Infographic

I chose the infographic in the story “Julia Louis-Dreyfus is Unstoppable” on fivethirtyeight.com. I chose this article because it was about entertainment, more specifically The Emmy’s, and the actress being discussed was one that I have seen in many different shows. I liked this infographic because it did not include an overwhelming amount of facts or stats, but I still understood the point that was trying to be made.

This infographic was built on the basis of comparisons. The different shows that Louis-Dreyfus has appeared in are all laid out next to each other to prove the point that she thrives on the various formats and genres of TV. The causality in the infographic is change over time, and it is done successfully by displaying the data in a graph format. The TV average is also shown as a dotted line to give more clarity to the point being made. All elements of design and data are integrated together. IMDB is a credible source when it comes to entertainment ratings, so having that as one of the variables as opposed to just “user ratings” allows readers to trust the data being presented.

Brainstorming List

Is Consignment on the rise, at a peak point, or declining in Athens?
How do consignment store employees and owners view the downtown boutiques and the addition of chain stores?
Profile of the Cheeky Peach owner about the growth and continued success of the store, the plans for the future, and how she has incorporated digital and social media into the website and various platforms.
The terms “Shop” vs. “Boutique” when it comes to thrift, vintage and consignment. Which works in Athens and why?
How downtown stores merchandise in order to appeal to Athens townies as well as UGA students.
Cover an event held at one of the stores for a local cause or philanthropy and discuss how it impacts the community.
How places like Cine, Creature Comforts, and Terrapin help support and showcase the local fashion scene.
Cover a fashion show put on by the student group, “The Agency,” and interview one of the board members about their involvement
The fashion side of game days, how it has changed throughout the years and what staples stay the same.
Interview the owners of The Red Dress Boutique and talk about how their store has changed and grown since being on Shark Tank.
How Atlanta has become the “New York of the South” in the fashion and lifestyle world.
Ekkos apparel, founded by a UGA student to provide secondary education to orphans in Africa
On campus vs. Off-campus, how student’s style changes from day to night at UGA
Athens as a backdrop for photoshoots, music videos, and movie scenes.
Denim through the years, how jeans have made their way from pants, to vests, to skirts and back.
Revival of sneaker culture for all occasions
Beading, how students have started their own businesses making jewelry
Bene Scarves, a company started by UGA grads that gives proceeds to children in Ghana
Non-downtown boutiques such as “Simply Southern,” and “Entourage” and how they feel advantaged/disadvantaged by their location.
Pop-Up shops around Athens, strategy, plans, and reasoning for this retail format

A budget is a list of stories that explains what the story is about, summarizes what’s been written about it in the past, and how you plan to go about reporting it, i.e. who you’ll talk to and what challenges you might find.

Profile

Ekkos Apparel founder Rachel Ehlinger graduated from UGA last May, and she still resides in Athens working on expanding her business. Many people have written about her growing success, but what would be covered in this piece is why stay in Athens after graduation? Ehlinger believes that Athens is where her apparel line will grow, and I want to know why she believes that and how she is going to make the small town lead to big growth. There are many other philanthropic fashion lines based out of Athens, especially for being a rural community, how will Ekkos stick out from the pack and continue to reach new markets and consumers from staying in Athens. Ekkos is all about providing education for children in Africa, and this profile would discuss how Ehlinger’s personal education influenced this organization and why she feels that providing education to children specifically is important to her.
1. Sources: Rachel Ehlinger – Owner, Samantha Hertzig: Photographer for past Ekkos shoots as well as Social Media intern, the local seamstress, Contact Ehlinger to get in contact with one of the “traveling interns,” Molly Samuel: Ekkos Customer.
Cheeky Peach has been open since August of 2010, and the owner Katie Jacobs, has worked to grow this boutique from the ground up. As a UGA Alum, she has put everything into this store and what it stands for. Not only has she made the store a local hotspot, but the majority of interns and employees are fashion merchandising students. This profile would cover not only her own personal story, but why she feels it is important to train UGA students in the retail setting, what she hopes to teach her employees, and what mentors she had or wishes she had to help her as she created Cheeky Peach.
1. Sources: Katie Jacobs, Lainey Felsenthal: New employee, ask Jacobs for a source that has mentored or inspired her in her career.

Trend

Pop-up Shops across Athens and the entire country are becoming a prominent outlet for retailers to reach new customers and target markets that they would not normally reach. Cheeky Peach has done a pop-up shop at Terrapin, and UGA Fashion students have created “Couture A La Cart” to sell fashions off a cart on campus. This trend is a new and exciting spin on retail, and I would love to cover it from the fashion students perspective as well as from the well-established boutique perspective. Will this continue to be a trend for much longer or will the surprise aspect go away? Have new customers been gained from these efforts?
1. Sources: Katie Jacobs: Cheeky Peach,
Technology in Retail downtown: Compare how different stores, from local boutiques to Urban Outfitters and discuss how retailers are using technology to their advantage. What are they doing that makes them different from their neighboring stores. How shoppers can come to a store with only their phone and be able to make a purchase. Discuss Urban Outfitters app, Apple Pay, and other technological advancements. Sources: Urban Outfitters manager, Red Dress Boutique Manager, stop local shoppers on their phones and ask for an interview.

