"I want to address inequities in the world of couture fashion and put the Atlanta fashion scene on the map," says Rose Gordon, founder of Pink Maison. This fashion mogul with a titanic list of accomplishments is doing exactly that with help from the Atlanta Open for Business Fund.
“In the world of high fashion, young Black designers are often overlooked,” Gordon explains, “so, I want my business to be more than a boutique.”
Pink Maison, located in the heart of Downtown Atlanta, is one part retail space and one part designer incubator. Gordon sells pieces from Black designers from around the world. She has cultivated relationships with promising designers from Atlanta, New York, the Caribbean, Africa, and beyond, and her company provides robust support to help these young hopefuls participate in an industry that doesn’t always offer them a fair shot. “In addition to our showroom, Pink Maison offers business development, digital marketing, press and [a] sales agency to independent designers.”
With support from Wells Fargo, Invest Atlanta and United Way of Greater Atlanta established the Atlanta Open for Business Fund to help small business owners in Atlanta build wealth by investing in assets such as commercial space, equipment, and technology. The financial institution provided a generous donation of $20 million to help Atlanta businesses impacted by the pandemic recover.
Gordon launched her business at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although unsure about when safety regulations would ease, Gordon soldiered on with support from her husband and an understanding landlord. She came out of the depths of the pandemic ready to grow but in need of a financial lifeline. So, when she heard of the Atlanta Open for Business Fund, she applied for a low-interest loan through the Atlanta Recovery Loan Fund.
The money will allow her to expand marketing, improve inventory, purchase equipment to refine her flexible space, and hire a new employee. “The funding through the Atlanta Open for Business Fund came at the perfect time for me and my business,” Gordon says.
With her business recovering and primed to grow, Gordon intends to expand her impact even further. She has founded a modest scholarship to help underprivileged students attend fashion school, and she intends to increase the award amount over the coming years to further help designers build the skills and networks necessary to thrive in the competitive fashion industry. Click to learn more about the Atlanta Open for Business program, including application materials.