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Lori Hirshleifer - Chanel, Maximalism, and a 100 Year Family Business
1.9k Plays1 year ago
Today’s guest is Lori Hirshleifer, and if the name sounds familiar, that’s because her and her family run Hirshleifers, which has been in business for over 100 years. Hirshleifers has been described as the “last great department store” and that’s because it is. There’s something different about Hirshleifers when you walk through the front doors, and maybe it’s the Kith Treats outpost, or the fact that they have the only non-Chanel owned boutique in the US, or maybe it’s the vintage watch drops mixed with their new Sporty & Rich partnership, coupled with a Youngs Farm cafe. Whatever is, the 4th generation team has it figured out. And as for Lori? Being that she heads up the buying and merchandising, you can just imagine that her taste is pretty impeccable. From handbags and shoes, to jewelry and watches, and even a Chrome Hearts ephemeral collection, she’s a maximalist and does it with the utmost class and elegance. Like all of us, she’s constantly on the hunt and I always look forward to seeing what sneaks its way into her collection. So without further adieu, this is Lori Hirshleifer, for Collectors Gene Radio.
Hirshleifers - https://hirshleifers.com/
Lori's Instagram - @lorihirshleifer
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Transcript
Evolution of Hershleifer's
00:00:00
Speaker
My sisters and I are fourth generation running this business and my son and my niece and nephew and more of us are fifth generation. So we started as barriers and then we became ready to wear. When my parents run the business, it was mostly dressy dresses and then some suitings. And it was basically ready to wear. And then we started to bring in jewelry much, much later and shoes. So it's really been a very
00:00:29
Speaker
creative process, how we grew the jewelry business, and it's truly a labor of love.
Introduction to Collector's Gene Radio and Guest
00:00:35
Speaker
What's going on, everybody? And welcome to Collector's Gene Radio. This is all about diving into the nuances of collecting and ultimately finding out whether or not our guests have what we like to call the collector's gene. If you have the time, please subscribe and leave a review. It truly helps. Thanks a bunch for listening. And please enjoy today's guest on Collector's Gene Radio.
Lori's Role and Fashion Influence
00:01:00
Speaker
Today's guest is Lori Hershleifer. And if the name sounds familiar, that's because her and her family run Hershleifer's, which has been in business for over 100 years. Hershleifer's has been described as the last great department store and that's because it is. There's something different about Hershleifer's when you walk through the front doors and
00:01:19
Speaker
Maybe it's the kid treats out post or the fact that they have the only non Chanel owned boutique in the US. Or maybe it's the vintage watch drops mixed with their new sporty and rich partnership coupled with the Young's Farm Cafe. Whatever it is, the fourth generation team has it figured out. And as for Lori, well, being that she heads up the buying and merchandising team, you can just imagine that her taste is pretty impeccable.
00:01:46
Speaker
from handbags and shoes to jewelry and watches, and even a Chrome Hearts ephemeral collection. She's a maximalist at heart and does it with the utmost class and elegance. But like all of us, she's constantly on the hunt, and I always look forward to seeing what sneaks its way into her collection. So without further ado, this is Laurie Hershleifer for Collector's Game Radio.
Fashion Choices and Legacy of the Family Business
00:02:09
Speaker
Lori, we finally made it after bugging the crap out of you to come on the show. I'm excited to welcome you to Collector's Dream Radio. Well, thank you for having me. My pleasure. So first off, you're known for your incredible and effortless maximalism when it comes to your jewelry and watches and bag stack and the bags inside the bags. And I would love if you could tell me what jewelry and watch you have on today and what bag made it into the office with you.
00:02:37
Speaker
Well, today I have on a John Mayer Daytona, green-faced Daytona. Amazing. And I'm always wearing either some horse and boots, chrome hearts, uniform object. I'm actually usually wearing almost all of our vendors I try to wear because I love them all so much individually. So I like to support and there's a reason we have them in the store is because it's love. That's great.
00:03:06
Speaker
Today we have, I'm also wearing Shambhala, Dezo, Crow, as I said, Patra Vipa, Spinelli. Wow. Yeah.
