Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Barrett
Hi Michelle , so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
During the pandemic, my cousin Emily and I were inspired to make a clothing and merchandising brand. Like everyone, we were bored and void of the creative outlets we would normally find out in the world. Over the many FaceTimes we shared throughout the lockdown, we joked about clothing designs that did not yet exist, and how we should just make them ourselves. It was meant to be, being that Emily was studying business at Temple University, and I, fine arts at Otis College of Art and Design. We started our business by making sticker designs, and as we built an audience, we began to dive into the apparel space. With little to no prior experience, we used the extra time afforded by a world on pause to teach ourselves to print and cut stickers, work with resin, and screen print, which gave our brand and products a hands-on feel. Although our brand has grown a lot since 2020, we still continue to create and print our products ourselves (and we love doing it).
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Creativity and entrepreneurship can never really be an entirely smooth road, but that’s part of what makes it exciting. We’ve definitely had our share of struggles (amongst lots of triumphs!), and thankfully we’ve been able to turn the majority of these into lessons and inspiration. Marketing has always been something difficult for us, especially when we’re working with a limited budget, and we have had to rely on organic social media to get our products in front of our audience. Even for two people who grew up on the internet, the constant influx of new social media platforms, trends and algorithm changes can be challenging, and it’s something we always have to work on. In that same vein, we’re constantly having to come up with new, fresh ideas to keep our designs contemporary and avoid falling into the pit of the increasingly fast-paced trend cycle.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
ShopRatz is a clothing, accessory and merchandise brand centered around themes and aesthetics relating to unapologetic femininity, empowerment, nostalgia, humor, sexuality, and the color pink. A vast majority of our designs are ironic and revolve around reclaiming feminine stereotypes in a lighthearted way. Our first product to “blow up” (which was what really helped us gain a solid audience) was our Bimbo University sticker, which subsequently launched us into the apparel space and led us to create our first apparel item with our Bimbo University hoodie. The feedback to these products on social media was amazing, and enabled us to expand our business further through influencer marketing. One major thing that sets us apart from other brands is our online presence and constant engagement with our customers. We don’t advertise in a very traditional way, but instead share funny and shareable content that is enjoyable, organic, and fun to digest as a viewer. We don’t take our brand or online presence too seriously, so the platform we’ve created is more of a community, and that really reflects in everything we do. Literally nothing about ShopRatz is corporate or forced, it’s always just been two women making things we genuinely enjoy.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
Our brand was created during the COVID era, and all of our early, fundamental lessons were learned during this time period. One of the biggest lessons that we carry into our operations even today is the importance of being genuine, and our brand reflects that. Additionally, the COVID-19 crisis was a time for reflection, boredom, and, for many, financial struggle. We’ve noticed that coming out of the pandemic, people seem to be more aware of what they consume. Quality and price are always at the forefront when we create, because we know this is something our consumers value.
During the pandemic, the influx in overconsumption, brands, ads, influencers, etc., was exhausting to consumers. Incessant advertising on social media during the COVID-19 period (and even to this day) has created a disconnect in the overall brand-consumer relationship. This is why we continue to foster a community-based, homemade feel to our brand. We know not everything needs to be an ad, and at the end of the day as long as people are seeing what we create, it’s incredibly rewarding for us.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://shopratz.com
- Instagram: shop.ratz
