Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jen Singh and Rachel Herzog. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Jen and Rachel thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start on the operational side – do you spend more of your time/focus/energy on growing revenue or cutting costs?
We’ve had a good balance between growing revenue and cutting costs, yet it has fluctuated over our last 10 years in business because we leaned into different aspects of our offerings. It was important for us to focus on cutting costs in the early years, and as we became more established, we had more opportunities to invest in growth. As we look back at how frugal we were in the beginning, that was really the key to how we were able to get a foothold in our business model.
In 2014, we started out by offering kids art camps and creative workshops for adults. Our kids were much younger, and the community and our circle of friends reflected that as well. As a result, we were able to meet the needs of offering summer camps and after school art classes to our diverse audience. We also scheduled monthly “girls night out” crafting events and created a consistent following. In tandem, we had a boutique that showcased around 30+ artists and artisans. We considered the workshops more lucrative than the shop, and while we enjoyed giving emerging artists an opportunity to show their work, it was less of a revenue generator and more about giving back to the community.
Jen Singh, 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?
Our business has been open since 2014, and began as a conversation between artist friends to create a space where we could sell our wares alongside other creatives. We participated in open house art events in the neighborhood with great successes, so we knew they would come if we had a brick and mortar location.
At the time there were 6 of us, and as unwieldy as that sounds, we all had a really good time putting together a vision. Downtown Avondale was in the very beginnings of developing and there was a warehouse that became available. We jumped at the opportunity to build out an empty space that served our needs. We signed a lease in April 2014, and during the buildout, our landlord allowed us to host summer camps in the adjoining event space. This time was essential in preparing, building and creating anticipation for our opening day on October 1st, 2014.
We couldn’t have done any of this without the support of our artists, friends and family. It really took a village. In the beginning, we had a wood block quote that hung behind the desk saying “we’re making this up as we go along” This was a reminder that we didn’t have to know everything, and through research, trial and error, we slowly built something that was truly resonating with our customers.
Yes, there were already handmade shops around town, yet we knew Avondale’s eclectic vibe was yearning for this type of business model. We’ve always believed that there are never too many places to support local artists. We don’t set strict parameters on our artists either, they are allowed to sell and show their work wherever they like. We encourage growth and expansion for everyone.
As a handmade shop filled with local artisans, it made sense to create a cooperative model where artists work in the shop 8 hours a month in exchange for a higher percentage of their sales. This has kept our overhead costs down as we did not need to hire employees. It also created a sense of comradery and connection. We were creating a family of artists that support each other while helping them grow as artist-preneurs.
Three years later, we moved to the prized corner spot in Avondale’s Tudor Village on the main thoroughfare. After hitting our 5 year mark, we were getting in the groove. Running the business was still all -consuming, but there was a nice rhythm setting in. That “make or break it” crucial time seemed to be behind us and now there were two of us at the helm. We were becoming more recognized in the broader community, and began investing in marketing and expanding our shop offerings. We had grown to representing 70+ artists, hosting art parties and workshops, corporate outings and participating in city art-related events. And then the pandemic hit.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Owning and running a small business is not for the faint of heart. While we’ve enjoyed the experience, we really had no idea what we were getting into. We easily could have thrown in the towel when it got tough, but we stuck with it because we felt dedicated to this community of artists we built.
The last 7 years has been the two of us, which we recognize is the magic number of people to run a business. Both of us realize that we couldn’t do it alone, and we compliment each others personalities. Rachel is the “money and logistics boss” and Jen is the “design and marketing maven” We’ve also been through ups and downs in our personal lives, and having one of us take over the business duties while the other deals with bumps in life has been essential to our success.
Our newest accomplishment is officially hiring our first part-time employee! It has been a great experience and has proved that we’ve needed more help for awhile! This has created a shift in our mindset to keep expanding, by hiring more people and extending business hours.
The biggest part of resilience is being open to change. There’s always room to grow, but even when you have to change course, other doors open and suddenly you’re on a path you’ve never imagined before. While it hasn’t been easy, we’re so proud of what we’ve built together and look forward to see what happens next.
Have you ever had to pivot?
When the pandemic hit, we had to close the shop, but we immediately recognized a need for e-commerce. We were dipping out toes in the idea, but had not fully embraced getting our website optimized for online shopping. The pandemic gave us an opportunity to pivot and that’s when we began the tedious work of getting every item in our shop available for purchase on our website.
Local pickup was a genius concept, and with the pandemic occurring just before Easter, we created handmade Easter baskets for kids in addition to customizing for adults! We did the same for Mother’s Day and offered personal shopping experiences for those needing gifts for birthdays and anniversaries. Our customers were so supportive of us during that time, and people made a point of shopping local, buying gift cards and making sure we stayed in business.
The pandemic experience created a sense of desperation, but at the same time was a kick start for our next chapter. Little did we know that those desperate measures we put in place are still with us today in how we operate our business. We’ve always paid attention to personally helping each customer in our shop, but now we’ve been known to go next level by offering custom options and curating art making experiences for special occasions.
We take pride in curating a beautiful space full of handmade creations and building relationships with amazing people. We are so humbled and thankful for this journey, there’s no where else we’d rather be.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.garagedoorstudio.com
- Instagram: @GarageDoorStudio