Emmalene Hunter, August 16th,2022

Emmalene Hunter, August 16th,2022

In this interview Emmalene Hunter talks about the creation of the Fashion Place, her business that she founded after the 1967 Rebellion.

Detroit Historical Society

Detroit Historical Society

Emmalene Hunter

Emmalene Hunter grew up in Saint Martinville, Louisiana and eventually moved to Detroit where she started her business in the Fisher Building.

Detroit, MI

8/16/2022

50:06

Taylor Claybrook

Lily Chen [00:00:00] Oh, good. Billy is the lead on this project. No, no, no. He is that...he's directing this project. So it's very important that he's here. It's awesome. All right. So today is August 16th, 2022. It is 12:13 p.m.. And we are really excited to be interviewing nominees for our Hustle project here at the Detroit Historical Society. The door's really creaky, let's get it closed first. All right. So we're going to start with some basics. I'm just going to have you guys state your name and your business name and then spell out both your name and your business name for us. Okay. Okay. Go for it. Okay.

Emmalene Hunter [00:00:44] My name is Emmalene Hunter and this business name is the Fashion Place.

Lily Chen [00:01:01] And we have your sister here with us today.

Jean Jarrett [00:01:04] And my name is Jean Jarrett.

Lily Chen [00:01:14] Awesome. All right. Let me check your volume. So tell me your age gap again.

Emmalene Hunter [00:01:21] We're nine and a half years apart. She's the older, Jean is the oldest.

Lily Chen [00:01:26] She is the oldest. Okay. And where is your business located?

Emmalene Hunter [00:01:32] We're located. The business is located in the Fisher Building. Historical Fisher Building 3011 West Grand Boulevard.

Lily Chen [00:01:40] Okay. And what year was it founded?

Emmalene Hunter [00:01:44] Actually on the east side of Detroit, we started out on Harper and Van Dyke area, and at that time it was named Peanuts Ladies wear, which was my nickname. And we were there at 7737 harper. That was on the east side of the...east side of Detroit. And in 1982, November of 1982, we will relocated to the Fisher Building and renamed the store the fashion place.

Lily Chen [00:02:11] Amazing. How did you come up with the fashion place?

Emmalene Hunter [00:02:16] We wanted to bring some type of excitement to just to say that we know the styles when we are there. So it was the only name that I could think of that people would recognize. That, okay, this is a store that has fashion. So that's why we came up. We said, okay, we will name it the fashion place and drop the Peanutsladies wear store because Peaunts ladies wear they thought it was smaller people because it was named Peanuts.

Lily Chen [00:02:46] I see. Okay. Um, was that Jean's nickname for you?

Emmalene Hunter [00:02:51] Yes, that was my nickname. Yeah.

Jean Jarrett [00:02:52] As a baby. She was a peanut at one time. Now she's a walnut.

Emmalene Hunter [00:02:57] Oh, my gosh. That's good.

Lily Chen [00:03:02] Well, that's amazing. So do you grew up together in Detroit?

Jean Jarrett [00:03:05] No.

Emmalene Hunter [00:03:06] No. Where are you from? We're from Louisiana. Wow.

Lily Chen [00:03:09] Okay.

Emmalene Hunter [00:03:10] Yeah, we migrated. She migrated here first. Working, I mean, studying her masters at Wayne State.

Emmalene Hunter [00:03:17] Okay.

Lily Chen [00:03:18] Cool. I'm also Wayne State alum.

Emmalene Hunter [00:03:20] Oh, good.

Lily Chen [00:03:23] What year? What year were you both born?

Jean Jarrett [00:03:27] I was born in 1944.

Lily Chen [00:03:30] And what city in Louisiana?

Jean Jarrett [00:03:33] Uh, a small town. Saint Martinville, Louisiana. Okay. I was born, and I came up to Detroit the year after the Detroit riot, the school building at Wayne State. So downtown Detroit looked totally different. And I can remember my professor from my undergrad school told me because I had gotten a stipend scholarship to come to Wayne State. Yeah, he said, Well, the school and the whole city is burnt down. So I say, Well, I got a stipend to come to Wayne State, so something will still be there. And I came up and it was a lot of debris and you know, it wasn't looking very good. But I stayed on the campus and I was there for the whole summer. The whole time. The summer.

Lily Chen [00:04:27] Wow. That was '67 or '68?

Jean Jarrett [00:04:28] That was... No, no. The riot was 67. I came in 68. Okay. The year after.

Lily Chen [00:04:35] Okay. Um. Wow. What a story.

Jean Jarrett [00:04:39] Yeah. Yeah.

Lily Chen [00:04:40] Was it very different?

