JUNE 16, 2020
Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexis Garrett.
Alexis, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
2003 – Designer Alexis Garrett’s concept of creating a fashion forward company with Wyoming roots begins to take shape — the story of Alexis Drake LLC begins! The first “trunk show” in Wyoming offered six pieces of jewelry. It was a surprising success; the orders had us working through Spring Break. We continued to build.
2005 – Life took us to Chicago for a few years. The big city opened a lot of doors and provided some amazing experiences. Our jewelry collections were in over thirty boutiques in and around the Midwest. We were growing.
2007 – Designer and founder Alexis and her husband had their first bundle of joy — Jackson (named after Jackson, WY). The company continued to climb, making a debut of a few pieces with Macy’s on State Street downtown Chicago. But Alexis decided to slow things down with the company and rock parenthood.
2009 – The family moved back to the wild west of Cheyenne, Wyoming to raise a family. The company kept simmering and Alexis kept scheming when the next collection would appear and launch the company back into the light.
2013 – Alexis Drake relaunched a new jewelry collection that captured the big city influence coupled with western roots. Demand ensued. Expanding our collection and diversifying product offerings was in the sights.
2014 – Our first handbag was designed. Rough and unrefined aside, the prototype sold while she wore it while in line getting coffee. Our belief in new fresh handbag designs became an obsession.
2015 – The company made its first major investment to keep all production in-house. We purchased “Bertha” — our first industrial leather sewing machine. The amazing adventure of designing and handcrafting handbags began. Pop up shops are now on our mind as a way of sharing our goods in different locals.
2016 – After many popups in cool vacant buildings, we decide that a mobile popup ought to be the next step. Amelia, a 23’ vintage airstream, joined our adventure and we took the following year renovating and remaking her into a rolling show room.
2017 – Launched a new (and best selling) handbag collection — The Every Day series, consisting of eight versatile styles that are customizable. They wear effortlessly. Production needs to double, so we purchased “Helga” — Bertha’s twin. We also hire several amazing employees, who are some of the strongest and most talented women we have ever come across.
2019 – We opened our flagship store/working studio in February of 2019 and are thrilled to be part of the amazing energy of Downtown Cheyenne. We couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to make and create in our downtown location as well as have a fun retail space to share our goods! We began hosting workshops in June and have grown our amazing staff to keep up with our demand.
Today, our excitement is in sharing our designs with everyone and offering a high-quality affordable luxury product. Our ethos is classic in style and effortless in how you wear it — every day.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Just like any small business, the test of timing has been our biggest challenge. As we have grown our goals have changed. As any business faces growing pains — the challenges of scaling are a current one. We are proud to say that all of our production is done in-house. We have been so fortunate to have grown an amazingly skilled production team along the way, improving our products along with all of our efficiencies.
Please tell us about the business.
Alexis Drake is a leather handbag and accessory company based in Cheyenne, Wyoming. We have 19 different styles of handbags along with a variety of leather goods and accessories. Our inventory rotates monthly along with our limited leathers and linings. Additionally, those 19 styles of handbags can be customized. Customers can choose from our collection of leathers, linings, hardware colors, stitching colors and additional features for their handbags and leather goods.
We are thrilled to have our customers be part of the process. The experience of choosing style and materials that make up your special purchase is very unique and what sets us apart. We love that our customers are able to create something that they proudly carry.
Our in-studio workshops have added to our custom experiences as well as our Make It Yourself Kits — we have enjoyed having customers create in our space and share in their own creative process. Additionally, our kits have been a perfect “at-home” experience we have been able to share during quarantine.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I don’t know if I would want to start over. Each challenge hasn’t come without a great deal of learning and opportunity for growth. I have loved every minute of it. Every step has been difficult and exhausting, but all very worth it. Our brand has grown into a lifestyle that we share with our customers. We continue to develop our products to perfection. Our commitment to quality, timeliness and affordability continues to stay true to our philosophy — effortless style for every day wear.
Pricing:
- Leather handbags range in size from belt bags, crossbody bags and totes to weekend duffles, ranging from $178 – $548
- Accessories & leather goods range from $28 – $98
- Custom handbags and duffles range from $198 – $608
Contact Info:
-
Address: Studio + Retail Store Front
307 1/2 West Lincolnway
Cheyenne, WY 82009 - Website: https://alexisdrake.com/
- Phone: (307)426-4322
- Email: info@alexisdrake.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wearalexisdrake/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wearalexisdrake/
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/wearalexisdrake/
