DailyFashionJobs.com

While I was still attending school at FIDM, one of my assignments was to conduct an informational interview with someone in the industry. At the time I thought I wanted to be a boutique owner (although that may have changed now…but that’s another post!) so of course, I interviewed one. Now, I live in a pretty small town and fashion isn’t a big deal around here, although that’s changing (slowly but surely). I found out through the FIDM website that the owner of Tangerine, a local boutique, was an alumni so of course I had to interview her!

Here’s the interview I did with Josette Bowman of Tangerine. There’s a lot of interesting information, so definitely read it through:

Kim: When did you know fashion was what you wanted to do for a living?
Josette: I always wanted to be in fashion. My parents were in the business and my mother was a shop girl. While finishing school I worked in retail, and even though I first wanted to get into manufacturing, I realized I liked selling. While attending FIDM I worked as an intern in trend forecasting. I love studying society and how it effects lifestyle and purchases.

K: What initially attracted you to FIDM? What are the most important things you learned while attending the school?
J: Well, the convenience of the location first. I also looked at their alumni and their career placement. The most important thing I learned at FIDM was project management. When I would have certain tasks to be done by a certain time, and get them done, I felt like I could do anything! It mainly had to do with working three jobs, commuting, interning and raising kids all at the same time. It really fine tuned my organizational skills. It also gave me direct contact with the industry.

K: Your boutique is very unique and innovative for Bakersfield. How do you select the brands and merchandise for your store?
J: I basically go to market, do research, follow any good leads from industry contacts, as well as calls from people and vendors. If something catches my eye I don’t care about the brand. If it fits my customer and my image, that’s what’s important. My product development background interests me in developing my brand, so I don’t worry about brand recognition.

K: Have you ever had problems getting a brand you want for your store?
J: No, not really. Sometimes location is a problem, but like I said I‘m not brand conscious so it‘s not much of a problem. My store usually comes in first with brands.

K: Your name is very unique, and catchy, I really like it! How did you come up with the name Tangerine?
J: I basically always liked tangerines. When I worked 12 hour days at Anthropologie I used to sit in the back and eat tangerine’s, and my husband always finds them for me around Christmas time.

K: What do you do to make Tangerine stand out amongst other boutiques in Bakersfield?
J: I’m not worried about what other stores have. I like to stay true to what I do and I don’t really pay attention to them. I don’t scour either. I go to the other boutiques if I need something. I mean, I’m a girl, I like to shop! And if I don’t have something in the store, I might look for it there. I believe in doing something 100% and being proud of what you do. Actually I hope more businesses open around me, one can open right next door to me. The more stores, the more foot traffic.

K: Your boutique is located downtown, next to a salon, but without any other retail or service businesses in close proximity. How did you choose this location, opposed to the mall or a strip mall?
J: Well, it’s hard to have a boutique in Bakersfield, especially coming from Los Angeles. Style isn’t on the forefront of most people’s minds here. I wanted to surround myself with culture. I have a pulse and vision to create something downtown, and I’ve always supported downtown. I don’t believe in urban sprawl and wasting land.

K: How do you choose your staff? What do you look for in an employee?
J: This is my least favorite part! It’s hard to do. I look for people who are self motivated, people with a desire within to give 100% and to feel proud of themselves. I ask questions, I see what they’re doing with their lives, check references and I look for people who come from a good family. People who don’t have a lot of drama in their lives. I don’t do a lot of hiring, though, I try to keep the people I have.

K: What essential qualities should a boutique owner have? What are the toughest parts of the job?
J: You have to be organized, flexible, patient, have the ability to forecast 6 months out as a buyer. You need management skills to manage your stave. It’s one thing to hire, and another thing to teach. Portray what you want your business to say. Teach them to sell like you, to have similar principles. The toughest part is probably hiring good people and building good relationships with vendors. Also bookkeeping. I actually just got a partner who will be paying invoices, but before I did everything myself. I would spend two hours daily just writing checks. It’s hard to wear all the hats.

K: Like you said before, style isn’t as important here in Bakersfield as it is in Los Angeles. Most of your clothing is quite a bit more expensive than the things found at department stores. How do you attract and maintain a high end clientele?
J: Word of mouth has worked well for my store. When I first started, it wasn’t in my budget to advertise. Because the store was different I was confident it would take off. I did press releases for the opening and had a few sales. Now I’m running local magazine ads, the store gets blurbs in the news paper every so often, we have a mailing list to stay in contact with customers, and of course the website, TangerineClothing.com.

Josette Bowman
Tangerine Clothing
1602 20th Street
Bakersfield, CA 93301
direct: 661-631-0081
toll free: 866-882-5376