Jean Jarrett [00:04:42] It's very different. Um, because I can remember I stayed on the campus and it was just one dorm it's still there and everybody stayed in that one dorm and like on weekends, it was no place to eat. And I'll never forget that because being from Louisiana we ate well. And it was always food on the table from my parents. But on weekends the cafeteria was closed so we had to go out. I don't know why we had to go out and get food.

Emmalene Hunter [00:05:24] And I knew no one in Detroit. So that's how I got started. That just made my way. And I met my husband. I got married. Yeah. Yeah. Not at Wayne State. I met him through a friend at that attended Wayne State. He was a good friend of my husband, so he introduced me to to him. And that's how I ended up in Detroit.

Lily Chen [00:05:54] And remind me what you studied.

Emmalene Hunter [00:05:56] Business? Yeah, business education now.

Lily Chen [00:05:59] And do you find that it set you up for the success that you guys have now?

Emmalene Hunter [00:06:03] Absolutely have.

Lily Chen [00:06:04] Wow. Certainly. I can't believe that you were here during that time.

Emmalene Hunter [00:06:11] Yeah, not during the riot. I came right after. Yeah.

Lily Chen [00:06:16] Yeah. Um. So when did your sister join you?

Emmalene Hunter [00:06:22] Well, my sister would always visit me. I came up in 68, graduated in 69. And she would always visit me during the summer because I got married in 69. And I moved here in 69, 1969. So she would always visit me. During the summer she was attending Grambling University and during the summer she would visit me. So we liked, you know, like we I liked what we were doing. By the way, my husband was already in retail, and that's how we came up with the idea that this may be something that for women he was in men retail and the business back then was very good for black businesses. But the riot had really put, like, a damper on everything. Yeah. So his retail men business was very good. So I said, Well, maybe I'll just add some women things. And I started very little with just the set series. And it grew from then. And then my sister would visit and help out at the time. So her husband, she married her husband, too. But from.

Jean Jarrett [00:07:46] That piece, she's telling my story. Yeah. Her husband was with Detroit Lions, so. Oh, she's telling my side of the story. Yeah. Yeah. We started...I started the business in 80. 80, because I was on the east side and 80. Yes. She had a she had a shop. She moved at, took over a new business there. And then I moved into the Fisher Building in 82. Yeah.

Lily Chen [00:08:15] Okay.

Jean Jarrett [00:08:16] Yes.

Lily Chen [00:08:17] So in 1980. Did you guys come together right away or...

Jean Jarrett [00:08:23] No, no, no, we didn't. We didn't merge together until. 2013.

Emmalene Hunter [00:08:30] Yeah. Yeah.
And she. She came into the Fisher building to help us out. She had her own shop in the super suburbs. Yeah. And she came into the Fisher Building. Merged with me in 2013.

Lily Chen [00:08:44] Wow. This is my first time interviewing sisters, and it's so much fun. I have a sister, too, and she drives me nuts.

Emmalene Hunter [00:08:52] And it's the same here. That's what I would guess. Yeah.

Lily Chen [00:09:00] That person knows you the most.

Emmalene Hunter [00:09:02] Most. Right.

Lily Chen [00:09:03] And so, therefore, can also push all of your buttons.

Emmalene Hunter [00:09:06] Right.

Emmalene Hunter [00:09:07] Definitely.

Emmalene Hunter [00:09:07] She does it.

Emmalene Hunter [00:09:08] Absolutely.

Lily Chen [00:09:10] Tell me about working together and running a business as sisters.

Emmalene Hunter [00:09:14] Oh, we team up for each other because when she has business meetings, ah, whatever she has to do, I can color right and vice versa.

Emmalene Hunter [00:09:25] We both know the business now. We've been in it long enough, we know the business. And so I'm usually the person that keeps the book part of it and she does the display. So we kind of like work off each other, but we both can handle all phases of it. Yeah, because we've been doing it that long.

Lily Chen [00:09:44] Yeah.

Emmalene Hunter [00:09:44] So.

Lily Chen [00:09:47] Um. So are you. You both curate women's fashion.

Emmalene Hunter [00:09:51] Women's fashion.

Lily Chen [00:09:53] Okay. And so the whole store is dedicated to women's fashion.

Emmalene Hunter [00:09:56] Yes.

Lily Chen [00:09:56] All right. So that includes clothes and shoes and. Yes.

Emmalene Hunter [00:10:02] Yeah, we have more accessories than clothing. We bring in a little bit of shoes, touches, shoes, but we specialize in the clothing, fashion, updated fashion and jewelry.

Lily Chen [00:10:14] Awesome. How has the business changed over time?

