It has been an extremely long time since I have written anything on my blog "The Inception of the Anteal Boutique". When I last wrote, I had just had a setback in the acquisition of investors for my project and was feeling depressed about my endeavors. So, I set it aside and figured that it was not meant to be at that moment in time.
But, it is very interesting when you set something aside and let it percolate for a few months. Such is what happened to me and Anteal. I left it alone and started looking for work in the retail fashion arena and that is a story in itself, especially in the tough economic times that we are experiencing. After four to fives months of actively searching for work, creating online profiles and submitting numerous resumes daily, pounding the streets of the various shopping districts of Los Angeles and making introductory phone calls to various establishments... nothing was available or forthcoming. That in itself can lead to a whole other level of frustration and depression if I were to allow it.
I have been in the fashion retail industry for over 30 years and have accumulated a wealth of knowledge and experience in owning and running a high end fashion boutique, with all the many different hats that one must wear. Since I have not had to look for work in over twenty-two years, I have found the process a bit overwhelming, especially when you are competing against people half your age or younger and they have, maybe, fifty percent of your knowledge. No matter how "young at heart" you may be, you are initially judged on how old you look and not on how much you could bring to the table. I guess it is a sign of our times and more troubling, a reflection of much that is wrong with our country. Don't worry!... I'm not going to slide into a discussion on politics.
To come back to the subject matter at hand, I received an email from one of my former clients who, since I had closed my previous store B.NY, was lamenting over the lack of interesting fashion stores with unique product in Santa Monica and the Westside. She had been making the rounds and yes, there were some stores that had similar merchandise to what I carried but the selection was poor or they also had an attitude or coldness that turned her off. It was, I must admit, a nice feeling to receive that compliment from her because I had always tried to install that sense of warmth and good will along with the exceptional service and unique product selection that B.NY. was known for. Well, one thing led to another and before we both knew it, we were talking about collaborating on a new space and out of that came... a new concept.
The Anteal concept is to be a "Cultural Community" space that is primarily driven by Fashion with an additional emphasis on art, design elements and live music events. Ideally it would be a small warehouse facility that will have a permanent fashion boutique incorporated within the space, accented by art and sculpture. There will be monthly events showcasing emerging artists, designers and live music/reading performances on a revolving basis, constantly changing and evolving the shape of the space. With this concept, Anteal will be able to drive traffic to its location from the fashion clientele, the art community, the interior design world and music lovers from all over Southern California and beyond.
OK, we now have a concept... but now how to make it a reality! I took my original business plan and trimmed it down, scaling it to half of what it was originally. My client, who is a sculptor, said she was willing to fund one half of the project, which in itself was amazing to have that kind of trust and commitment from her. Now, I had to obtain the other half and do it in a very short time. We are shooting to open the space in July 2012 and in order to do that I have to complete the funding by the end of December so that I can prepare the legal documents of the organization and start securing a space for the project before I leave January 16th for Paris for the men's buy. For those of you who are not familiar with the buying schedule for a fashion store, it works in this way; to receive your goods for the fall season, one must purchase them in January/February for men's and February/March for women's. This gives the designers a window of three to five months to produce them and ship them to you so that you receive them in July through Sept. This schedule is primarily for a store that is carrying international and most domestic designers. There are some exceptions to the rule but generally this is how it works.
Fund-raising in this economy is extremely challenging and requires constant, unwavering persistence. I culled my client list and started calling clients that I thought would be receptive to this concept. Universally, they were all excited and enthused about it. Some declined, saying it wasn't for them, others said they weren't in the position to invest and some had to think about it and would get back to me. For me, it was all about "six degrees of separation"... even if you couldn't invest... maybe you might know someone who would... it all comes down to networking. In this day and age, since we are a so much of a global community now, it is imperative to reach out to as many people as you can. After all... it just means finding the right person or persons who have the capital and are in sync with your vision and believe in you as an entrepreneur.
With this in mind, I am really focusing more on the " friends and family and clients" investor rather than the traditional "angel investors". I am looking for people who want to participate and invest in a local business rather than a corporate entity. Someone who believes in a community type project that will offer an artistic space for emerging new talent in the local fashion, art and design worlds. This is a retail project though, so it does require a longer window of time... anywhere from seven to ten years for the company to realize its potential and a substantial return for the the investors and myself.
There are many, many clothing stores in Southern California and a few that specialize in the eclectic fashion forward designers from Belgium, Japan, Italy and the U.S. that I will be carrying. There are some of these that are considered "lifestyle" stores, offering home products as well as fashion. But... I believe that Anteal is quite original in its concept of a cultural, community space, catering to many different artistic avenues and being recognized as a showcase for emerging talent. After all, the definition of Anteal is derived from an ancient language and means "Being before, or in front".
