I have been following
San Francisco Style almost since it started, well as soon as I heard about it. They are a great bunch of people and it's fun to read. I was doing my usual Sunday morning browsing of blogs when I came across the coolest interview on
SF style. I wanted to share it with my readers in case
Sf stlye is not one of your regular reads. I think
this woman is brilliant and it was a sad moment of "why didn't I think of that". She started a fashion, art, food tour of Sf that allows tourists to see the "real SF" not the typical tourist areas and lame shopping you find in any city.
The following is from Sf Style.....enjoy! Don't forget to check out
SF style, they are awesome!
Kim Connector is an all-around gracious and captivating girl. She's followed our fashion blog from it's humble beginnings, and I was fortunate enough to interview her for her revolutionary new enterprise,
FASHION SLAVE. Fashion Slave Tours is similar to our goal here at SFS, because it's an endeavour that helps the art and fashion scene of San Francisco grow by showcasing all the beauty our city has in a positive way. Our interview below is an abridged version, because the audio from our interview was faint when replayed, given that it was conducted in a noisy bar--bad idea; but the dialogue's vital content and information was not changed in any severe way.
JT: Hi, Kim... I did the research on
Fashion Slave, but why don't you tell the readers of SFS in your own words, what Fashion Slave Tours is, exactly.
KIM:
Fashion Slave is a special tour that immerses the person(s) in the local fashion, art, and music scene of SF. It gives tourists the chance to see places that they might otherwise miss, even with other standard tour guide services.
JT: So what's it exactly like on the tour? How many people per group?
KIM: The neighborhood tours are three hour walking tours that move through our various neighborhoods--highlighting local artists and designers. The underground tours are a more intimate look at the designers and artists, where you get to go into their studios to see where they live and work. I don't put together random groups of people. Who ever signs up together, stays together. The average group is about 3-5 people. We hit 9-11 shops in three hours.
JT: That's about 15-20 minutes or so per place?
KIM: Yes, but we are adjusting and calibrating to create a nice pace that isn't too fast or too slow.
JT: How did you get the idea for Fashion Slave?
KIM: It's been a labor of love for about 3 years. I started out showing friends around when they would come to visit, and I would also host clothing swaps, where a bunch of people can get together with all their extraneous clothing and trade with each other for something they might want. I made a lot of strong relationships and connections with artists and designers and musicians over the years. People started suggesting the idea of turning it into a business, showing people places to shop, venues to go, noteworthy sights, and it got me thinking.
JT: I love your concept, because there is so much more to SF than fisherman's wharf and chinatown. In fact, those are not really cool places at all, especially after you walk through them once. You pretty much seen it all after you been to one shop in any of those major tourist trap areas.
KIM: Exactly! There's so many other unique and beautiful places to walk and visit, and they are even clean and scenic, as far as tourist tastes are concerned. Fillmore and Hayes are excellent places to walk around and shop, but tourists usually only know Union Square or Haight Street. The SF business bureau did a study and found out almost 90% of tourists pack an extra empty bag to bring home things they buy while on vacation. People plan on shopping when they vacation. Why shop at GAP or H&M, or any place that you can shop at back home or online? There's so many unique shops with one-of-a-kind styles and fashion lines.
JT: Do you have any competitors out there?
KIM: Not really. There's a woman who used to be a mentor to me, and started her own version after I told her my idea, but she doesn't really do an exclusively tailored fashion and art tour like I do. So, she's pretty much doing a typical tour like any other choices already out there.
JT: I'm very excited for your project, which will help the local communities grow, and support our artists and designers. It was also a true pleasure to finally meet you in person.
KIM: Likewise. SFS makes me smile every day. Cheers!
(Refreshments were the plus side to conducting the interview in a bar. Next time, it has to be a quiet place though.)
P.S. Go visit the site for all the official information.
http://www.sffashionslave.com/
