We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Taylor Deatherage a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Taylor, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

My first career was in the social work field, and I was trying to go back to school for design. At the same time (2012/2013), I was learning digital marketing, and a friend of mine told me he might have a position for me open at a small business that sold toys, collectibles, and had a presence at pop culture conventions all across the United States. I jumped at the chance to take the job and was thrown very quickly into the industry.

I have always been a creator and artist who had an eye for odd (but unique) fashion choices and tried to incorporate nerdy aspects into my designs/looks. I also took up graphic design as I started to do digital marketing and began to combine all these skills into running our eCommerce and social media pieces of this small business I was just hired into. I met my partner at this business and after a few years of learning the ins and outs, we began to believe that adding an original art element to the model of a traditional pop culture toys and collectibles business was the way forward.

We began making our own enamel pins, and soon Logan Arch was born! Now, we sell pins, tees, accessories, and traditional toys and collectibles that are core to the pop culture business. We built up our convention presence over time – first as an aspect of the small business where we got our start and then began branching out with booths of our own in early 2020. (We all know what happened shortly after that!)

After focusing on our online presence for most of 2020 and the beginning of 2021, we returned to conventions and now have over 20 on our attendance list, We also have a successful eCommerce business and just opened our first storefront in our home neighborhood (Logan Square) in Chicago, Illinois.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

When I entered the traditional pop culture toys and collectibles industry in 2013, there seemed to be a very formulaic way of approaching business. The foundation was strong, but there was room for innovation.

I have always been a nerd, a weirdo, and sort of an outsider. I am a queer non-binary femme person who always stood out in my environment growing up. Within the pop culture industry of this kind, I found my niche and thought I might be able to bring some expansive ideas to the table that I wasn’t seeing at the time.

Making, designing, styling, putting things together that wouldn’t normally fit – this is what I wanted to see in this particular industry. Nerdy fashion (some of the now leaders in this specific niche were in their literal infancy when I first got into this industry), accessible products (low cost, multifandom), and multigenerational (retro, new) – I wanted to combine it all because I saw very few small businesses in the industry doing it at the time.

It’s been a journey accomplishing the combination of these things in a successful way to present them at conventions and now in our storefront. In small business, you have the unique opportunity to often talk face to face with your customers. I love talking to people, learning about them, and learning about what they love about their fandoms. It is through this touchpoint that we continuously evaluate what pins, tees, accessories, etc. we make/have in stock. (This and the ridiculousness of internet memes/fandom culture.) Being a part of this community gives me the constant drive to create and brainstorming how we can continue to grow in the future.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

Being inauthentic makes me very uncomfortable. This seems like such an easier-said-than-done thing to state, but if I don’t feel strongly about something I am very bad at faking passion for it. It also doesn’t help foster true connections to have inauthentic relationships.

My passion for building my brand is my passion to create, the passion behind my design process, and my passion for this nerdy life. I try to bring my love for pop culture and fandom to the table the best I can, and those who choose to stop by our convention booths or our storefront often share this passion. Making those interpersonal connections is key for fostering any returning customer base.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Digital Marketing is the “traditional” field I’m in outside of being a product creator and business owner.

Social media is a lot of work! Depending where your audience is and what your chosen platforms are, not all of the content you put out may look the same or reach the same people.

To simplify it, unless you strike out with a very strong audience from day one, building your presence and communication with those on social media takes time. It is a process that will not (or very, very rarely) be perfectly successful right away.

It is frustrating to only see the “finished product” of other businesses’ ventures on social media, but know that so much is happening behind-the-scenes that you may never see or realize. It is your behind-the-scenes you need to focus on. Do one thing every day at minimum. It can be big or small. Keep learning new techniques and new ways to reach out to your audience. Once again, it can be a lot of work, but if built right it will be worth it for you and your business in the long-term.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.loganarchchicago.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loganarchchicago
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/loganarchchicago
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@loganarchchicago