“I’ve been staying with my in-laws since March. Originally my husband and I had a trip scheduled to visit family for the weekend, but when we got down here and COVID continued to spread, we decided to stay. We knew that we ultimately wanted to end up in Atlanta but we figured it would be by way of career changes and we would land in several different cities first. COVID just kind of sped up our plans and I decided to launch my own business, TALD, since I wasn’t glued to New York anymore.
This year when COVID came about and everything changed, some of the people that were hardest hit were the independent makers that you wouldn’t find while shopping mass retail. We partner with artists and independent brands and carry very high-quality pieces that will last many years to come. TALD stands for “things a little differently.” We have a structure with our partners such that they profit more by working with us than they would in a typical wholesale partnership because our genuine goal is to help them grow. We actually give them a 75% share of their sales versus the typical less than 50%. We care about shopping with impact, and when a larger portion of what you’re spending is going to the maker it’s actually helping them grow because you’re compensating them more for their work. We launched on October 1st and have about 35 partners now but the goal is to have hundreds.
We also recently bought a house in Buckhead, in Margaret Mitchell, that we’re currently renovating. We love the neighborhood because it’s centrally located, has mid-century modern architecture and there are a lot of original owners in the neighborhood. It has a lot of charm to it and it’s a walkable, quiet area so we’re excited.”
Emily Shapiro is the founder of TALD, a lifestyle shop curated alongside ethical artists and independent brands.
