There are two types of people in the world: One type dreams lofty dreams and does nothing with those dreams; the second type chases down their dreams and makes them happen. I recently sat down with two dream chasers, Irene Kim and Monisha Murray, the co-founders of a local buy-sell-trade clothing store, Black and Brown. Our conversation centered around their original motivation and future hopes for their store. Their story is as eclectic as their products. 

Thank you for having us here in your boutique. We appreciate the opportunity to meet you and to highlight your business, but also to highlight the different and unique things that both of you as co-founders/owners are doing here in the community.

CONTENT: I’d like to start by asking both of you to share the history of Black and Brown and what led you to start this business together?

BLACK AND BROWN IRENE: We have known each other for about ten years now, we met when I started working at CrossRoads–from there, we became really  good friends and have lived in different cities  together. We moved to Santa Cruz together and then to San Francisco and that’s where the idea came to be. Monisha moved to New York, but before she moved she knew that she wanted to open a store.

BLACK AND BROWN MONISHA: I moved to New York and was conspiring to open a store in New York and just realized that for myself that I was more of a West Coast person-plus I didn’t have family in NY. I bought a bunch of stock from a great hook up in New York and brought everything back to San Jose. My original partner opened a store in San Francisco. I wanted to open up a store in San Jose. My friendship with Irene and our mutual feeling that SJ needed something like Black and Brown was the genesis of our partnership.

CONTENT: When you say you felt like San Jose needed something new, something different—what made you feel it was a new fashion venture that was needed?

BLACK AND BROWN MONISHA: I have always just had a knack for fashion and ownership/management. I worked for a company for a few years doing the same exact thing  and then straight away worked at an airport and then went to NY and found myself doing the same thing and moving up in management. It just showed me my potential of what I could do and then I just figured I needed to bring it here. Both of us were born and raised here, so we’ve seen a lot of shops coming and going: there was Channel 1 on the Alameda, and it was amazing; it was huge and had events and hosted bands, along with a coffee shop. We have a lot of heart and we have a lot of passion for what we do—we love what we do—it makes sense that we’d do it here.

BLACK AND BROWN IRENE: I think, too, that fashion can go so many different ways. I think that just being a buy-sell-trade company, we never get tired of seeing these pieces, and when we see vintage pieces, we go “oh my gosh”—we still get excited. I think that’s how you know you’re doing what you love.

CONTENT: What makes Black and Brown so unique?

BLACK AND BROWN MONISHA: Well, what we’ve created here is our skills that we’ve learned as well as brought ourselves to the table. I feel like that’s what makes us unique is adding that element of ourselves. 

For myself, working for a corporation, it was very structured, and we could only buy certain things. And then working for an independent in NY it was a free for all. It was like the things I was told not to buy, it was like “buy this, its amazing and this is great”. So, it really shook me up and opened my eyes at the same time, and it opened myself up to so many amazing things. I feel like what we’re bringing is are experiences. We both lived in Santa Cruz, San Francisco, definitely San Jose, and then me going out to NY, its like we always say, “we collected from every city and we are bringing that here. So we’re feeding a lot of different types of styles. We just collected things we’ve seen that were missing in these other places and made it all cohesive into one. 

CONTENT: You do take in garments and then trick them out?

BLACK AND BROWN MONISHA: Oh yeah, we’re crazy. We were laughing the other day because that evolved from being poor. We were laughing because we were going through our own little timeline and sketching through just saying “wow”. “Flipping” is one of our main focuses: reconstructive vintage, whether it is altering it or shortening it, it just gives it a whole new fresh look, it gives it a practical wear. Things back in the 70’s were really long or odd lengths so it makes it a bit easier for girls to function and work with if it’s a little bit shorter and more modern. We did it very minimally—just making a few pieces and our customers really liked our “flipped” stuff—they really caught onto it; now it’s the staple of our store. It’s a bit of a higher price point but nothing crazy because we are really about being practical, but we are investing a lot of our time along with running a business to give these special elements to our customers.

CONTENT: How have things changed, and how have things stayed the same? What’s still true from day one?

BLACK AND BROWN IRENE: Well, I definitely feel like the essence of the store, just our original idea of what we wanted, has stayed the same. We still want to provide something unique and different to our customers along with mainstream options. Definitely, the actual space has changed a bit. Since we opened, we’ve doubled the size of our space. We acquired the backspace, and we knocked down the walls ourselves. I think it was a blessing that it happened—it wasn’t something that we planned for, but when the opportunity arose, we definitely went for it. 

CONTENT: It’s a beautiful store THAT OUR READERS SHOULD CHECK OUT. You are not only about fashion (clothing, shoes, and accessories); there is a very unique aspect at the back of the store: the art studio. What’s the reason behind having an art studio in the store?12 

BLACK AND BROWN MONISHA: When we opened, we added the elements of art. We’re around so many creative people that it was just something we wanted to add as an element. They are so intertwined, FASHION AND ART, you know, they are forms of expression and that expression is limitless. So I think that’s part of why we added the gallery. When we didn’t have the gallery space, we had a wall, and we featured local artists’ work. And when we expanded it was like whoa now we have a 1000sq.ft. gallery. We’ve actually built a reputation now, a following for our gallery. Last year it was booked all year—which was a first. I feel like our studio is for up-and-coming artists, artists that maybe didn’t go to school but are amazing; it’s a place for them to put their work up and let it be shown, and we have had a lot of success with it.

BLACK AND BROWN IRENE: I think that when artists have art shows here, it feels like home. It is a very comfortable environment, and I feel like, as people, we are very open to all different types of art and genres. I feel that is one reason the skating community has made us their outlet for art. We make it easy for them: put it up, and then we’ll have an art reception—it’s organic and really comfortable and fun that way.

BLACK and BROWN
751 W. San Carlos St
San Jose, CA 95126
(408) 298-1970 

STORE HOURS
Everyday
11am-7pm

BUYING HOURS
Mon- Sat, 11am-6:00pm

Instagram: blackandbrownsj

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