Emmalene Hunter [00:10:18] We've gone through so much, you know, from 80 when, you know, everything was going crazy in the city. Depression, inflation to now when we had COVID and we were shut down for three months, then you have to find out how you could maintain to...Now it's like everything is computerized and internet and so we've gone all the way through technology we've gone all the way through and we just right now, it's just a matter of keep going. And I think we're more so people oriented. We service our customer and know what their wants are and we kind of cater to their needs. And that's why. We've built a like of base. A lot of the customers, we know them by name and they still support us. So that has kept us afloat, right? But the customers service...We're like a service oriented plus. Therapeutic that they can come and talk to us about whatever problem. All of their problems.Their problems and we listen is more so listening they want just someone to listen and... Not to tell them what to do but to listen to them. And we do that. And we try to, you know, so. Dress them up. Dress them up and make them feel good.
Lily Chen [00:11:50] That's so funny. So, I mean, what I'm hearing is that your business is, of course, you know all about fashion, but it it offers more than that. It's like a community.

Emmalene Hunter [00:12:00] A community.

Lily Chen [00:12:01] For women and especially black women to gather and find comfort.

Emmalene Hunter [00:12:06] Right, to find comfort. And that's what we try to do to make them feel comfortable coming in and that we're going to service them best we can.
Yeah, I even mentioned to several of the customers this is the connecting store because many times several of them come in and they meet in the fashion place and they haven't seen each other for some time. Right? So it's like a meeting place, a gathering place, right? They'll say, Oh, wow, what kind of what do you do? And then they feed off each other. Okay, well, give me your card. Let's let's hook up. Let's do let's do this together. Let's get together. So we we try to…You know, keep things going. Keep them happy. Everybody happy.

Lily Chen [00:12:49] That's amazing. I mean, something that's very unique about Detroit and black businesses in Detroit is that they're such a strong community.

Emmalene Hunter [00:12:59] Yeah.

Lily Chen [00:13:00] We are not the biggest city in the world, so we all know each other, right? You know.

Emmalene Hunter [00:13:06] It's a small world, large city, but small community of people.

Lily Chen [00:13:11] Yeah, exactly. Um, so have there been any patrons or customers that have really impacted you guys?

Emmalene Hunter [00:13:23] I must say. Yes. Yeah, yeah.
Many. Many. I mean, there's a lot of smart, intelligent women out here. Yeah. That that that can do amazing things. And they impress us.

Lily Chen [00:13:40] Yeah.

Emmalene Hunter [00:13:40] Yeah.

Lily Chen [00:13:41] Really impressive. That's awesome. And I'm sure that you both are an inspiration for fellow female entrepreneurs, too, and black entrepreneurs in Detroit. So. So tell me, when did you come to Detroit?

Emmalene Hunter [00:13:55] I came to Detroit to actually live. I moved here in 1975. And my husband. Well, then the person that I started dating.
Who happily ended up being my husband. We went to school together at Grambling State University. And. Yes, and in in Louisiana. And he was drafted by the line of number one draft pick by the Lions in 76. So we started communicating and we were married in 77.

Lily Chen [00:14:30] Wow.

Emmalene Hunter [00:14:32] And so then I opened a store on the east side of Detroit, Harper and Van Dyke area, and he said to me, let's just call it Peanuts ladies wear that's your nickname? So I said, okay.
And I did it. And after two years of being there, I decided, okay, well, let me look for another spot. And I went into the Fisher Building and renamed it The Fashion Place.

Lily Chen [00:14:57] How lucky it is that your husband was drafted and then you could join your sister.

Emmalene Hunter [00:15:04] Right. It just worked out really great. Yeah.

Jean Jarrett [00:15:08] At that time, the Fisher Building wasn't being kept up, although it's a historic building. And because there were a lot of vacancies when. When she moved in, it...it was... It took time to build, you know, and get things going. And because the little spot we had up in the Fisher Building, we wanted a bigger a little bit larger space. But they didn't give it to her. They gave her one little spot, which she ended up and make.

Emmalene Hunter [00:15:47] I made lemonade out of lemons.

Jean Jarrett [00:15:54] Right. So because she was one of the black businesses in the city and in the area that she was, you know, business because the building had Detroit board of ed. So customers, you know, it was like a captive audience right in that building. They had a lot of businesses in the building. So she had a key spot. Yeah it became a key spot.

Lily Chen [00:16:28] That's awesome.

Jean Jarrett [00:16:29] From hard work.

Lily Chen [00:16:30] Has it been hard to stay in the same place? And have they...Have you been able to control the cost of it?

Jean Jarrett [00:16:40] Well. You being that we had our footprints and we just didn't want to move or take on another spot. We like the area we in and we just roll. Yeah. And we can work with what we have. And being that we're small, if someone if you, if you didn't have the employee you could, you can manage it yourself.

Lily Chen [00:17:03] Mhm.

Jean Jarrett [00:17:04] Yeah.

Lily Chen [00:17:05] That's great. So over the years, what are some of the challenges that you've faced? Running a business.

Jean Jarrett [00:17:18] Right now is the Internet.

Lily Chen [00:17:20] Hmm.

