In these days of online shopping, it’s not often we see someone take the chance to open a brand new brick and mortar store. But Taylor Bolleber has done just that, opening a store on Griswold in the heart of downtown.
“It’s definitely a lifestyle boutique, we’ve got a little bit of everything for everyone,” she explains.
She sells clothes, shoes, jewelry and other lifestyle items.
“We’re pretty Bohemian at our root, we’ve got a lot of fun prints and patterns. But we’re also a little bit edgy. And you know, we’ve got some leather jackets.”
The store is named Bird Bee.
“So bird represents a bird, like a free bird, free spirited… and bee is like the sting of the bee, like the edgy street style girl,” she says. “I’m definitely the bird and the bee.”
Taylor is 25 years old. Being an entrepreneur is in her blood.
“I always told Taylor ‘do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life’” she explains. Ivona Bolleber is an entrepreneur herself, opening and running a nightclub for years.
Taylor has a degree in advertising and out of school, she got a job in her field.
“I just was like, I want something else, I need to do something else,” she explains.
So as a side gig, she took her penchant for fashion and opened an online retail shop.
“It just kept growing, so I did whatever I could to get to the point where I could quit and just do this fulltime.”
But a brick and mortar store? And downtown?
“So anybody can shop online,” she explains. “But it doesn’t make the city walkable. It doesn’t make anything special for Detroit itself.”
And she’s passionate about it. A year ago, she saw space in Capitol Park downtown And with the help of her dad, who runs a construction company, Bird Bee took flight.
“Just the opportunity here is amazing and being part of the revitalization of the city is just such an awesome thing.”
She says business is good.
“It’s pretty consistent,” she says. “We get people from all walks of life, and it’s really great to meet everyone in person rather than just shipping orders online.”
And with her mom by her side, who has been integral in getting the store up and running, she’s spreading her wings.
“So I always tell her successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing do,” her mom explains. “So let’s keep going. We can do this, and we’ve been working pretty much 7 days a week for a year and a half to get it up and running.”
“She’s the hardest working woman I know,” Taylor says. “So I definitely think it’s instilled in me now, so we’re getting there together.”