00:03:21
Speaker
I love it. You're the epitome of what I think everybody should be who has a store like yours. It's not very often that people represent the brands that not only they're passionate about, but the brands that they preach to their customers. Yeah. My sisters and I are fourth generation running this business and my son and my niece and nephew and more of us are fifth generation.
00:03:47
Speaker
We started as barriers, and then we became ready to wear. When my parents ran the business, it was mostly dressy dresses and then some suitings.
Innovations and Partnerships
00:03:56
Speaker
And it was basically ready to wear. And then we started to bring in jewelry much, much later and shoes. So it's really been a very creative process, how we grew the jewelry business. And it's truly a labor of love. So we started really small with just Lori Rodkin, and now we have probably
00:04:16
Speaker
15 vendors maybe Wow, and if I'm not mistaken her slippers has been around for well over a hundred years. Yes since 1910 Amazing. Mm-hmm And is the plan to always keep it in the family if you can if we can that's the plan. Yes Easier said than done. I'm sure but
00:04:37
Speaker
And your job specifically is in creative and buying or purchasing, if I'm not mistaken. Yeah. And merchandising, but we all do everything. You know, it is a real family business, so we do everything. There's nothing that I wouldn't expect my people to do that I wouldn't do myself.
00:04:54
Speaker
So Hirschlifers has been described as the last great department store. And I've been in your store many times. My family lives down the street. So I can attest to that. And I mean, you have everything from Chanel to Saint Laurent to Ramova to get treats and of course jewelry and watches. But can you share what you and the family are doing to keep the business alive?
00:05:18
Speaker
Well, my husband, who's also in the business and has been for years, is really the most creative one. And he comes up with these ideas constantly about how we're going to change this and do this and build this room. And we just last, on Black Friday opened, we had Young's Farm, which I know you know, because she's from here. I've tried to keep that place a secret, but it's too hard.
00:05:41
Speaker
We just opened a young's farm in the front of where the sneaker market was and it's a real, it looks exactly like young's farm from the wood beams to the chairs and the seat. It's really amazing. So we constantly are doing new things and changing things and that's what keeps
00:05:59
Speaker
people coming. We opened a sporty and rich pop-up and we have a smoothie bar and refrigerator with her with her waters and her juices. So it's constantly changing that keeps people coming and keeps it interesting for all of us actually. Are certain spaces within the store designated for more pop-up style? They are but they change all the time.
00:06:23
Speaker
And you also have the only non Chanel owned boutique in the US. Is that right? That is right.
Unique Boutique Status with Chanel
00:06:30
Speaker
Yes. How does that work and how did that come about? My parents, they started carrying Chanel probably over 30 years ago, I guess. We've just had a very long trusting relationship with Chanel and it just keeps growing. So we're very lucky.
00:06:47
Speaker
And is that something that they just would totally not do today, meaning? Definitely not. Yeah, I figured as much. I mean, it's amazing that, you know, traditions like that can stay alive with certain vendors, this one in particular, and that they would just never do that today, no matter how good their relationship is with somebody.
00:07:10
Speaker
Yeah, well, you know, it's changed dramatically with vendors and retail and everything, but everything comes full circle. So we'll see where it goes from there. For sure. As I mentioned earlier, you're a maximalist at heart. You always have the jewelry stacked up, a great watch on, fantastic bag with bags inside of them, and always a thoughtful outfit from head to toe. So have you always been a maximalist and used your collections that way and collected in that way?
00:07:39
Speaker
I don't think so. When I was younger, I think it's something that's happened since probably around, I don't know, maybe mid-40s. I just love things. I love products. I love beautiful things. They make you feel good. They make you happy. Retail therapy.
00:07:59
Speaker
Retail therapy Yeah, so it's it's no secret that that you obviously love all that stuff and especially watches You know, you did a great article on dime piece that that kind of blew up on the internet and I'm curious to know because you just did a vintage watch drop. Is that the first of its kind? Do you do those often? How are you sourcing them?
00:08:25
Speaker
That is also my husband, so I can't take credit for any of that. He sources them, and it was his idea sort of to bring them into the store, but it's really become quite the thing. So we are actually selling those. That's great. Yeah. So the whole family's in on the Watch
Family Involvement in the Watch Business
00:08:43
Speaker
Game. Yes, the whole family. My son especially, yes.
