Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Burris.
Jennifer, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I bought Ivory Closet from a close friend, Alexandra Nichole, near the end of 2019. I had zero retail experience whatsoever at that time. It was a complete gamble for me on the front end. But this opportunity felt right, and I was confident I could do it.
The opportunity to buy Ivory Closet came quick, as did the purchase and the transfer of ownership. It happened in late Fall, during the holiday season. I had to jump in knowing nothing. If you’ve worked retail, you know how insane this was. It was like taking a college final without having received a textbook, spoken to a professor, or had any time to study. I felt like an absolute madwoman and felt completely sure I would grab the reins, achieve the unachievable, and dominate my field.
Then came 2020. I was the captain of a brand new vessel amid a hurricane. There seemed to be no answers, Alexandra had no global pandemic contingency plan, and no one had any real advice. Other shop owners, people whose operations I admired, looked just as lost and confused.
We tracked the economy daily, stalked shifts in demand, listened to experts, and did the best we could to pivot and stay afloat. I took a strategic bet I knew was risky. It worked. We were able to break even, month after month, through waves of lockdowns and restrictions. Then everything turned around in a flash. As restrictions eased, we had the problem of being too busy. We now had trouble keeping the shop stocked properly. Inventory was flying off our shelves.
To this day, I don’t know what’s it’s like to run a “normal” retail operation. I have zero clues what it would feel like to have predictability in the marketplace or consistency in purchasing patterns, but I know we’ve survived the unsurvivable. And I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Ivory Closet.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Absolutely not.
It’s been comically unpredictable. I’ve jokingly compared it to a typical Ben Stiller movie where horrible and chaotic things keep happening. Everything goes wrong, gets worse, and the viewer winces in pain of observing the main character’s misfortune and drama.
There’s nothing quite like taking over a fully running operation while it’s in process during the holidays and skating straight into a global pandemic. I’ll spare you the details of our struggles for time’s sake, but trust me, we’ve had our bounty and then some.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Vox Enterprises?
Vox Enterprises is comprised of a brick and mortar women’s clothing boutique called Ivory Closet in Overton Square, our corresponding online storefront at www.ivorycloset.com, and an original clothing line called Haus of Vox.
We’re the only shop, to my knowledge, that has their original clothing line in it. This sets us apart from any other store in Memphis. As the owner, I’m in the shop a lot too. People seem to really like that. They can come in, I can personally style them, I’ll pull items for them, and they can get personal with the creator of our clothing line Haus of Vox.
People think pretty especially to know the person whose clothing brand they’re wearing. I love seeing random people in the streets wearing my clothes. I literally cry, when I see people post pictures of them wearing Haus of Vox to their rehearsal dinners, maternity shoots, birthday celebrations, etc.
I have a human connection with my clients. I’m not some nameless/faceless corporation. It’s me. I’m a Memphian. And I love spending time with and getting to know the people that love my shop. It means a lot to me.
What were you like growing up?
I was the rebellious tomboy, breaker of rules, and challenger of limitations. I never doubted myself when someone told me I couldn’t do something. If I wanted to do it, I didn’t think twice or ask for permission; I just did it.
I remember walking into a gymnastics class for the first time around age 12 and seeing a girl tumble across the room. I saw backhand-spring after backhand-spring and was completely floored by how she’s defying gravity and did the impossible; I observed her for a moment, noticed her technique, and decided I was going to do it myself. A few moments later, I imitated her entirely doing my first, albeit ugly, backhand-spring. I was headstrong and without fear. I don’t know whether this is smart or not, but it’s been effective for me in life.
When I see something I want, I jump in entirely with both feet and eyes on the goal. I don’t think about how I will get from A to B or all the things that could go wrong. I start and move toward the goal.
I was also obsessed with fashion magazines as a young girl. I lived in small-town Alabama at the time, so I saw what girls in New York, LA, & Paris were wearing in magazines like Seventeen and Vogue. I’d rip the pages out, and they covered the walls of my room. I think that little girl would be proud of where she ended up.
Contact Info:
- Email: Jen@ivorycloset.com
- Website: www.ivorycloset.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/shopivorycloset?utm_medium=copy_link
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/ivoryclosetboutique/
Image Credits
Walter While Photography, Press Pause photography, and Michael Butler.
