You guys enjoyed success with Ulah right off the bat. What aspects of your retail business have been the most fulfilling?
Joey Mendez: It’s when we’re really helping someone with their style by building their confidence, giving them tips—even helping them find the perfect gift. When a customer leaves excited, it pushes me to make Ulah better.
Buck Wimberly: I love building relationships with our clients. The best reward is when they tell us we’ve made a difference in their lives in some way. It’s easy to think that helping people with their style is just catering to some form of vanity. But when I think about how much time we spend wearing clothes and the amount of time we spend in our homes, I see opportunities to positively impact the way we feel about ourselves every day.
You’ve got some exciting news.
JM: Yes, we’re so honored to be part of a few upcoming Queer Eye episodes. What they do is so inspiring, and it was such a fun experience while they were in Kansas City.
BW: I’m excited to announce the expansion of our interior business. We’ll be launching Ulah Interiors + Design by May, with our office in a live/work unit in Woodside Village across from our shop. I’ll be expanding on our custom furniture, as well as offering full interior-design services.
Please explain the different roles you each play in the business.
JM: We’re both a part of all the big decision making, but I’m in charge of managing the apparel, accessories, and gifts while Buck is in charge of the marketing, social media, all of our home products, and the growing interior-design business.
BW: It’s such an advantage to have each other and to collaborate on everything. We work hard to keep a balance and understanding and respecting each other’s strengths while remembering that Ulah, as we know it, couldn’t be what it is without both of us.
Why should anyone who’s never been to Ulah come visit you?
JM: We’ve worked really hard curating the best products out there for the life of the modern man—from activewear, denim/casual, and suiting, to gifts and home furnishings. We’re also continually expanding what we offer, both in-store and online.
BW: We also want to make shopping social again, and create a friendly, engaging environment where our clients can stop in and chat, explore the store, and hopefully leave inspired and more confident than when they walked in. By the way, even though our industry still refers to our apparel as “men’s,” we don’t care what gender a client is or identifies with. Everyone is welcome.