The saying goes “do something you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Unfortunately few are able to attain this. Those who have, however, get there by being certain of their vision for their lives and sure of who they are as individuals.
Shelfspace is fortunate to have some such retailers within its membership, and one in particular who has figured out her true calling. Edie Orenstein who owns a one location retail business called Edie Hats with her husband Richard Vallee, is one of the fortunate ones. Though she would be the first to tell you that this fortune comes from years of hard work and self reflection, she has managed to marry her love of costume, people and theatre into a thriving retail business.
Upon walking into this retail business, you enter into an era of times past. The dance floor underfoot indicates an artist rich environment, while the fixtures and hats themselves lend to Parisian nostalgia. Customers are bustling, some enjoying ‘dress up’ with the over 6000 items in the store, while others beeline for the trendy Fedora hats that are all the current rage in Hollywood.
Orenstein did not create this business for the love of retail, but for the opportunity to have her own business. In 1985, after working around the clock as a costume maker in the theatre, Vallee suggested his new bride begin a business of her own to allow for more family time. “So I picked something that was small and structural, and with $50 in my pocket, I started the business” noted the creative entrepreneur. “Richard was also available and much more the linear left brain of the business, so I got him to help with more of the operational side.” And so, the two began on the business of their lives.
Twenty three years later, the two now run a very successful retail store in the heart of Granville Island, Vancouver with fourteen full and part time staff. Though the story to this point may sound like many a successful family retail business, Edie Hats is anything but. Orenstein herself notes that rather than a retail business, the team is in essence, a theatre production crew and a marketing team all in one. This is a magical combination for a business whose vision is to ‘to be a sound business that both creates and sustains the most guiding, embracing and rich hat-buying environment’. Many of the current staff have sought the business out as a place of employment rather than the owners searching high and low to find people who may, without passion, serve for a few months and move on.
The secret? As one staff person, Sherry Latham puts it, “we’re a bit like a theatre group or artist commune working together to make this place what it is.” She’s right; the brilliance in this equation is how Orenstein has used numerous forms of technology to enable every staff person to express themselves creatively within and outside of the context of the retail business. Orenstein explains that “we hire people who have the attitude and then see what other skills they have and how we can put that to use within the business.” Throughout the interview, staff member Knesha Yu with a background in film production, filmed the interview, will edit it and post in online on the company’s website. These little vignettes and videos can be seen on multiple Facebook and MySpace sites, while numerous blogs are written about fashion, hats and anything else of interest by Orenstein herself and the rest of her staff.
In casual conversations with the staff, it isn’t unusual to hear any of them talking about what they contributed to the Edie Hat blogs the other night or who has done another vignette of Titanic costumes in the short film “Costume Capers” as a gift to Orenstein.
Staff are encouraged to add content to the website, to the ‘Hatline’ EZine, and to the Apple TV at the front of the store. When asked if she was worried about how much access or control the staff have to changing and uploading content, Orenstein confidently rebuked the thought by stating “I am delighted with their creativity. We have boundaries and constant discussions about our goals so they understand our direction as well as the parameters. But I love it when they are able to create and express themselves in this way.” Orenstein and Vallee keep the communication open by working with HR and communications consultants to ensure the team has a shared vision and are focused on the same goals.
Technology is all pervasive within the business, though it doesn’t overpower it. It is used as a tool to channel creativity. The ‘Hatline’ EZine and website (
www.ediehats.com) offer the platforms to discuss issues of importance to the Edie Hats community. Though some of the content has to do with the products, and hats specifically, much of it has to do with the experience of life and really whatever Edie herself is thinking about. “I think we all have stories that run together to make up the essence of life. I like that; my store is a piece of it but it’s really about the experiences that make up life.”
Orenstein prides herself on being able to offer a wide variety of experiences to her diverse customer base. The experience begins online, leading to the interaction at the store, with various events held in the store and online groups. “The store itself is meaningless, really it’s just hats hanging on hooks, it’s laundry, but it’s the books, the piano, the mirrors, the people, the other things in here that make the experience.” Customers visit Edie Hats for more than just a product. Young and old are taken to the theatre by way of the props and the atmosphere while shopping, and sometimes they really are taken to a show as the store truly does turn into a theatre.
All of the fixtures and even the point of sale roll out to allow for an intimate 700 square foot venue for Titanic themed costume fashion shows, music evenings and Parisian cafés. The staff with their wide background of theater, film production, writing and art, change from a retail staff group into the theatre production group, which helps keep them interested in retail at this time of such a challenging labour market. You can expect to see these events turned into videos and accessible by the public on the website within days of the event having taken place.
From these videos, to the newest staff member and musical ear Shani Bates putting together the on-site music playlists for the store, Edie Hats has managed to leverage technology in a huge number of ways to develop and establish a truly experiential business. However, there was a time this business existed, before playlists, Facebook, YouTube and Apple TV’s that the business still ran successfully. “I used to dream of technology like this,” Orenstein reflected, “I wanted to be able to do these things back then, I pictured it and I just kept pushing. People didn’t understand what I wanted to do with their email addresses. It wasn’t to sell them things; I just wanted to share with them, to create that experience. If they liked the product and bought something, that was a bonus.” Orenstein even wanted to go so far as to bring TV’s into the store and hot glue gun velvet to the back of it and play videos to create that atmosphere. Now with flat screen TV’s, in-store, vignettes online and a readership of 7000 on the ‘Hatline’ (with a goal of 20,000) Orenstein continues to look forward. “I want to do more of this and create a more intense experience than it is now.” Always looking to the world of endless possibilities, and possible expansion in the future, she seems only limited to her own imagination – which is significant.
It hasn’t always been an easy journey for the mother of three. With her own business, three home schooled children and a tiny chaotic retail space (they only expanded 4 years ago) there was a steep learning curve. “I had no business background, and I was naïve enough not to know that a person really didn’t have to work that hard to make a living”, said Orenstein of her humble business beginnings. What she attributes to “stupidness” and stubbornness at the school of hard knocks, is what has ultimately brought her to the point of being able to bring in others with the skills that she knows are limited within herself.
A creative mind, though one of her greatest attributes, is also her greatest challenge in running this retail business. “I am challenged to visit my left brain more voluntarily and work on my ability to ground myself” Orenstein notes with a smile. Though Orenstein accepts chaos and flux, sound business practices are undeniably the foundation of this creative business. The success of the business has really taken off in the past ten years once Orenstein started to focus more energy on her own emotional and physical health. As the driver of the business, she notes that “the more I practice responsibility and focus, the more successful my business becomes and the more money we make so that I can continue to do the creative things that drive me.”
Edie Hats is a modern small business that has figured out how to partner technology and creativity. They have also learned to draw from the people who contribute to the businesses to ensure its success. Orenstein and Vallee are a partnership who have learned the strengths of the other, and maximized their contributions, but they are also an entrepreneurial duo with vision. Unable to say ‘that’s not possible’, it seems as if the foundation of Edie Hats is really the promise of opportunity and imagination. To customers, staff, and anyone around her, it’s undeniable that a lot of work goes into Edie Hats. However, Orenstein’s philosophy is something that anyone would want to be a part of… the world of creativity combined with sound business practice contains endless possibilities.