Emmalene Hunter [00:17:22] You know, you have distances, I mean people who were all over the Internet shopping. So that's the challenge. That's, that's the challenge right now. Just the online business and trying to keep up with all what's going on before you know you had the…They could come in and view what you had but now they go on the internet and see if they can purchase it. They're cheaper on the home. Right. And because of COVID you know, there's still a lot of people refuse to get in that crowd or leave home.

Lily Chen [00:18:00] Mm hmm.

Emmalene Hunter [00:18:01] Especially older customers. The older customers, which we've had through the years.

Lily Chen [00:18:06] Yeah. I mean, so it sounds like a lot of the most important part of your business, which is the community building. Right. And making those, you know, you know, real connections with that. Um. Is is being impacted. Right. Right.

Emmalene Hunter [00:18:24] And that's basically what we base our business on, communication with our customers, knowing what they want and. What they want…Servicing them. And that's basically what we do.

Lily Chen [00:18:38] Yeah. Have you guys seen over the years, I'm sure you've seen so many different trends and. Oh, yes, crazy things in the world of fashion. I love fashion. Tell me all about it. Tell me about the fashion journey over the years.

Emmalene Hunter [00:18:54] Well, one thing about fashion business, okay, is you can go trendy or you can go conservative. You have to...From my experience, you have to like stay in the middle because trend goes out and then you can't be too conservative because you miss the customers that want a little fashion. So, you know, with the fashion place, we try to bring in fashion that not so trendy, not so trendy, but they can wear for more than one occasion and wear for a longer period of time.
And a lot of our customers say that, well, I've had this two or three years and we say, okay.
Well, it's time to get another one. So we try to bring in fashion, but yet not over the top.

Lily Chen [00:19:52] Yeah. Tell me about some of your like favorite pieces or styles that you've seen in your store.

Emmalene Hunter [00:20:05] You know, like everybody, we have to try to keep in mind what is going on at the time. For instance, like during the pandemic, most of the customers are wearing leisure things because all they want is some cute top because they are doing zoom calls or this is what they can wear because that's all that people will see them in the top. So we would we would in fact, we did a lot of selling of jewelry because they would have basic blouse or are, you know, something that they have already. And we try to do a jewel, a nice piece of jewelry, because that's what they were capturing on the Internet. You know, so jewelry and earrings try to fashion them up with that accessories. Accessorized them. Yeah.

Lily Chen [00:20:55] It's really cool to hear how you adapted to that circumstance because it was so crazy. Yeah. But it sounds like you were really creative and kind of meeting people where what.

Emmalene Hunter [00:21:07] Their needs were at the time. Well, we try to listen to our customers, too. They'll tell you what they're looking for. They even send us shopping for. Yeah. You know, they'll call us and say, okay, I need a silver dress in two weeks. They don't give you very much time. And we have to be very creative. But through the years since we've been around for quite some time, we have manufacturers that sometimes we can call on and and get what we need. Yeah. At the time that they need it. Yeah. It doesn't always happen but we try, try to make out and get them what they want.

Lily Chen [00:21:51] That's really cool. Yeah.

Emmalene Hunter [00:21:53] And that's what has kept us afloat because they see that we get that little extra help in trying to service them.

Lily Chen [00:22:04] Yeah. And it sounds like over the years, you've made a lot of great connections.

Emmalene Hunter [00:22:09] Yes, we have. We have met a lot of great people working in that business before. We've met a lot of great ladies. Yeah, great people.

Lily Chen [00:22:19] Something I feel really proud of is seeing women of color support each other and support each other's businesses. So it sounds like that's something that you guys incorporate into your work. Absolutely. By orking with other women of color entrepreneurs, is that true?

Jean Jarrett [00:22:39] Yeah, that's true. And we also cater to any race, really, because during the theater nights, which the Fisher building bring in...So we've built the clientele through our, you know, that base of customers. They come in and they like what we have. And the prices is right. Right. So we have repeated customers from the theater. They look forward to coming in, come into the shows and shopping.

Emmalene Hunter [00:23:13] Before the shows. Because not all of them live in the city limit. They live outside the city. So they'll when they do come to the theater, they look for us.

Lily Chen [00:23:26] That is such a it's such a good idea. Yeah. Have the store open.

Emmalene Hunter [00:23:30] Yeah.

Emmalene Hunter [00:23:31] Yeah. Yeah. We open until the last show starts.

Lily Chen [00:23:34] Yeah. Wow.

Emmalene Hunter [00:23:36] Every theater night.

Lily Chen [00:23:38] So then a lot of people can build it into their night out.

Emmalene Hunter [00:23:42] Right? Absolutely.
And they get their husbands credit card.

Lily Chen [00:23:50] Something I really admire about businesses that do women's fashion is that the whole industry is about lifting up other women. Right. It's about making people feel like themselves. And the most themselves. You know.