Pick-em

Is consignment on the rise, at a standstill or on a decline in Athens? Consignment and thrift seems to be a thread woven through the Athens downtown culture, but how do people on the inside of the industry feel? Interview Dynamite, Community, and other thrift and consignment managers to see how they feel about this issue. Where do they see their stores going and how do they compete or coincide with the other retailers downtown?
On-Campus vs. Off-campus apparel, how students dress and shop differently for both occasions. Interview fashion merchandising students and non-fashion merchandising students to see their different point of view on this subject. Also interview a Fashion Merchandising professor and a non-fashion merchandising professor to get their views on how their students dress. Is the dress too casual or does it not impact the classroom?

Budget Critiques

The budget proposal “#TheWhoevers” does not explain what has been written about the topic in the past or how it is going to be reported. By simply listing a list of questions, the budget leaves out the aspects of the topic that have already been discovered. From Clark’s tool #42, it is important that writers do their homework so that they can see the direction the story is going. Although this type of budget proposal may be considered “turning procrastination into rehearsal,” from tool #41, I believe that more than a list of questions is necessary for a successful budget. There are also no sources listed for this piece, which is a critical aspect of planning a story.
The budget proposal “CAPS” could include many different profiles or point of views in a multi-installment story. Tool #45 encourages writers to take a big idea and break it into smaller parts. This story could include perspectives from doctors, students, and medical professionals outside of UGA in order to get a well-rounded story. This would require what tool #46 teaches, appreciating all participants in your story.
The proposal for “Rush,” was well detailed and included many sources that would help the piece come to life. There is no inclusion of what has been written about new gyms in Athens or the high stress level of students, which may be a helpful addition when starting to write. By diving into these bigger categories before writing this story, as tool #43 suggests, you can improve your own skills. Reading is as important as writing as you prepare a new story, so making sure you have explored the tools already out there at the beginning will help make the story have more depth and influence.

Brainstorming

Is Consignment on the rise, at a peak point, or declining in Athens?
How do consignment store employees and owners view the downtown boutiques and the addition of chain stores?
Profile of the Cheeky Peach owner about the growth and continued success of the store, the plans for the future, and how she has incorporated digital and social media into the website and various platforms.
The terms “Shop” vs. “Boutique” when it comes to thrift, vintage and consignment. Which works in Athens and why?
How downtown stores merchandise in order to appeal to Athens townies as well as UGA students.
Cover an event held at one of the stores for a local cause or philanthropy and discuss how it impacts the community.
How places like Cine, Creature Comforts, and Terrapin help support and showcase the local fashion scene.
Cover a fashion show put on by the student group, “The Agency,” and interview one of the board members about their involvement
The fashion side of game days, how it has changed throughout the years and what staples stay the same.
Interview the owners of The Red Dress Boutique and talk about how their store has changed and grown since being on Shark Tank.

More Research

Style Matters Valerie Steele represents fashion’s ‘brainy side’

Valerie Steele, The Director of the Museum of Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC, was interviewed about the art and business of fashion. Steele conveys to the writer that she believes that fashion is art and that people who say fashion has nothing to do with their lives make her laugh. This could be related to a story about by fashion merchandising majors, minors, or faculty and their viewpoint of the business.

Events designed to tug at public purse strings

This story revolved around high-end fashion weeks adding consumer events to their schedules. The US fashion week looked at how the media coverage of the events could translate into sales, and these events seemed to be the answer. Events like these, but on a much smaller scale, happen around Athens all year long. Coverage of a pop-up shop, a sorority philanthropy sale, or even a grand opening party use social media and word of mouth to attract the UGA community to attend.

8 Podcasts to Feed Your Appetite for Fashion

From the assignment where we found social media influencers in our beat, this story is very relevant. Many fashion bloggers are beginning to host their own podcasts, inspired by the success of “Serial”. This article lists multiple podcasts and give their overall “vibe” and “noteworthy episodes”. As a fashion minor myself, I will probably check some of these out. I would also be interested to see if there are any Athens-based podcasts, fashion related or not.

Frugal fashion sense; Cost-conscious shoppers flock to consignment stores

Consignment and thrift is a focus that I would love to write about and learn more about throughout my coverage of this beat. This article was written in 2009, but there are many posts written about it from the past 20 years. I believe that this topic is a huge part of what makes Athens the unique city that it is, and I think it will be a main focus of my writing done in this class.

Treasure hunters find gems at consignment shops

This article discusses the idea that consignment was “on the rise” in 2009. I would like to get local consignment store owners and employees to comment on that. Is it still rising? Has it declined at all since downtown has been flooded with upscale boutiques? The article also discusses that consignment can be somewhat addicting and that shoppers who go to one consignment shop want to know where the other good locations are.

Fashion and Lifestyle Organizations

Old Stories

While reading through the articles found on Newsbank, there seemed to be a common theme. Athens is mentioned as “the perfect place” for many different types of retailers. In the first article I read, journalist Don Nelson explains the concept of the what was then new store Community. In the article, written in 2010, Community’s concept and signature fashion line are explained and introduced. The passion and interest in vintage and artistic clothing items still fills the streets of downtown Athens, and students and townies alike have only fallen more in love with Community since its opening. Since the article was published, Community has moved locations and grown it’s presence in Athens.

