Local Black-owned boutique aims to create a one-stop BIPOC shop.
C/O @ark_collectivehamilton
The Ark Collective draws the community’s attention to local BIPOC businesses.
The Ark Collective strives to promote and support local Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour owned businesses from their storefront on James St. N. The collective aims to help expose the community to the variety of these small businesses and their products.
Ayodele Adefala, the founder of Ark Collective, worked in retail for over 10 years before launching her online clothing boutique, Liza and Grace, focused on selling women’s clothing and accessories. However, Adefala realized customers were more willing to trust and purchase from a brick-and-mortar store because they could physically see and try the product.
“Small business owners struggle with having to pay for Facebook ads, which cost a lot of money for people to even realize your store exists. And . . . sometimes customers are a bit apprehensive and conscious about online shopping with new businesses, like “Will I get my product or not?”, that sort of thing,” explainedAdefala.
Adefala decided to sell some of her products in a collective store in Toronto. Being a part of a collective can be a incredibly valuable opportunity to a business and it provides every brand with the same amount of exposure and recognition.
Seeing a lack of similar collective store in Hamilton, Adefala decided to open her own in the steel city this past April. Recognizing the difficulties local BIPOC businesses can face, she chose to focus her work on supporting them.
“The sad reality of this life is we don’t have as many opportunities as some of our counterparts. In the GTA, there are about six or seven Black-owned businesses with a similar business model. But the prerequisite is you have to be Black, but I was like, ‘What about the Spanish girl? What about the Ecuador girl? What about the Asian girl?’. . . We all suffer with similar issues,” said Adefala.
“The sad reality of this life is we don’t have as many opportunities as some of our counterparts. In the GTA, there are about six or seven Black-owned businesses with a similar business model. But the prerequisite is you have to be Black, but I was like, ‘What about the Spanish girl? What about the Ecuador girl? What about the Asian girl?’. . . We all suffer with similar issues.”
Ayodele Adefala, founder of ark collective
Her business approach has broadened her search for brands to collaborate with while also keepingt the products in the collective diverse.
Right now, Ark Collective has over 20 brands with various products such as clothing, jewellery, accessories, skincare, health and wellness and home decor.
“You get to see the vendors in person who can tell you more about the product. I feel like [a storefront has] a more genuine approach to it and that’s what makes us unique,” explained Adefala.
She plans to add food items to the collective soon and hopes to make the Ark Collective a one-stop shop where customers can purchase anything they might need.
Adefala also rotates through vendors every three months and she hopes this system will help keep the store seeming fresh and different every time a customer steps in.
Moving forward, the Ark Collective aims to expand the variety of products they carry and continue to participate in more pop-up markets to bring more exposure to the brands in their store.
“I want them to walk away with that ‘do good, feel good’ mindset and feeling when they are coming in,” said Adefala.
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