Crafting a Community

In recent decades, women-owned businesses have blossomed in the global economy, popping up in industries across the board. These companies have reshaped communities by breaking traditional barriers and creating unique, positive experiences for customers that are not present in other shops. In this project, I talked with businesses in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, searching for the secret to creating the welcoming environment woman-owned businesses foster for their customers and employees. While meeting with these workers, I found myself getting similar answers to questions, suggesting a common thread between the way these stores are run. Welcoming staff tends to attract kind and open-minded customers, keeping a positive environment for employees and patrons alike. Part of the cause I believe is the environment in which these customers walk into. Take Les Miss, one of the businesses I focused on for my project, having a purple storefront. From the moment you see this as a customer, it stands out between the muted grey brick around it, inviting you into the unique and whimsical space. Inside, teacups hold merchandise and there is a wall of photo booth prints from other happy customers. I had a similar experience with Cherry Bomb, a tattoo studio not far from Les Miss. The front room is full of knick knacks and totems of girlhood, bringing familiarity to those who grew up in and around femininity. The environment is happy, welcoming, and catered to the women who walk through the door which is jarring when operating in a world made by and for men. The experience of being in an environment filled with physical items and people that remind you of comfort, is growing more and more rare in today’s political and social environment. This scarcity leads people to gravitate towards these pockets of familiarity. When speaking to employees I was welcomed and offered enthusiastic responses, building relationships based on our shared experience of woman-hood. To be clear, men are not shunned from these places, they also become loyal customers or even begin to work at these establishments. This proves that the business is thriving not only because of the connection of female-ness. Their success comes with intentionality in every step of the process. Falling into these positions is not something that women can typically afford to do, or is ever really possible. In both businesses, I was told about the creation of the company and the process to get it where it is today. Small, consistent growth was a common thread between the two, hiring people they trust to uphold their values and keep the business positive. Each detail of the stores felt like a hodgepodge, but it is a carefully crafted collection of advertising to customers that share values and interests. These businesses offer a unique, welcoming experience to customers that is worth cherishing in a world of cold, impersonal companies.