Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Clark
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I am a wife, mother, and lover of all things design. Kinda collected started as an idea that came to me in a yoga class during a kind of funky time in my life. I wasn’t in a great place with my job at the time, and was really feeling like I was searching for something fulfilling. I have worked in nonprofit marketing for several years and really love building community. I also love fun design and delicious food. During that yoga class, I pictured myself building a space that combined all of those things, and thus kinda collected was formed! Within 24 hours, I had a pitch deck and a business model and it kind of went from there. My husband and I both have full-time jobs outside of the shop, we have two kids and two dogs and a whole lot of chaos that we’re trying to keep organized.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Is anything ever really a smooth road? We genuinely had no idea what we were doing at the beginning. We had never owned a brick and mortar before, we didn’t know anything about Nashville real estate and we were really just flying by the seat of our pants. We were very fortunate in that our incredible space sort of fell into our laps, but once we signed the lease, we had to navigate all of the permits and processes. We created all of our own graphics and branding, learned about the wholesale process, and started sourcing our own goods, really choosing things that we loved, having no idea how they would be received! There were certain things in our business model that we had to change, and we had to really learn to go with the flow. It was an adventure and a journey, but we have learned so much along the way!
We’ve been impressed with kinda collected, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are a kitchen and pantry shop and space for workshops and classes. We offer ceramics painting, and collaborate with other creatives in the community for additional events, such as printmaking, kimchi classes, and other artistic and food related workshops.
I wanted a space where you can stop in and grab something that makes you happy. Whether it’s a tin of fish after a long, busy day or the perfect bowl or plate. The name of the shop is a play on calm, cool and collected. Nothing is ever fully collected, no one is ever fully collected, and we’re all just trying to find things that make us feel put together no matter what. I always say, you can eat butter noodles every day of your life, but if it’s on your favorite plate, it makes you feel pulled together, collected, and whole.
We know there are other places in town to buy tined fish, crackers, and tea towels, and we wanted to bring people into our space for something more than shopping. In the year we have been open we have evolved from a small neighborhood Superette to so much more. We now also have ceramics painting on a regular basis and other workshops and classes along with our kitchen and pantry items. It has become a community space where people can come together to teach a class, take a class, learn something new, meet someone new, and find your new favorite things.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I think there is a big push for smaller neighborhood markets these days. People are moving away from big box and corporation shopping and they want to support smaller local businesses. I think that will continue, and I think people will continue looking for things to do outside of hanging out in bars and going to restaurants. We have had so many people come in and say that they love the workshops in classes because it’s different than what they do on a normal basis and I think that is something that will continue to happen..
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Kindacollected.com
- Instagram: @kindacollected
