OMJ Tips and Tricks + Weekly Run Down

I decided to hold off on last week's newsletter until today as we had a few moving pieces I was organizing. Additionally, I would love to get on a schedule of releasing these early in the week instead of later, as I have been doing. I will try my best, but also, it may not happen (anyone remember the "Monday Mornings" emails haha?).

First up: If you follow us on Instagram, you may have seen that we have kicked off a new video series called "OMJ's Tips & Tricks," focused on various topics like fashion advice, garment care tips, and much more. We have a ton of these coming, and we thought this would be a fun way to share our expertise with you. Follow along on our Instagram by watching them in our reels section or checking out our highlight titled "Tips & Tricks." Also, if you have any specific questions related to fashion, etc., feel free to shoot us a note or a DM; we might just turn it into something for the series as well.

Second: I have had some great chats recently with the team about including a rundown of sorts, focused on upcoming events, highlights, news, etc., whether OMJ-related or just bigger picture stuff we are plugged into. So here goes!

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Things to share this week:

• 2/9: We are hosting our friends, the Young Affiliates of the Mint, and Habitat Young Professionals for a Finance & Philanthropy event. More information on joining [here].
• 2/22: For those in the whiskey club, we are having our Q1 Whiskey Club event with Maker's Mark. Shout out to our buddy Trey for helping connect. For those who have been to other events, you know it's a great time, with some pretty exclusive bottles that are shared. Not a member? You can join [here].
• AI: The past few weeks, I have been using AI (Artificial Intelligence) to edit my emails. I can assure you, producing a grammatically clean email is not my greatest strength, as several folks in my life always remind me. So it is up to AI now to get things fixed. Honestly, the capabilities of how AI can help small businesses are pretty incredible, and it is a rabbit hole I am looking forward to diving deep into! Also, if there are any grammatical errors going forward, it's AI's fault .
• Listen: A low-key hallmark of OMJ is our store playlist. It has been curated over the course of 10 years now. Feel free to give it a listen [here].
• News: Sesame Street's Elmo accidentally became America's Therapist this past week. I love random stories like this!
• Watch: I really enjoyed this video by The Smile (an offshoot of Radiohead). Something so genuine and innocent about a band trying to impress a bunch of young kids at school. Would love to see more like this! Watch [here].

Have a great week everyone!

A Look Back at 10 Years

Our First Store

In the fashion and retail world, the ultimate goal (in most cases) is to have an actual and physical retail store. By no means is one required for success, but it does indicate progress and forward momentum. No matter what any brand "says", it's a major milestone and goal to have a place customers can come to that doesn't end in ".com." You know how some things are just meant to be? That was our first store!

It was 2014, and we had been treading water as an online business. As I have written about previously, it was tough, and we really needed some forward momentum, as well as a place to store things that were not in my house (my running joke was that the world headquarters was my spare bedroom). We were certainly not ready for a physical store, but that's one thing I give us credit for—being willing to follow our gut and move forward even in uncertainty. It all happened on a whim, as Filipe and I were eating lunch in uptown and just happened to stroll through Latta Arcade / Brevard Ct. I made a comment that I loved the character of the area (for those who don't know, this area is a really special place that has a ton of charm) and stated, "this would be a pretty cool place for a store!" Filipe happened to look up and saw a "For Rent" sign in the second-floor window. We peeked in, loved it and the rest is history. The rent was less than $1,000 a month (but might as well have been $10,000), and we were so nervous we went in with an alterations specialist on the lease to share the rent (We miss you, Cassandra!!). While it was such a stretch at the time, the gamble paid off massively. It would be one of the best investments we made for OMJ and was the springboard for all the success that would follow in the years to come.

It is fun to look back at pictures of that first store, and I love talking with longtime customers about it as well. While it was only 400 sq ft and was on the second floor that you had to walk up to above a bar, some of our best memories were made there. There were the numerous soccer/football events with the whole alleyway packed with fans, the 100+ year-old building with beautiful exposed brick, the wall of pallets because we couldn't afford to put drywall up, completely packing up the entire showroom and taking it to every pop-up event or trade show because we literally only had one of anything, the Saturday staff lunch because Saturdays were our slowest days and we could literally leave the shop for an hour and not miss anyone walking in (now Saturdays count for 40% of our revenue), and of course, the many customers that made the climb up those stairs and were either pleasantly surprised at our speakeasy-like showroom or completely confused why there was even a store there in the first place. It was absolutely perfect for us and would be our home for 4 years until 2020 when we moved into our current storefront. 148 Brevard Ct will always hold a special place for OMJ!

Reaching our 10 year Anniversary this past year, we are looking back on the past 10 years of OMJ and sharing insights and stories from some our best (and worst) moments. Stay tuned for for more stories in the coming weeks!

Fabric Of The Week

Gladson Super 130s Wool

The Gladson snowflake collection is full of soft, muted plaids and checks. This blue jacket is a perfect way to stand out with sophistication.

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Client Spotlight

Noah standing out in a custom navy textured peak lapel sport coat, chambray shirt and patterned tie. A perfect way to mix business and style.

See More On Instagram→

Reviews & Referrals Reminder

Reviews: If you have had a great experience, we would love it if you would leave us a nice review on Google!

Referrals: If you refer someone that buys custom (suits, jackets, shirts, etc), you will receive a complimentary custom shirt (up to $195 in value).