The second article that I read was about the opening of another Downtown Athens retailer, Fab’rik, in 2012. The article mentioned that Fab’rik is not just about making sales, but also about serving and giving back to the Athens’ community. The retailer participates in many philanthropic programs, and although the price range is slightly higher then Community’s, the two retailers have some of the same overall goals. Fab’rik has multiple locations throughout the South, but the article recognized that the Athens’ location focused on making the community around them better any way they can. These values still remain true today, as Fab’rik continues to partner with philanthropic causes on campus and throughout the city.

The third article that I read was written in 2011 and focused on consignment. Consignment and thrift stores still seem to have a large presence throughout Athens, and this article provides a list of locations as well as an explanation of how the consignment process works. Athens has always been a town full of vintage vibes, and many consignment and thrift stores have opened and closed even in the short amount of time that I have lived here. This article, although many of the stores listed are no longer open, still reigns true for the average Athens consumer. Students still flood thrift and consignment stores to find unique pieces and residents shop there to find interesting items with a little spunk.

Article 1

Article 2

Article 3

First Interview

Background: Molli Botnick, 21, Fashion Merchandising Major and a sales associate at Cheeky Peach downtown.

Me: Hey Molli, I’m just going to ask you some questions about your involvement in Fashion and Cheeky Peach. What’s your fashion background and what are you up to now?

Molli: Umm so my parents own jeewelry stores in atlanta so I grew up in retail. When I was 4 my mom was a buyer for a store called nose for clothes.

Me: How do you spell that?

Molli: Nose, like the body part, and then clothes. They’ve closed now it was really sad. But my mom was a fashion merchandising major at Alabama. Fashion merchandising just seemed like the only thing that makes sense. I started spending a lot in college so my parents made me get a job.

Me: I feel that

Molli: So then I started at Cheeky Peach. I started as an intern and worked my butt off and got promoted to sales associate. Then in December I got promoted to key holder.

Me: Wow, I didn’t know that

Molli: Yea it has been an experience. But it has given me a place to call home and be around people who love clothes as much as I do.

Me: So has your passion or vision changed at all?

Molli: Well I wanted to own a boutique after college but now that brick and mortor stores are going out of business I have thought about moving to New York and working in the fashion department for magazines or something like that.

Me: That’s so different, what other goals do you have.

Molli: I would love to have a Birkin one day.. I will have a Birken. But seriously working under Katie, the owner of Cheeky Peach, has been so inspiring. She stresses how much she wants everyone to learn and thats what I have done. I was so sad to leave for the summer!

Me: how does working at cheeky peach and being a major how does that make you look at the Athens fashion culture.

Molli: Well Katie is friends with so many people, literally the housewives of Oconnee County, so I see people come in and spend thousands of dollars and it really pulls me out

Me: Move somewhere outside of Athens. Like a second location?

Molli: Yea, that is what seems like the logical choice. But Cheeky really does make you fall in love with Athens, we partner with Terrapin and Creature Comforts and Yourpie, and it makes you love everything about Athens. Sorry I ramble. But you get to see a lot more of Athens. Katie’s friends that come in are the VI Peaches (she laughs). There is just so much Athens pride in the store.

Me: That’s funny, I like that.

Molli: Yea she wants it to be Athens. A really clean and trendy Athens. Sorry, I talk a lot.

Me: No, it’s fine this is all interesting. So do you see yourself working at another place like Cheeky Peach in the future?

Molli: I love retail. I’m a retail nerd. I need the experience. The class that we took last year, getting the right vibe and feeling in the store is so important to me. It’s kind of like people who like books who love the feeling or smell of a good book. I love that feeling of a store. When I see people downtown who stop me and say that I helped them or dressed them it makes me happy. I wouldn’t want to do corporate, but I definitely love retail.

Me: Thanks for letting me interview you today! I really appreciate it.
Molli: Of course, hope all of my answers made sense.

Cheeky Peach

The store Cheeky Peach, located in Downtown Athens, has made a complete transformation over the past couple of years. Starting out as a tiny boutique on a side street 2 years ago, the popular store recently opened its renovated location on Clayton St. Growing from a store known about by few to a mega-retailer with an awesome online presence, I have seen Cheeky Peach grow as my time at UGA has progressed. Cheeky Peach falls under fashion and lifestyle because the store has done an incredible job of capturing and presenting the trends of Athens while creating a lifestyle through their collections. From semi-formal dresses to throw pillows, the store has been transformed and dominates the Downtown boutique scene.

Cheeky Peach has a blog on their website that is updated a few times a month. The topics covered deal with their inventory as well as interesting topics that their target customers would enjoy reading. The retailer also posts on Instagram multiple times a day, some of which include giveaways or contests that customers can participate in. By using a multimedia approach, Cheeky Peach displays how their products fit into the Athens’ lifestyle.

https://shopcheekypeach.com/