We were lucky to catch up with Tanjuria Willis recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Tanjuria, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

As a young professional, I was told very early that you have to look the part. It was difficult to purchase quality brands for a young executive so it introduced me to the world of consignment shopping. The challenge was I didn’t like the presentation of consignment stores. They were cluttered and dusty which didn’t make me feel like my dollar was valued because you are still spending a lot of money, you want it to still be a pleasant experience. This gave me the idea to open eKlozet Designer Consignment Boutique providing women with what I thought was missing. The ability to shop pre-loved merchandise with the experience they would receive at a luxury store including styling services, beverages all for a fraction of the cost. I also wanted to be able to show women how to love their closet by teaching how their clothing choices could increase their productivity. Being in the resale space also created an opportunity to educate women on quality fabrics and how purchasing pre-owned contributes to the saving the planet which lead to my pet project of Atlanta Sustainable Fashion Week which I founded in 2021 to showcase emerging designers committed to designing environmentally friendly clothing as well as educating consumers on how to effectively change their lifestyle through quality clothing purchases.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My start was very unorthodox. I am an electrical engineer who started as a plant systems engineer for a nuclear facility. That was followed by working as a consultant during the deregulation of energy companies. As a consultant, I traveled 100% of the time. I didn’t realize that I was also a creative until I stopped traveling and helped a friend start a service business which lead to me starting my first business in catering services followed by the publishing of my own magazine. Having a lifestyle publication taught me a lot about the needs of women and the gaps in the industry. I also learned a lot about the degradation of the clothing industry which motivated me to start eKlozet Designer Consignment Boutique. We provide Pre-owned designer apparel and accessories, styling consultation and closet organization. We believe that Clothes are Energy. Energy Exudes Confidence. Confidence Drives Productivity. Productivity Promotes Success. We help women find pieces that they love and helps them feel more confident. We teach them to shop with purpose and style vs. simply for the fashion. We also educate our consumers on shopping with the environment in mind. All of these things set us apart from others. I’m proud to watch transformations in customers not shopping with intention of how it helps their lifestyle. I am also provide of creating Atlanta Sustainable Fashion Week introducing emerging designers, demonstrations and panel discussions providing awareness and accessibility to sustainable clothing brands.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I am honest. I don’t simply tell my customers what they want to hear to sell a garment. If they don’t feel good in it, I won’t sell it to them because if they hesitate when they try it in my showroom, it is more than likely that it will sit in their close which does no one any good.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.

I prefer to sell on my site because I have complete creative control. When you use an ecommerce platform, the fees are significant to your profit margin. The cons are you have no assistance with marketing, the platform limits how you can present your items, hey have full control over your listings and can remove content, product descriptions, listings, and entire product catalogs if they flag something that falls outside of their rules.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://eklozet.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/eklozet
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/eklozet
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/co/eklozet
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/eklozet

Image Credits
Cozy Capture Studios PS Pictures LLC Nancy Genis