VOLUME 1 Marita, TOLD YOU SO ISSUE 4 November, 2013
Mind Your Business
Hi Maintenance Diva
Founder & Creator Of H.M.
The market for online boutiques has increased over the years and with social media, or should I say Instagram, making and selling products online is the new era.
There are so many options to choose from, ranging from those who design clothes and sell them, to those who buy clothes wholesale and resell them, to those who thrift, and to those who make the accessories to go with those clothes. |
I recently sat down with Ellen Erica Jackson, creator and founder of Hi Maintenance Boutique, which launched in 2012. Jackson hasn’t been in business very long, but she isn’t new to the entrepreneur game, having owned her own business before and spending much of her childhood in the store her grandfather owned. “I watched him and I spent every day there,” Jackson stated.
She is a 31-year-old native of Harlem, New York, an area known for its fashion sense. |
The idea and name of the boutique came to Jackson in 2000. Before that year she would fix her own jewelry as it broke, and decided she might as well make her own stuff.
Jackson then went on to sell custom pieces on eBay; however she quickly learned the market. “People only want to pay a dollar for stuff on eBay and custom pieces are worth more than that,” Jackson mentioned. She chose to use “Hi” due to the fact that a lot of other companies have coined the word “high” in their business name. “I make pieces that you have to stop and look at, hence the word 'Hi'; it’s a play on words,” said Jackson. |
I asked Jackson what sets her jewelry boutique aside from all the rest on Instagram and online, and why people should shop Hi Maintenance. “I have the ability to make my own custom pieces of jewelry for clients, pieces they will never see anyone else with, pieces made just for them and their personality. I could make the pieces again, but I choose not to,” Jackson said.
Like most, Jackson was sick of working the average 9-5 to make other people rich, and after losing her job she ran into a guy who told her to follow her dreams so she did. Hi Maintenance has done work with Hazel Lucas and a photo shoot with Rhymes & Dimes Magazine. |
Hi Maintenance Boutique specializes in custom body chains, corsets, and even shoes. You should go check her out; I mean her items are dope. Jackson draws inspirations from Beyoncé and Rihanna, with many of her photo shoots based on Rihanna’s style.
In every interview I ask my famous last question: How far do you want to take your career as an undiscovered artist? “All the way. I want to open boutiques nationally and internationally; ultimately having my accessories in Gucci, Prada, or Vogue,” said Jackson. By; Martia Holloway |