The e-commerce platform highlights cultural goods

Online shopping has grow to be a lifestyle. Consumers aren’t any longer forced to go to large stores offering the identical choice of clothing and interior design. Conversely, consumers not need to exit of their strategy to access small boutiques where rare goods could be accessed. Multicultural products are at everyone’s fingertips – only one click away.

Gina Lewis is considered one of those individuals who provides interesting and distinctive works of culture.

Lewis is the owner and founding father of FRTWN (Shop Freetown), a digital e-commerce platform. As founder and chief merchandiser, Lewis curates all designers and products for FRTWN’s digital e-commerce platform, which puts emphasis on cultural goods, women-owned brands, designers of color and products ethically made in Africa and the broader diaspora.” Lewis talked to BLACK ENTERPRISES about their inspirations and goals related to the event of e-commerce.

Give us a bit background for many who do not know you.

My name is Gina Lewis. I’m an expert buyer and trader, and currently the founding father of FRTWN. We give attention to style, aesthetics and inspiration from women from the African diaspora.

How would you describe your relationship with fashion? How did it start?

Like many individuals, especially Black creators, I feel that being inspired by your grandmother is all the time a standard thread. Already on the age of seven, my grandmother Dora was sewing my Easter outfits and Halloween costumes from my sketches. It is solely a lifelong journey of curiosity, love of dresses, attraction to clothes and discovery.

How would you describe your current style?

I actually care about maximalism, embellishment and texture. I like conversation topics. They break down barriers, especially after we meet people for the primary time. My favorite designer is Kente Gentlemen, who we stock at FRTWN.

Can you share the teachings you learned from the UM enterprise accelerator program on the University of California, Los Angeles?

FRTWN was chosen for UM’s participation in enterprise accelerator programming. This helped us as we began our FRTWN journey to assume what scaling looked like and to take into consideration key networks and relationships.

There is a language and an ecosystem in startup culture and fundraising culture.

What are the most effective strategies you’ve used as a world home goods buyer and are currently using?

I’d say it’s constant curiosity, constant eye opening. It’s an innate skill set that I feel shows good taste. The next thing is constructing relationships. It’s complicated. I feel I’m just developing a merchant mindset.

How are you able to collaborate with these amazing artisans and creators because the founding father of FRTWN?

Thank God for social media. The spread of Instagram and having the ability to find all these amazing things which can be being created.

How do you already know what the buyer wants?

It’s really eager about what feels unique and different. Overall, our goal is to operate in a distinct segment, so sometimes you are taking some risks, especially at first.

What do I like as a consumer? From this entry point, you engage in conversation with the client. When you simply do that dance, you do not all the time get it right, however it’s moving and dynamic.

In 2021, you launched your first product. What was that?

We began with Madame Wokie from Freetown, Sierra Leone. So I went to Sierra Leone, in 2018 I went to Freetown. I used to be in a position to meet the founder, Maryann Kaikai.

I spent about 10 days there, I just went to the market along with her and visited her store, we did photo shoots and created a curated collection of prom skirts that we ended up styling for somebody to wear the Wearable Art Gala back in 2019.

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Lewis continues so as to add unique products With All above world to the FRTWN inventory.

“I really try to explore the nuances that make us who we are, what make us different, which is really important to me. We just want to continue to evolve to create excitement that makes people connect with us, find us and enjoy us.”