The increased costs associated with tariffs impact all of us, affecting millions of people. Retailers of all kinds across Illinois import many of the goods they sell. Tariffs have created more uncertainty for retailers than many have ever experienced. The Illinois Retail Merchants Association has found that while retailers are trying to hold-off on price increases, it’s impossible to absorb the extra expenses for numerous business owners who function on very small margins – which forces consumers to pay more.
Retailers like Emily Gloekler, owner of One Strange Bird in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood, enrich our economy and strengthen our communities, even during the uncertainty of increased tariff expenses. To better understand how One Strange Bird is dealing with the escalation of existing tariffs, we sat down for a conversation with Emily.
An unusual or eccentric person may be colloquially referred to as “one strange bird,” which is also the name of the unique gift store and art studio in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood, owned by Emily Gloekler. Emily is a single mother who nurtures this creative space with boundless passion, with her business concept originally taking flight in the African nation of Tanzania in 2012. The merchandise in the store is not so much “strange” as it is unique, with Emily crafting and modifying many of the raw products she imports from overseas such as handmade cards, mugs, and infant onesies. Customers will also find a variety of knicknacks including candles, dish towels, and hand-crafted jewelry.
Like many retailers across Illinois, One Strange Bird is navigating the choppy turbulence of rising tariffs. Tariffs directly impact the raw products and materials that Emily purchases from her vendors which are urging her to “buy now” to avoid future price increases. It’s a ‘tough ask’ for One Strange Bird which runs its business on small margins and a lean budget. To better understand these challenges and how One Strange Bird plans to weather the storm, we sat down with Emily to talk tariffs.
IRMA: What comes to mind for you when I say the word “tariff?”
EMILY: Every day we listen to the news and the tariff rates are changing. Are they coming? Are they not coming? I think people are in a flux not knowing if they should raise prices, or not raise prices. What I think we’re going to see is business owners are going to raise them just in case. I think there is fear across all businesses.
IRMA: Do you feel a lot of pressure right now?
EMILY: I have so much pressure as a small business owner. We’re not big. We cannot keep a lot of things in stock. We don’t have the huge vendor relationships that other big companies have. For me, because of these tariffs, I’m feeling a lot of anxiety and losing sleep. It’s tough.
IRMA: Tell me about the buying that’s going on. How are your vendors reacting?
EMILY: We’re seeing a lot of vendors sending out emails to us saying that they will be increasing their prices and to buy now, which is tough because it is a lot of pressure to start buying everything that you need for the year, or for the Christmas season coming up. We don’t have the space to store it.
IRMA: How are you trying to innovate how you do business and coping with new tariff costs?
EMILY: So, thankfully we have a lot of different revenues for income. We have our art classes and workshops. We focus on things that are more community driven, experience driven, and capitalize on that. We still have our shop, but there might be some items that are going to be discontinued.
IRMA: What about your prices in the store?
EMILY: The cost of goods is going up. This means that we also have to increase our prices, because we can’t we can’t take a cut on our margins. As a small business owner, we have to stay in business. Our margins are tight as it is.
IRMA: Are your fellow small business owners in the community feeling the same pressure?
EMILY: Our communities depend upon our small businesses. As small business owners, we’re working on collaborating together to help support each other through these tough times. This is not the same as COVID. This is something entirely new. I feel like we just keep getting bombarded and keep getting hit. The support has to come from ourselves.
IRMA: Do tariff costs have an impact on the products you make here locally?
EMILY: Yes. We customize and make a lot of our own products. But a lot of the raw products and materials come from overseas. So, tariffs are having a big impact. All of our ceramic mugs that we print on come from overseas. All of our onesies (which we print on) come from overseas. Although our puzzles are designed in the U.S., they’re manufactured in China. We’re going to see big shortages, I think, on games and kids’ items. Who’s suffering? The children.
IRMA: Are customers already asking you about prices and tariffs?
EMILY: A lot of our customers are local. We have good communication with them. We want to keep transparency. They come in all the time, to buy their cards, to buy their gifts, and want to know if our prices are going up because they’re seeing tariff news everywhere that they go. At the same time, they’re worried about their own financial situation as well. I think the biggest thing that we can provide to our customers is great service. When they come in they know that they have a strong connection with the store and they’ll support us.
IRMA: So, what do you say to your customers?
EMILY: We’re telling our customers, as much as we know. Some things will have to be discontinued and some things will go up in price. But we know as much as they do because we’re really in the dark. It changes every day. I feel like people are flying by the seat of their pants.
IRMA: How you think you’re going to weather this storm?
EMILY: I think although we can’t compete with the big box stores, our size is our strength. We’re nimble. We’re small. We can maneuver and use those qualities to weather the storm. One Strange Bird has been around since 2018, and I’m determined to make this work. We’re going to keep this bird flying.
To learn more about One Strange Bird, visit www.onestrangebird.com.
