder to manage the event planning/promotions department for 4 large radio stations here in town and worked in this field for a total of 8 years before moving on. After my stint in radio, I met my now close friend and owner of another amazing store here in Milwaukee called the Waxwing, Steph Davies, who took me under her wing and taught me everything I now know about owning and operating a local retail store. While managing the Waxwing, I gained valuable experience in the behind the scenes of running your own business- from buying trips in NYC, to running sales reports to strategically curate & managing relationships with multiple artists all at once, to merchandising/branding a shop, we did it ALL. Steph was a mentor to me and a huge source of support when I ultimately made the decision to take my knowledge & experience to the next level and open my own shop & I am eternally grateful to her for her continued support and advice. SO, at that point I took my background in retail, promotional work, event planning & branding and poured it all into our crazy shop that exists today! In creating Beard MKE, I set out to create a loud, unique & irreverent shop that is equal parts attitude and heart, and I believe we did just that! It is truly a store that has to be experienced first hand to fully be understood & appreciated, soo come pay us a visit!
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Our shop celebrated our 1 year anniversary just two days before the entire city shut down for months due to the Covid outbreak. At that point we were existing as just a concrete retail space and had to pivot immediately to have any hopes in making any sales and keeping our business afloat. Our pivot involved partnering with our friends at another neighboring more established local shop called the Waxwing. They were gracious enough to offer us a space on their existing website while we built our own website from the ground up and we worked together then to package and ship out our collective orders from our shuttered businesses to survive and grow together. Additionally we leaned into our social media presence by creating silly parody videos commenting on the struggles of Covid, and we also made a shift in the products we chose to carry. With people being forced to stay home and socially distance, we made the decision to begin carrying products like puzzles, coloring books, yard games & various craft kits to keep our customers happy & entertained while at home. Some of these products became so popular that we still carry them to this day.
Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?
Our first summer we were open we made the choice to collaborate with a very well known clothing brand here in Milwaukee called Milwaukee Home. We approached them with the idea to put a twist on their established logo & change the phrase from Milwaukee Home to ‘Milwaukee Homo’ to create a design for Pride month that celebrates and supports our beautiful queer community here in Milwaukee. We chose a local LGBTQ+ nonprofit to donate funds to, and planned a photo shoot featuring queer people from all walks of life here in Milwaukee with the goal of showing that queer people exist everywhere in our world & are as varied and deserving of love and respect as anyone else. From drag queens, local activists, LGBTQ+ bar owners & staff, to local business owners, trans individuals and their families & strong allies we included everyone to show the breadth & depth of the community. This admittedly could’ve gone wrong in a variety of ways- proudly supporting a community that not everyone sees value in as a new business could be damaging, were we being inclusive enough? Is the term ‘homo’ going to be considered too controversial? Are customers going to want to wear these designs? All of these questions plus many more were running through our minds leading up to the release of this collaboration, and we even had to have conversations with the owner of Milwaukee Home to reassure them that this would be received well & that the message we were putting out there was solid etc, but we did it, and it was WILDLY successful & is a collaboration that we continue to do to this day. As of today we have raised thousands of dollars for our LGBTQ+ community, and we have shipped these tees worldwide including all over the US, Canada, Italy & Iraq. This has been one of our proudest achievements as a brand and a business to date. 
Contact Info:
- Website: Beardmke.com
- Facebook: Beard MKE
Image Credits
Meg Strobel