How Small Business, DaSpot NYC, Pivoted From the Pandemic and Ended Up on a Mastercard Commercial
DaSpot NYC City Point store.
Michelle Cadore, owner of the clothing brand, YES I AM Inc. and founder of DaSpot NYC, is constantly switching from one place to the next, taking one phone call after another and planning collaborations with other Black designers.
Cadore, like many other business owners during the COVID-19 pandemic, has become accustomed to what she calls the “2020 pivot.”
With 95 percent of their sales coming from in-person transactions, DaSpot’s online presence became crucial to the store’s survival, according to Cadore. To make matters worse, Cadore had just quit her job to focus on building her brand and her store.
“We really had to invest in social media and revamp the online store because that’s how we were going to make the sales,” Cadore said.
DaSpot was closed for six months and reopened in September of 2020. During that time, the store saw 123 new customers and sales were beginning to mimic the profitability the store had before the pandemic. To help build their online store, DaSpot recently announced a partnership with MasterCard’s through their “Digital Door Campaign”, which led to a commercial featuring Cadore.
In 2017, Cadore and her business partner, Face, opened DaSpot in an open location in DUMBO, Brooklyn. She was hesitant to rent the space at first because she thought that few people ventured to the area, but after attending a photo shoot in DUMBO and seeing a space available for lease, she jumped at it and DaSpot opened its flagship store.
Today, the store is housed in a 1,000 square foot space at City Point, located across from King’s student housing in Downtown Brooklyn.
Michelle Cadore, owner of DaSpot NYC | Photo courtesy of Mastercard
Opening the shop had always been a dream of Cadore’s.
“We were dreaming of opening our own store and a place to give creators of color an opportunity to have their work seen,” Cadore said.
DaSpot features Cadore’s brand, Yes I Am, and Face’s brand, Frantzy Face, along with many other Black-owned brands. Yes I Am centers around female empowerment, often with bold statements like, “ For the culture” printed across sweaters and hoodies. Frantzy Face has a similar streetwear vibe. Face’s brand is known for the trademarked signature phrase, “I’m Not Hollywood, I’m Brooklyn.”
Across the back of the store is an area dedicated to art. C.A.N.V.A.S used to neighbor DaSpot in Dumbo, but now they share space in City Point. C.A.N.V.A.S is an art gallery that gives undiscovered artists a place to showcase and sell their pieces.
The Black Creators & Culture Market at City Point
Giving space to Black creators and artists has always been the aim of DaSpot. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, DaSpot had to revamp its online commerce platform since the store was forced to close. Another important change came when America began to see an increase in Black Lives Matter movements following the death of George Floyd.
“We’ve always been for the culture,” Cadore said. “But our purpose is more significant now that the world is tapping in.”
For Black History Month, DaSpot celebrated by hosting a pop-up event called “The Black Creators & Culture Market” in the City Point mall where the shop is located.
Fashion brand Aech and Babu was one vendor at the event. The brand specializes in vintage upcycled apparel, with one female businesswoman behind the entire operation. She designs, markets and sells all of her inventory herself.
“Michelle is awesome,” she said about Cadore’s ability to run her store and host events like the Black Creators and Culture Market.
DaSpot has stuck to its motto of “Love, peace, grind & shop” during what has been an incredibly hard climate for small businesses. In 2021, Cadore’s goal is to build more partnerships and to open more storefronts across America before eventually making the brand an international one.