When longtime Baltimore city native Taylor Alexander returned after graduating from Bethune Cookman University in Daytona Beach, FL. she had a plan to start her own business. After successfully starting an online business in college, selling waist trainers and dietary supplements, Alexander knew she wanted to be the CEO of her own company one day soon. Her dream was realized on September 14, 2013 when Flawless Damsels officially opened to the public. Then about a year and a half later, unfortunately in the wake of the unrest after the death of Freddie Gray the storefront was vandalized and looted. Due to excessive damage and loss the boutique would have to temporarily close.
In an interview with the AFRO she said, “Baltimore is home and this is where I want to be. I went away to school to get the college experience, gain some independence and just to be away from home but I always wanted to come back home to live and start a business.” She eventually opened her store at 2414 East Monument Street, an area she said she was not familiar with, because she saw a vibrant and engaged community and a bustling thoroughfare when a realtor showed her the property.
She wasn’t present on the night of the riots but she did receive calls from family, friends and neighbors letting her know updates on the movements of the riots and when they had actually reached her store’s area. She did not go down to try to protect the store under advisement of her boyfriend who was worried about her safety.
Alexander actually said the first time she saw her store after the unrest was on television watching news broadcast’s coverage of the destruction the next day. “They were panning up and down Monument and when I saw my store I just paused it and looked.” She said she needed to gather herself and mentally prepare for what she would see when she arrived.
The damage was extensive. Thieves removed all of her inventory, broke windows and doors, removed the register, destroyed financial documents and even removed the wall and lighting fixtures. Alexander said “It was like walking in the store when I first rented it, it was nothing but an empty space from the fixtures to the inventory, just everything gone.” The total damage was in excess of $100,000. Alexander praised the community for coming together after the riots and said a lot of the cleanup of debris and glass had already been taken care of by the time she arrived at the store.
Leaving the area was never an option for Alexander though. “I never considered relocating. My plan was always to reopen but I was very much unsure if I would be able to get the funds to do so.” Those funds would come from the Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC), which assisted businesses in rebuilding after the unrest. According to the Baltimore Sun Alexander’s recovery loan was one of 15 the BDC has made so far totaling more than $324,000. The economic development agency has also issued 47 storefront grants totaling more than $127,000, the BDC said on Aug. 25.
Alexander said there was no question she would rebuild after the riots. “I feel it is my duty to stay and hopefully be an inspiration to someone else that will see that I didn’t just give up and pack up and show them that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and there is a silver lining if you stay positive and keep hope.”
Flawless Damsels is hosting a grand re-opening on Aug. 29 from 11:00a.m – 7:00 p.m. There will be a DJ, makeup artists, catwalk fashion show and designers on hand.