Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in fashion but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Jenifer Storey, Co-Founder of Unknown Union, located in Los Angeles, CA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
UNKNOWN UNION, a creative fashion house that bridges the worlds of art, culture, and history.
Tell us about yourself
Fashion wasn't my first career path by any means. Initially, I was fully immersed in the legal field as Associate General Counsel of GoDaddy, where I focused on international law and regulatory compliance. While I truly value the opportunity to have practiced in the legal field and to have worked at such an amazing company, I ultimately wanted to pursue work that gave me a greater sense of meaning and purpose in life, "a different kind of wealth." For some, that's the law; for me, it was not. So I set out to find a different path.
My brother/co-founder and I created the concept and brand Unknown Union. Our primary purpose as a brand is storytelling. We use fashion as a vehicle for transmitting ideas, and our core work is focused on the preservation and dissemination of knowledge art and culture are the reference points we use to give each source of knowledge context. We believed then, as we do now, that knowledge is humanity's most precious and underappreciated resource. And that our tendency to rely upon contemporary sources of knowledge (to the exclusion of ancient and indigenous sources) mistakenly limits our perspective to far too narrow a point of view. After all, as intimated by Bernard of Chartres, ".. in comparison to the ancients, we stand like dwarves on the shoulders of giants."
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
That's tough. I've been blessed with the opportunity to collaborate with so many amazing artists, institutions, writers, and the like it would be hard to pinpoint which story or connection impacted me the most. There was an early moment in our brand story that stood out to me at the moment. We started the brand as a proof of concept in Cape Town, South Africa. After growing from a small design studio to our first flagship store, we were given the opportunity to participate in our first fashion show. This presented a challenge since our brand was centered around storytelling and celebrating what it is to be human. We had to ask ourselves, how can we amplify these core principles within the constructs of a traditional runway show? So we asked the show's organizers: 1) do we have to use traditional models? and 2) can we integrate experiences that have absolutely nothing to do with fashion? Surprisingly, we got approval to create whatever we wanted, and with that approval, our first runway show emerged. Instead of fashion models, we entitled our show "Role Models." We asked members of the community who were doing amazing work in their respective fields to walk the runway and represent the work they were doing within the community. We had live poets and musicians also share their stories on the stage through their own respective mediums. To watch the audience light up as they witnessed people of all ages (18-60), colors, genders, and body types walking the runway with a purpose was fulfilling, to say the least.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Being a business owner has been a walk in faith. I can list so many examples of things that went right and things that went wrong. At each turn, we've been tested in our perseverance, but you can learn to view failures as lessons, you can learn to view successes as affirmations, and you can learn that the best-made plans must constantly be reevaluated as you learn to shift with the tides. For me, it's all about the journey, so I try not to sweat the hardships.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
I've learned so many lessons along the way about leadership, follow-through, patience, purpose, and effective communication. Those lessons are universal, and I think all business owners with come face to face with them at some point in their journey. But what comes to mind today is two-fold.
- When you lead, lead from the frontline. As leaders within our company, we don't ask anything of our team that we aren't doing, haven't done, or wouldn't do ourselves. Whether that's scrubbing floors before an event, staying up all night prepping for an exhibit, spending time learning about each of the factories we work with, or standing up to speak at an event. The best way to lead is by example.
- Dare to be different. Dare to pave a new path or try something that hasn't been done before. The world just may need your creativity, your artistry, your innovation, or your unique approach. Not to say you should abandon the skills or attributes you've garnered so far, but use them as a stepping stone to move forward with purpose.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://unknownunion.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unknownunion/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/unknownunion_UU
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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