Emmalene Hunter [00:24:15] So when you look good, you feel good. That's what we tell the customers. When you look good, you can feel good. Makes you feel good?

Lily Chen [00:24:23] Yeah. Do you get to see that happen? Right.

Emmalene Hunter [00:24:27] Right. Right before our eyes.

Lily Chen [00:24:30] That's amazing. Um. So I know you're both not from Detroit, but very much have Detroit in your blood now after so many years. Um, tell me about, you know, your thoughts on having a business in the city and your ties and. Yeah. Any reflections that you have on being in Detroit?

Jean Jarrett [00:24:58] We've always liked the city. I mean, there's so much going on here and it's no place like Detroit. I mean, from the weather, you... One day, you have sun, the next day you have snow. So, you know, so everything has been a positive in the sense that it keeps you going. You keep wanting more and more of what's going on in the city and the people. We've met great people and not everybody have been from the city of Detroit, but once they're here, they kind of plant themself in and things start to happen.

Emmalene Hunter [00:25:38] Things good things have happened to us here. Living here. Yeah. So? So we've made it our home.

Emmalene Hunter [00:25:46] Yeah. Yeah, this is home.

Lily Chen [00:25:49] Yeah. So that's amazing. Um, any huge surprises along the way? Some of the things that, you know, maybe that were different from what you had learned in school or things that were just so different from what you expected when you were when you were running your business over the years.

Jean Jarrett [00:26:13] Well in my with my experience. You learn people, you know, like through the years I have been. Doing business, you learn. To listen. And you learn to...Observe people's movement and people what they like and what they dislike. And, you know, it's it's people oriented. You know, everybody's different in some way or form. But we all one person and we're all the same, you know, in one way or the other. We all believe the same way. We all have blood. So it's amazing what you can learn if you just listen.
Over the years. We've worked with DPS, with students.

Lily Chen [00:27:26] Really?

Jean Jarrett [00:27:26] Yes. We've we've had a number of students to come through and work with us and we've showed them, you know, different things that merchandise has shown in the business and that have impressed me more than anything. The fact that I can help a young lady, that one day she can become an entrepreneur, even that that helps her to be able to relate to other people because that many of them, that was their first job. Our job coming to work for us was their first experience working for someone, or even meeting a lot of people that they had never met before. That's coming to the store. So we have help, you know, that helped them to develop into the person that they want to be. So that has been a big thing for me, trying to help the students, trying to help young ladies to develop.

Emmalene Hunter [00:28:27] And a lot of them have really done well. Yes, a lot. And they come back to us.

Jean Jarrett [00:28:35] They come back and thank us and say, oh, you know what? You told me. This is my first job.
And I learned so much. And that gives us more pleasure. And that is a good feeling. That is the best feeling, actually, to be able to say that we helped somebody.

Emmalene Hunter [00:28:54] They will tell us, like, you know, you taught me this and it still sticks in my mind. Yeah. And. Like I had one of the young lady called me just yesterday and said I told her that about her credit. I said, credit is better. Having credit is better than having money. And she thanked me for that today. That was Nicky. She called me yesterday. So, yeah. So, you know, not only we teach, you know, fashion, but we life life skills, you know, life skills, because that's what our parents instilled in us. Yeah. You know, life skills. Yes.

Emmalene Hunter [00:29:41] Work hard, but protect your credit. Protect, you know.

Jean Jarrett [00:29:46] And and treat people. Right. Right. Yeah. Always like a person. Right. You want to be treated.

Lily Chen [00:29:54] It is so cool to hear the journey of you guys being mentors to other women. Yeah. It's so beautiful. And I can just imagine how amazing it is to see those young women grow up right and become their own selves.

Jean Jarrett [00:30:16] Right. I've had I mean, they they have their own family now and they're teaching their kids as we talk. Yeah. You know, and they bring the kids back. And the kids. Yeah. Yeah. What's that? Right. We have one of the one of the young ladies. Her daughter is working with us now. Yeah.
And she was with. She's. She's now, uh, has a had a good job. And now she brought her daughter, India, to us to train our daughter the way we.

Emmalene Hunter [00:30:48] We train her. Yeah, pointers and stuff. So that that's been that that was that's my reward. That, that, that's what I feel great about. Being able to have all these young ladies over the years and even just make good decision, tough decisions, you know, just don't jump on anything. So that has been our...That has been the most important thing for me. Besides the fashion and more to it. More to it.

Lily Chen [00:31:20] I mean, it sounds like what you're teaching and mentoring is. More than just more than just fashion. More than just running a business. It's like guiding.

Emmalene Hunter [00:31:32] Guiding young people.

Lily Chen [00:31:34] Into adulthood.

Emmalene Hunter [00:31:35] Right. How to make good choices. You know, life. Yeah.