00:08:48
Speaker
And I know Rolex and Patek Philippe are two of the brands that are near and dear to your heart when it comes to watches. And what is it about those two brands that excite you the most?
00:08:58
Speaker
I guess it's their history, although I love Cartier. I mean, I like them all, but I love the history. Rolex is also, they're the most comfortable and they're just a perfect, they're perfect. Yeah. I think in the Dimepiece article you said, as you know, you saw the Haudenosaunee talking watches video with John Mayer and you were lucky enough to go get your hands on those two Daytonas. Yeah. Yeah. Not so many of us were able to do that. So I'm happy you pulled it off.
00:09:28
Speaker
Thank you. There's a lot out there that I'm still looking at, but we'll wait till the end when you ask those questions. Okay, deal.
00:09:36
Speaker
Your, uh, your collecting philosophy is, is quite simple and I think you've reached what I would call collecting bliss, which is you see something and if you can swing it, you get it. Right. There's, there's, there's so little, um, in the best way I say this, there's so little thought that has to go into an effort that has to go into making that purchase. Right. You just have an eye for what you like. And if it fits the bill, then you can, you know, make the purchase. Right. Yeah. Yeah.
00:10:03
Speaker
That being said, I would have to assume there's some items that you've bought that are more sentimental than others. There definitely are. Let's start with Chrome Hearts, for example. We've been carrying Chrome Hearts also for probably over 30 years, a long relationship with the Starks and with Lynn who works with them. And they
00:10:23
Speaker
to the best holiday gifting that you can imagine. So I have a large collection of Krumhart's special pieces like a fly swatter and a barbecue, whatever that's called. But you put marshmallows in and, you know, coast marshmallows, a potato peeler that they send in a burlap.
00:10:43
Speaker
sack that had chrome hearts on the outside, a toilet plunger. I mean, there's incredible things. One of my favorite ones, this wasn't the gift, this I bought myself was a chrome hearts dinosaur that sits in my closet. I love that. Do other brands, because I think that was a thing of the past, the gifting and the unique gifting from these high-end brands. I think not a lot of brands are doing that now. Are there other brands that do that?
00:11:12
Speaker
Not so much. I mean, Virgil did it and he made it very personal. So it was very, very special. But I think that really are not many other brands that do that. Certainly not the way clombarts does it. Right. Cause Hermes back in the day was making those items, but they were more so for sale. It was less of a novel kind of quirky gift. It was more of like Hermes was making, you know, ashtrays and they still do, but you know, the, uh, the wine coasters and all that sort of stuff. Right.
00:11:41
Speaker
Yeah, super interesting. So your collection obviously ranges from Hermes and Chanel bags to jewelry, shoes, watches, you name it. Is there a brand that resonates with you the most? Well, I love everything Carl. Who doesn't? So I would have to say Chanel and his old Minotiers that he used to do are some of my favorite things to collect.
00:12:07
Speaker
Yeah, is there something because obviously you're not alone when it comes to Chanel, right? I mean, there's a million people out there who love Chanel just as much as you do some more some less But what do you think it is about the brand that that people latch on to so much besides their history? right because a lot of the designs are are fairly can be fairly simple and colorways and materials change but What do you think?
00:12:32
Speaker
I think there, again, the history, and the brand has such, the brand has really grown so dramatically. The width and the breadth of the blood brand, it appeals to someone very young and it appeals to someone old. I think it's that that makes you want to go back to it all the time.
00:12:53
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, for sure. That makes sense. I mean, there's very few brands out there that I would say have the allure and the desire to own from a consumer standpoint like Chanel. Right. I mean, you could start with a lipstick and even the way the lipsticks close and the sound that they make, it's very- It's soothing. It's soothing, yes. You know it's a beautiful product and it's expensive. You just know it.
00:13:21
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. So what's the battle like
Balancing Personal and Client Interests
00:13:24
Speaker
for you? Because I like to ask this to people who work in the same areas that they collect. What's the battle like for you when you get something in and you have to make the decision to sell it to the customer or keep it in the personal collection? That's a tough one to say. My niece Marcy and I, we both are collectors, so it becomes really challenging.
