Visual Merch, Transferrable Skills, and... Google Docs?
Visual Merch, Transferrable Skills, and... Google Docs?
Working retail prepared me for this next phase of my career
Disclaimer: Discussing my non-alc drink brand without sounding like a commercial is challenging. Sure, it would be hella cool if everyone reading this ordered our drink, but I’m actually here to nerd out on the intersection of visual merchandising and botanicals.
Not interested in this subject? Scroll to the bottom for my upcoming writing classes and Sober October events!
Merchandising 101
I worked in corporate retail for eight years while establishing my writing career in New York. If you’ve ever worked in retail, you know that visual merchandising (often called “merching”) is a big part of the job… and I hated it—until now.
It’s all thanks to my former manager, Jacob, who is now my bestie and a master of visual merchandising in the Northeast. We spent years merching high-end athleisure to generate profit for C-Suite folks as we deposited checks reflecting our meager hourly wages.
“Think of this wall as an essay,” he encouraged as we stared at a blank slatwall surrounded by clothing racks. “Let’s identify our color story, arrange the clothes, then let ourselves edit.”
He was right. Staring at that blank slatwall felt like staring at a blank Google Doc. Only I didn’t care about the wall or the color story or the pile of $100 leggings with $60 matching bras. I desperately wanted to fill an existing Google Doc with words that I did care about, but this is the ongoing artistic struggle of working a day job to make your dreams come true. I understood Jacob’s point, and thankfully, the lesson stuck.
Transferrable Skills
I finally quit my day job, and that Google Doc turned into this book. I also co-founded this drink brand with my husband. We host frequent tastings, which have me dusting off my merch skills. Each event allows me to apply Jacob’s lessons to merching our bottles, stickers, botanicals, kelp, and various tablescape settings.
I didn’t like merching expensive athleisure, but I love merching our small-batch drink and its ingredients.
Jacob recently helped me design this window display at Minus Moonshine:
Watch the timelapse of me, hubby, and the owners of Minus Moonshine:
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If learning about (parentheses) piqued your tastebuds, we’d appreciate your support! Please forward this email to someone who may enjoy this story or place an order below. Signed books are also available on our site!
Upcoming Classes
Join me this fall for some virtual workshops
📄Book Proposal 101 Oct 1st. Sign up here.
🗞️Be Your Own Publicist October 9th. Sign up here.
📚Book Proposal Boot Camp Oct 22-Nov 19th. Sign up here.
🍀Dublin CreativeWriting Retreat May 4th-9th, 2025. Sign up here.
On the Pod
A college course about booze on screen? Hell yeah! Ted Mandell, Associate Teaching Professor at the University of Notre Dame’s Department of Film, Television, and Theatre. He’s the co-teacher of Drunk on Film: The Psychology of Storytelling with Alcohol and its Effects on Alcohol Consumption. We discuss the reasons kids drink more when they get to college, the persistence of the excessive drinking culture, and ways to reframe how students think about alcohol.
Fun Fact 1: I was a guest speaker at this class last fall!
Fun Fact 2: I quoted Ted in my book's breakup chapter, discussing the problematic get-drunk-to-deal-with-breakups trope.
Sober October Events
I’m supporting my cool friends doing cool shit this month. Join me?
365 PARTY GIRL—
(above flyer) is THE go-to for NYC non-alc events. Her newsletter, , is also filled with resources and reflections on NYC nightlife without booze. Check out her upcoming events here.TRANS RIGHTS—I’m excited to attend #TransEmpowermentMonth 2024! Join me in supporting trans and non-binary youth by attending this inspiring virtual event. Sign up here.
PUB CRAWL—NA pub crawl in NYC?? Hell yeah! Sign up here.
GRIEF SUPPOR—Gina Moffa, grief therapist and author, is hosting a virtual grief group, guided by her incredible book. Sign up here.
XO,
Tawny