Lily Chen [00:31:39] You guys are such wonderful role models. That's so cool.

Emmalene Hunter [00:31:43] Well, we've tried. Tried over the years.

Lily Chen [00:31:47] Yeah. What are you excited about for the future?

Emmalene Hunter [00:31:53] Things are changing drastically.

Lily Chen [00:31:56] Yeah.

Emmalene Hunter [00:31:57] And. We're looking at. Will people just be stuck at home? On the computer. Nobody relate. See, at one time you would have conversation. Now you go in a room and everybody's texts and. Right. And looking at their laptop or looking at their computer. And I don't know where this is taking us, but I feel like. Almost we losing touch of communicating. You know. I like to talk. And not all the time, but most of the time.

Jean Jarrett [00:32:51] So, you know, I feel like when you can communicate, you can feel where that what that person how that person is feeling. You know, that's what I feel. So. That's what I think we're losing. Yeah, but the fashion women still like to dress. Yeah. Yeah. You know that. They still like to dress. So hopefully we can hang on as we're both getting older. That's why we merged. Because we were getting old and.

Jean Jarrett [00:33:25] We were getting old. So we were…But we still do it. Yeah. Doing the best we can to continue to keep it on, right?

Lily Chen [00:33:35] Yeah. It's your golden age.

Jean Jarrett [00:33:38] Yeah. This is our golden years, right?

Jean Jarrett [00:33:41] Yeah.

Lily Chen [00:33:42] The time in which people look up to you. And learn from you and. Yeah. And you are the generation that will guide us into the future. You know, we help. We have so much to learn. I. You know, younger generations can only read about 67, right? And those things are still very real. True. So. Being with people like you is so important. Because it teaches us. The real reality. You know, people really lived during those times. Yeah. Well, is there anything else that you wanted to share about your business or your journey?

Jean Jarrett [00:34:41] Oh, I do want to say that some of our customers have brought their kids to shop. So our fashions have changed. We continuously change with the fashion, with the styles and time. So we not only service the mother, but we service some of the children.

Jean Jarrett [00:34:59] Some of the children, yeah.

Jean Jarrett [00:35:01] So our fashion, we're not a stale store. We continuously improve and upgrade our our fashion. So we're we're always trying to find the right thing for our customer.

Lily Chen [00:35:14] Yeah. Something that I can really tell from both of you is that after so many years, fashion is still exciting.

Jean Jarrett [00:35:22] Mm hmm.

Lily Chen [00:35:24] Yeah, because it. It changes.

Jean Jarrett [00:35:26] It changes. Changing. Yeah.

Jean Jarrett [00:35:28] And then it goes back around, like the bucket hit something we wore in the, I want to say in the late eighties.

Jean Jarrett [00:35:35] Yeah. But made a nice back in style is the same hat is the thing that that.

Emmalene Hunter [00:35:41] They probably changed their name. Yeah. Yeah. But it's the same, same thing.

Jean Jarrett [00:35:46] So it changed. So we've seen things come and go.

Emmalene Hunter [00:35:50] Come and go, you know?

Lily Chen [00:35:51] Yeah, we've.

Jean Jarrett [00:35:51] Seen it come and go fashion.

Lily Chen [00:35:54] Wise. And. And Detroit has changed.

Jean Jarrett [00:35:58] Yeah, it's changed. Yeah, it's a. Up till now, you know, the city's thriving, you know, the big new buildings and. Let's hope it continues. Yes, Detroit is up and moving.
In just over a week. We had a customer saying they and that was their first impression today in Detroit. And what they had been reading and hearing like. And they actually came into the city. And so it just what's going on in the city changed their whole perspective because they said, Oh.
That's right. Detroit is happening.

Emmalene Hunter [00:36:45] Yeah, that's right. Right. So have you been here for a while?

Lily Chen [00:36:51] My whole life.

Emmalene Hunter [00:36:52] Good. Good.

Lily Chen [00:36:53] Yeah. Um. But I really look up to your generation and women like you because you guide you guide us every day and give us so much inspiration. One of the things that I really struggle with is how to manage the ups and downs, you know? Oh. Gosh, it feels like we're going backwards as a society or things like that. But your generation has lived through like everything, right?

Emmalene Hunter [00:37:29] Absolutely. I mean, the next the next the day after, it will change. So you've got to just give it time and keep pushing, don't give up. You can't give up. You have to keep keep moving.

Lily Chen [00:37:44] Yeah. Well, one of the important things that I'm hearing you say is that small business is really different from the online marketplace because. You in the online marketplace. It's just a transaction. You're trading money for.

Emmalene Hunter [00:38:04] Good, but good for.

Lily Chen [00:38:04] Goods.

Jean Jarrett [00:38:07] Where is when you've come in to at the fashion place, you're you have therapy, you have fashion, you have relaxation, you know, communication. You get it all, you give it all.
One thing we've noticed, like a lot of the customers, like nice music. Yeah. So we keep a nice self music on. They want a dance they want.