00:13:46
Speaker
Honestly, I like the client to get as much as they can. I think that's what we're here for. We usually know ahead of time if it's something that we're going to want, so you just put an extra one in. That's great. Can you imagine if we could do that at Rolex and Patek Philippe? Yeah, right. Would that be nice? Yeah, if only. When it comes to your collecting, are you primarily modern, vintage, or do you like a mix?
00:14:16
Speaker
Well, in my closet, I'd love to go to the Paris flea market and get all those old posters and old signs. Yeah, old ashtrays. Yeah, ashtrays, exactly. But I like Nu or Mez ashtrays as well, and I like the ones from the Ritz Hotel. I would say it's a mix. I like Nu, I like gold. Yeah, I find that
00:14:41
Speaker
having a mix of both makes you appreciate both a little bit more. You know, because there's some people that primarily collect vintage and vintage everything. I mean, everything in their home is vintage and they have no desire to ever want or appreciate anything modern. And I can understand that in both instances, but I think when you can collect a mix of the things, you appreciate both ends of the spectrum a little bit more. I think so.
00:15:08
Speaker
Gotta see where we came from to kind of get where we're going, right? Exactly. Yeah. Unfortunately, I like too much. That's the problem. Well, that's why you're chatting with me today. What attracts you first when it comes to all the items you collect? Are you a design-centric person or is it based on a color, maybe?
00:15:29
Speaker
It's definitely design and look. I just gravitate towards something and it's like it drags me in and says yeah, come and get me. I was vintage hunting in Locus Valley a couple months ago and there's a great little store there called finer things. Oh really? I have to check it out. You'll have to check it out. A small little shop, but she has great vintage stuff. It's not clothing and bags and stuff. It's more home goods, but
00:15:58
Speaker
She had this stirrup cup, which I found out was for when people would go hunting back in the day, wealthy families, they would do a big toast before they would go out on their hunt of, you know, whiskey or cider. And they would come out in these stirrup cups and Gucci made a whole line of them with a horse head on it or a stag or a dog. And she had one in her shop and I was like, I didn't realize it was Gucci. I just fell in love with it because I love equestrian stuff.
00:16:26
Speaker
And she's like, I was like, the price on this is absurd for this silver cup. And she's like, well, look who it's signed by. And it was signed by Gucci. And I was like, okay, I'm in. Wow. How cool is that? Yeah. It kind of reminds me of the Chrome heart stuff that you were saying before how, you know, just certain brands, at least back in the day would make more of the home, home goods items, right? Yeah. I mean, I know where Mez makes home goods stuff now, but you know, some of that stuff is just unobtainium.
00:16:55
Speaker
Yeah, I saw when I was at the new Hermes shop with my husband, I was looking around at the home stuff and there was a garbage can and I needed a new garbage can for my closet. It was like, wow, this is incredible. It was like $12,000. I don't think so. But it was incredible. Yeah, I love that. I love that stuff. And then, you know, their furniture too is amazing. But I mean, the prices are just, it just doesn't make sense to me too much, but I appreciate it.
00:17:25
Speaker
Do you ride? I don't. I would love to have learned. Obviously, it's never too late and there's plenty of horses out here in Arizona. We have amazing horse properties out here. I've only been on a horse, believe it or not, once or twice in my life. I just love all the equestrian stuff. Obviously, Ralph is a big part of that. Every time I come back to New York, I'm just reminded of
00:17:52
Speaker
how classy and elegant the equestrian lifestyle really is because everywhere, you know, near your store and where my family lives, there's all these farms and horse properties. And it's just so beautiful. Yeah, it truly is. It's special for sure. So you obviously have some very loyal clients and I'm sure you're, you're obviously constantly gaining new clients, but what are your thoughts on the idea that customers that you're merchandising for are really collecting the items that you put in the store?
00:18:22
Speaker
Well, I guess that's pretty cool. We have a few that we've had for many, many years, actually a bunch that love where we were and the transformation. Like when you talk about vintage and new, they like that we're changing and they like what's happened to the store and how the merchandise has changed from where we were to where we are now. So it's nice to see, it's very important.
00:18:51
Speaker
it's not easy to have customers kind of grow with you as your business evolves too. I mean, I feel like that's, you know, what hurts a lot of businesses, but some, you know, for some reason you guys have been able to garner those relationships with people and get them to kind of see the importance of the transformation. Yeah. I think that the trick is to continue to change and make them make it interesting because if you stay the same, then they're not going to come back. I mean, they have to, you have to always give people a reason to come in.
