Conversations with the Inspiring Arielle Ackerman

Today we’d like to introduce you to Arielle Ackerman.

Arielle, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started out working in retail – from malls to small businesses and found that I really loved the feel and interactions that a small business can provide. There’s something really special about the ways you can meet and interact with people in a smaller shop – it’s more personal I feel. For the people shopping and for me, too. A lot of friendships have been forged just from people coming in to pick up a t-shirt and sticking around for a chat.

I come mostly from a womenswear and vintage retail background, and knew I wanted to start blending both of those worlds by moving in the direction of contemporary womenswear rooted in vintage design but with a timeless feel.

With that concept in mind and while still holding down a day job working at other shops, I launched my own e-commerce shop on a fairly limited scale… I legitimately ran it out of the small shed in my backyard at the time. Over the course of about a year, I moved the operation from my backyard to an office downtown to a slightly bigger office and then finally when the timing fell into place, I got to move into my dream brick+mortar shop in Los Feliz and start doing the shop full-time. And now, I’m coming up on my one-year brick+mortar anniversary in March!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Starting a business definitely has its ups and downs. My main piece of advice would be to figure out what you really want to be doing and carve that niche out for yourself any way that you can. And definitely don’t shy away from asking questions and listening to advice. You don’t have to follow all of it, but you’ll pick up on the pieces that resonate with what feels right to you.

A lot of times, knowing what you don’t want helps you figure out what you do want in even clearer terms. So, there’s always benefit to be found somewhere in that.

What should we know about Scout Classic? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
What I do and what the shop does are synonymous with one another.

Scout Classic is about bringing a highly curated selection of goods and wears to women looking for quality construction and classic design from their clothes. And that’s very much so filtered through my own outlook on what that is.

It’s an outlet for women forgoing trends and looking instead for things that will bring them as much joy the day they buy them as hopefully years from now when they’re still wearing them. I’m particularly proud of being that outlet.

Do you have any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general? What has worked well for you?
Find people you admire and learn from them. Remember who you are in the process too and that’s how you’ll find your own rhythm. Everything in life, whether directly or indirectly, is experience for you creating your own path whatever you choose to do.

Contact Info:

• Address: 4649 Russell Avenue
  Los Angeles, CA 90027
• Website: www.scoutclassic.com
• Phone: 3234867981
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scoutclassic/

Image Credit:
Credit: Scout Classic

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