Emmalene Hunter [00:38:38] So we try to play a lot of Motown music, like music. And most of the customers are familiar with it. You know, they come in dance and, and they want it. And it will be they will stay in a little longer, longer because they want to listen. So what station you listening to? Oh, I like that. So we try to give them a little video. I tell them we're going to put a dance floor down the hallway. Yeah I love so it's...

Emmalene Hunter [00:39:08] It's a fun time. We have a good time. Like being yeah yeah they know we gotta keep it for fun keep it going.

Lily Chen [00:39:18] It's amazing. I mean and then playing Motown music, it's.

Emmalene Hunter [00:39:21] Like, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Lily Chen [00:39:22] Tribute to your city.

Emmalene Hunter [00:39:24] Right, right, right.

Jean Jarrett [00:39:26] And you know, your customers, that's let's say, I would say 40 up. Yeah. That's the music they would listen to.

Lily Chen [00:39:37] Yeah.

Jean Jarrett [00:39:38] Compare to the music that we have now you know the rap.
But which is good to…Is the younger generation means.

Lily Chen [00:39:51] It sounds like when customers come in they just have such a great experience. Yeah.

Jean Jarrett [00:39:56] We try to make it pleasant.

Lily Chen [00:40:00] I love it and. I, I really hope for the future that you guys envision to, you know, where people can continue to build community right when they shop.

Jean Jarrett [00:40:15] Right. Right.

Lily Chen [00:40:16] Um. Shopping should not just be. A trade in goods and money. Right. So we're not personal anymore. Right. Something I really like about the experience that people have when they come to your store, too. Is that. They're discovering themselves because they might not know what they want. And it sounds like you guys do a lot of work in guiding people to find fashion with fashion sense.

Jean Jarrett [00:40:43] Because a lot of them will go to like a department store they have no service for. So you have to look for someone to help find where you want to go. And that's hard. And in our store, since it's a small and we give them personal service, we attend to their needs.

Lily Chen [00:41:05] Yeah. Mm hmm. Do you find that in your many years, you've learned a lot about people you must be able to meet people?

Jean Jarrett [00:41:12] Oh, yeah, absolutely.

Emmalene Hunter [00:41:13] When they come in, we could tell the size they are...
And and sometimes you can't really say, oh or you don't need that size. You need this size. We just kinda work our way through. Yeah. Okay. So I thought, well, I think this would work a little better and we just worked our way through to get them to where it will look good on them.

Emmalene Hunter [00:41:35] Right? Because we feel like whatever we put on them is referencing a store.

Jean Jarrett [00:41:42] And and we've all been there but then a customer comes out in a size ten when she wears a 16. Mm. I mean you know, it's just although may like it but I tried to show her that something. Looks better, looks. Better, it does better. So that's what we do.

Lily Chen [00:42:03] Yeah.

Jean Jarrett [00:42:03] Yeah. Know because some people, just, some customers just don't realize, you know, they don't know. They, it's not that they want to be in that, but they want to look good, but they just don't know what makes them look their best.

Lily Chen [00:42:19] Yeah. I mean, I'm hearing two different things that are amazing. One is that you can see people better than they can see themselves.

Jean Jarrett [00:42:27] Absolutely. Absolutely. In some cases.

Lily Chen [00:42:32] Yeah. Yeah. It's very kind of unique to women's fashion. Right. Where you can see someone. You know, in not a judgmental way, but you're right for the truth.

Jean Jarrett [00:42:44] Right, right. Right. Exactly.

Lily Chen [00:42:50] And I love that. You know, I haven't heard that before. That sentiment of you want people to be their best because you have an investment right in it.

Emmalene Hunter [00:43:00] Right. You want them to come back and then we want them to tell the nex person.

Jean Jarrett [00:43:04] Okay, I got this from the first compliment. I think women like to be complimented. Right. You know, if they have something on and you compliment them on that, that makes them feel good. And they will tell you I got it from the fashion place. Sometimes. Sometimes, yeah. But sometimes they won't say it because they don't want nobody to say. And they'll come back and tell us that they say, oh, she told me I. Was wearing this and how much she like it, but I didn't tell her where. I got it through. I would say, okay, well, don't worry about it. We only had a couple of those for those, so she won't have your same thing, you know, like she was like they feel like the manufacturer made that one. And it's only for them. And it's only for them. And it's hysterical. Yeah, but we have fun. Yeah, that is.

Emmalene Hunter [00:44:03] Yeah, we have…You have to come down.

Lily Chen [00:44:05] Absolutely.

Emmalene Hunter [00:44:06] You have a party.

Lily Chen [00:44:07] Oh, I'm so. I mean, I love jewelry.