00:19:19
Speaker
Because you are a collector, I know you can appreciate all the items at your store, whether it's something you would add to your collection or
Differentiating Personal Taste from Customer Preferences
00:19:26
Speaker
not. But is it hard to sometimes turn off the collecting hat and put your attention towards merchandising the store and think about what your customers may want to buy and potentially collect versus what you would collect?
00:19:38
Speaker
No, it's not hard. As a buyer, you have to kind of take your taste out of it and think about who you're selling to or who you want to be selling to. So it's constant that we're sitting down and reviewing vendors, sell-throughs, and all of that fun stuff, and looking at new and saying, this fits in where we're going, and this no longer fits for where we're going. Sure, and transition things in and out. Yes.
00:20:08
Speaker
which is sometimes difficult, but it has to be done. It can't all be easy, right? No, exactly. It's not all fun. No, no, but it's exciting. It is. Lori, with all the success you and your family have had, what are the next plans for the future generations and maybe some future incoming shops within the store you could kind of give us a little sneak peek of?
00:20:32
Speaker
Well, as I said, we just opened, you know, the sporty and rich and youngs. And at the moment, that's it since it just happened. And that's all we got at the moment. I have nothing to happen quite yet since we're just catching our breath from what we just did. Can we expect more vintage watch drops? Oh, yeah. OK, we're excited for it.
00:20:57
Speaker
Love it. Lori, let's wrap it up here with the collectors gene rundown. As you know, you can answer these questions based on any of the items that you collect, whether it's jewelry or shoes or Chrome hearts, you know, ephemera, and you can answer them as you please. Okay. All right.
Rapid-Fire Collecting Habits Q&A
00:21:15
Speaker
What's the one that got away?
00:21:17
Speaker
The Karl Lagerfeld Fairbrick. I had seen it many, many years ago and the price wasn't crazy. I fell in love and then it wasn't available and now it's at my price point, but I love them. Well, everything comes back around, right? Hopefully. How about the on deck circle? So something you're hunting after maybe. I'm always looking for a Cartier cigar band. Oh, very cool.
00:21:42
Speaker
Yeah, a red one. My mom's friend had one. I was always enamored with it, so I would love to go to find one. Do you prefer Cartier watches or Cartier jewelry? I would have to say jewelry, I think. But I love long. And when it comes to Cartier watches, do you like the vintage stuff more or the new stuff? The vintage, for sure. Yeah. Too much charm.
00:22:07
Speaker
Uh-huh. All right, the unobtainable. So this is one that's maybe too expensive in a museum or a private collection. It's just complete unobtainable. Well, back to Cartier, I bought a crash. Yeah, I know. Yeah. I know. And it's sad because just a few years ago, they were very obtainable. Yeah, as you said, maybe what comes around you guys, maybe.
00:22:33
Speaker
Well, maybe a special order you could do it from. Right. They still do it, so. I know. Do they really? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Plenty of people do special order crashes, so they are very obtainable with the right relationship, which I think if anyone could make that it's you. Just walk next door to London Jewelers and schmooze a little bit. Schmooze, exactly.
00:22:59
Speaker
The page one rewrites, so if you could collect anything besides all the things you collect, money, no object, what would it be? Well, my favorite thing in the world is animals. So it would be dogs, but I'm not sure if that fits the bill in this conversation. It sure does. I've had all sorts of answers, so we accept anything. Yeah, I'm a passionate animal lover, and yeah, dogs.
00:23:26
Speaker
deal. The hunt or the ownership? Which one do you enjoy more? The ownership. Most importantly, do you feel that you were born with the collector's gene? Yes. No question. I think I could answer that one for you, but I'm happy to hear from you. Lordy, thanks so much for joining me today. Thank you. You really appreciate it. Again, sorry for bugging you so much, but I had to get you on. Oh, no worries. I'm glad you did.
00:23:54
Speaker
Can't wait to enjoy a little coffee and something sweet from your new Young's farm pop-up. What comes in? I sure will. Take care. Bye. All right, that does it for this episode. Thank you all for listening to Collector's Gene Radio.