Complex: The Daily Front Row's "The Retailer Files" Featuring Nicole Miller of Blackbird

Blackbird's Owner, Nicole Miller was recently interviewed for The Daily Front Row's 5th installment of The Retailer Files. During the session, Miller talks about the start of Blackbird, the process of selecting merchandise, and the customers. Check some of the excerpts below.

How did you come up with the name?
My friend came up with it when we started the project. He walked into my office at Expedia and yelled ‘Blackbird!’ That was it. After months of torture, we found it. The biggest criteria was that if we became a furniture store the name would still work. We didn’t want anything cliché or of-the-moment. Branding is so important and when we came up with the name, the only criteria it didn’t meet was that it wasn’t easy to Google. You couldn’t just put in Blackbird and find us. You’ll get the Beatles. Now, that’s different--we rank pretty high.

What changes have you implemented during the economic crisis?
We opened the Blackbird Candy Shoppe and a women’s store to market to the other 50% of the population. The Candy Shoppe was moved to the Field House and we have an apothecary store called Blackbird Apothecary where we have our fragrance, candles, grooming, dishes, and ceramics.

Who’s the Blackbird client?
He's generally in some sort of creative job—architect, graphic designer, gallery owner, artist or students with really rich parents. Then there’s this other demographic. Our customers aren’t brand snobs. They mix genres and price points like a $250 t-shirt and $75 pair of jeans.

What’s trending in your store?
All the Japanese brands. These Japanese designers are such innovators. If you go into All Saints, they’re just copying the stuff that these guys have been making.

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