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New business
profile—
A clothier that takes risks
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| Paul Baker and Wendy Pace,
the owners of Basho Apparel, and Soji. |
With many exotic imports and art being sold in Yellow
Springs, it might seem strange for one to find a downtown shop that sells
American-made, functional, everyday clothing, not to mention socks and
underwear.
But for Wendy Pace and Paul Baker, who opened Basho
Apparel in the former Oten Gallery last November, the satisfaction of living
in a small community comes from being able to help people meet their daily
needs there.
In the store’s recently renovated space hang
racks of cotton t-shirts, pants, bags, hats, socks and underwear, some of
which are organic, and all made by sweatshop-free and socially responsible
clothing companies in the United States or abroad. “It’s crazy
to walk downtown and have to dress like a hippie if you want to buy anything,”
Pace said. “We’re working on men’s underwear next.”
The Los Angeles-based American Apparel is the most
popular and available line in the store, but Basho also sells products from
smaller companies that pay their workers a living wage and provide health
insurance for them and their families, Pace said.
Before Pace opened Basho, she said, she was stuck
in corporate America, managing a Don Pablos in Dayton. “I was working
like a hostage pushing tacos for a living,” she said.
When Baker approached her about Basho, Pace researched
the harsh conditions in which workers in the clothing industry often work.
The parallels between her own life and what she
found in the clothing factories, Pace said, were enough to make her quit
her job and create a saner life for herself and her 7-year-old son, Evan.
Pace said that she was drawn to Yellow Springs because of its size and quality
school system, but no one believed she could afford to buy a house here.
But five years ago, the determined redhead bought
a modest house in town and later enrolled Evan in kindergarten at Mills
Lawn. Next she needed to work in Yellow Springs to be near her son. That’s
when she teamed up with Baker, a painter who was running a Dayton-based
printing and silkscreening business.
He had the idea, and she lit a fire under him to
get it done right. They started printing on American Apparel t-shirts designs
such as a Japanese Buddha figure or the vegetarian slogan, “Beef:
it’s what’s rotting in your colon.” They sold the shirts
at the October 2003 Street Fair and did so well that Alan Macbeth, who owns
the building in which the business is located, offered them the small space.
Pace jumped at the chance, and by Nov. 1 Basho was open.
While Pace continues to search for companies that
make sweatshop-free garments, Baker, who also lives in Yellow Springs, decided
last week that he would prefer to focus on the graphic and printing part
of the business. Though many of his clients are in the Dayton area, he said
that he is planning to move the printing business to Yellow Springs. If
it weren’t for the cost of utilities, he said, he would have done
it already.
Though Pace feels slightly nervous being a more
independent business owner, she said that she is thrilled to be able to
make all the decisions and shape the retail store according to her own vision.
The resonance the business has had with Antioch
students has brought members of human rights groups and People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals to the store after hours for film screenings, discussion
groups and vegetarian potlucks. As Macbeth continues to restore the courtyard
behind the building, Pace hopes that by summer the they can host regular
poetry readings and community gatherings.
Pace said her openness and energy allow her to react
quickly and implement new business ideas. She said that she is willing to
risk an investment she thinks will be good for the store and will gel with
her social values.
When Baker got Soji, a Dalmation Australian shepherd
mix, from the Animal Welfare League in Dayton, for instance, they printed
t-shirts to promote the organization and donated half the proceeds toward
the cause. And when the Asian Collection closed, Basho expanded to a larger
space.
Four weeks later, neither Pace nor Baker have made
money on the move yet. “That’s OK though, it’s the risk
you have to take,” she said.
—Lauren Heaton |
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