Emmalene Hunter [00:44:10] Okay, okay.

Lily Chen [00:44:13] But I can't dress myself well so I always need people to help me. And in, you know, in a department store.

Emmalene Hunter [00:44:20] You don't get help with the service. You have to pull what you want and then go and try it on. And you don't know if it's match enough the way or if are.

Jean Jarrett [00:44:28] You can't find anybody to direct...

Emmalene Hunter [00:44:30] You in what direction to go find what. You want, what you want. So being in one little spot, we can put it all together. Yeah, sure.

Lily Chen [00:44:39] Yeah. Well, I'll. I'll end with something kind of fun I want to hear about, you know, getting to interview the both of you. You guys have such a wonderful dynamic. Like, I think just listening. You can tell that you're sisters. So tell me about your your journey together as sisters, even from as children, all the way up to today. The best part. The worst part?

Emmalene Hunter [00:45:10] You the oldest, you go first... She's going to tell you how.

Jean Jarrett [00:45:19] When she was born. To be honest with you, I did not know my mom was pregnant. Now I was nine and a half years old. But my mom was built very firm. So she didn't really show pregnancy. So when she was born I was devastated because because my dad had me as his last child, although as eight of us, as only two of us left just the two last kids. So he figured like I was the last and this was it. And I could have whatever I wanted that he could afford. You know, I was his child. Then she comes in the picture and he drops me like a hot potato. I tell everybody that.

Emmalene Hunter [00:46:10] I think so. We have a conflict.

Jean Jarrett [00:46:15] So. So. But. But then later my dad got sick and he passed away before she could finish college. And I can remember telling my mom I had graduated. I was working. I told my mom then I would help get her through school. Which I did.

Lily Chen [00:46:34] Wow.

Jean Jarrett [00:46:35] And then she came to Detroit and, you know, joined me. It's one time she was working in one of my she was run in one of the stores that i had. And she did a good job. She quit her job.

Emmalene Hunter [00:46:50] Tell it like it is.

Jean Jarrett [00:46:55] She quit her job as she was working.

Emmalene Hunter [00:46:58] For Arthur Andersen. And I left there.

Emmalene Hunter [00:47:01] She left there and started running one of my stores. She would get to work on time. She did a good job. I mean, she did what she was supposed to do. I was taught well from my parents.

Jean Jarrett [00:47:11] And your big sister. So that's how we got to mix. And we've been close. You know, we fight like sisters, but we love each other. You know, you can't get between us. So like I said, you know, we help each other out when the other one is in need help. We help each other out because we are the only two left in a family. Parents are gone. All siblings are gone. So it's just the two of us.

Emmalene Hunter [00:47:42] At any rate. See, she moved to the suburbs with her business, and I...Yeah, she stayed and stayed in the city. And in 82, I move into the Fisher building. And my husband and I with the fashion place and. He was not in the business of the fashion place, but he was just a voice. The backbone of starting the Fashion place. And then I've been in there since since she joined. She came in back in 2013.

Jean Jarrett [00:48:17] So we've been partnership and working together and it works out good because we both know the business so and then as it as you go on, as the years went on, the help started to. You can't get good help.

Emmalene Hunter [00:48:31] You it was hard to get the people that you can train and that would stay with you. I always had students to come in and we would train them on different things. So that was the biggest part of my growing up, just being able to work with them and to train them and to see how they grew into the business. And a lot of them is a few of them that I could actually go out of town and I know that they can handle the business I had, we had gotten them to that point. Yeah. Where they can, I could leave for two, three, four or five days and they would, they would run it just like it was me. Like I was in there, you know, they had it. And we still have students come in now and but it's harder to get students to work.

Jean Jarrett [00:49:16] They don't want they.

Emmalene Hunter [00:49:16] They they are with us. Since the pandemic, I have not been able to. Well, we do have the one student that's where we had her mother. And so now she's...She comes helping. But to get students from Detroit public school it has been a difficult process they are not interested in working right now.

Lily Chen [00:49:35] So. Yeah. Yeah.

Emmalene Hunter [00:49:37] At this point, yeah.

Lily Chen [00:49:39] Students are definitely experiencing something. So crazy and they're so young.

Emmalene Hunter [00:49:45] Right, right.

Lily Chen [00:49:46] Right. I have a hard time imagining what it would be like if I was in school. Right? Right, right, right.

Emmalene Hunter [00:49:52] It's a hard process for..

Lily Chen [00:49:54] Yeah. Yeah.

Emmalene Hunter [00:49:55] With all this going on.

Lily Chen [00:49:57] Yeah. Well. Thank you, guys. Thank you.

Emmalene Hunter [00:50:00] Thank you for having us. We appreciate you. Thank you.

Lily Chen [00:50:03] I'm going to turn off this recording.

Emmalene Hunter [00:50:05] Okay.