PARKSHOP, located in Londonderry Mall, is a celebration of Canadian designers and contemporary fashion. However, when it comes to the PARK brand, it’s about more than just clothing. For the co-owners of the business, it was born out of near necessity.
PARK started as a not-for-profit nearly 10 years ago as President Kara Chomistek and Vice President Jessie Li believed there needed to be a local platform to support and promote fledgling designers.
As well, they felt many local Calgary and Edmonton designers didn’t have a place to showcase their work—resulting in an artistic brain drain.
“We were finding all of our talented friends were moving to New York and Los Angeles and other major centers to pursue their creative careers,” said co-founder, Jessie Li.
Along with creating a place to foster the product, the company wanted to grow the designers behind it.
“They didn’t have the educational skills you needed to build a business and be successful,” Li said. “We started an educational brand of the business called PARKFORUM.”
The two-day event brings together professionals from the creative industry, to teach marketing, accounting, business and finance.
“We’ve seen incredible growth in the brands we have worked with,” Li said. “For example, Camp Brand Goods. Their first ever market was with us. Today, they have stock all over North America, hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers and a brick and mortar store in Calgary.”
PARK acts as a springboard for many designers, and a safer bet — instead of attempting to launch a standalone store.
Within PARK, the company offers the opportunity for established designers to showcase product in a luxury fashion show (PARKLUXE) and new designers to gain a larger following through showcasing (PARKSHOW).
“We want to offer them insight on why the product sells, how it can be improved, how it can reach a larger audience,” said Li. “We work with them to build the skills they need. We really think PARK is a launching point.”
“We’re featuring this beautiful jeweler, and she literally started her business two weeks ago,” said Li. “She wore a beautiful necklace to one of our events, we convinced her she needed to start a business. Now, she has her jewelry in the store and has a media launch coming up”
Li said a huge part of PARK is helping entrepreneurs move forward in their career paths.
“PARK believes in building culture and building art in the city. If we don’t support local businesses, they will pick up and leave,” said Li. “It makes the fabric of a city a lot less interesting.”
The team hopes to open a second store in Calgary in the future.
Comments