www.bowfish.com

www.driftspaces.com

www.bowfishstudios.com

www.bowfishkids.comWhy was there no store in this family-friendly beach town that catered to all kids? I was freshly graduated from design school, but I knew I wanted to find out. A year later, I opened Bangles N Bows Boutique, a children's clothing store, in a small space on the Ocean City, NJ boardwalk. I was eager to bring something unique and kid-centric to this coastal resort town, but I lacked traditional experience in retail operations. Naturally, I made mistake after mistake, year after year. But the goal remained, so I continued striving to improve, developing a foundation of skillsets for successful entrepreneurship. In 2015, after two years under the label Bangles N Bows, I rebranded to Bowfish Kids. Up to that point, the boutique had been seasonal, but to gain a foothold in our local business community, I knew I needed to stay open year-round. So, I moved our location from the highly seasonal boardwalk to our current headquarters on Asbury Avenue, at the heart of Ocean City's downtown shopping district. That expansion led to the creation of Bowfish Studios in 2017. Community involvement became one of my main focuses and a key driver of the business' evolution. Being a part of and integrating with my community — especially with our youngest residents — motivated me to establish Bowfish's stainability goals in 2019. (See video below.)We have been full speed ahead ever since, tackling questions like, how can a retail space be more circular? And how can we challenge our industry partners to innovate their own processes to be more sustainable without alienating them or losing their business? This campaign has taught me that, while we have made small strides, there is a long way to go — that "sustainability" is not a destination but a continuous, evolutionary journey that must be met with conscious commitment. A commitment that I feel compelled to expand into new sectors, including events, beauty, and even... municipal waste management.