Toni Reece: Hi there. This is Toni Reece, and welcome to the Get Inspired! Project for Berks County Living Magazine. Today I have Susan Golembiski with me, correct?
Susan Golembiski: Correct.
Toni: Oh my goodness. I was practicing. Susan, welcome to the Project.
Susan: Thank you for having me.
Toni: Absolutely. So, take a moment and tell us a little bit about yourself.
Susan: I am the owner of Jan Rae. I bought it three years ago. The store has been there 35 years, and I came about it in a kind of roundabout way. I moved to this area about 35 years ago, and I’ve always worked in fashion. I went to a vocational technical school for fashion and have worked in every way, shape, and form in fashion that I could. I worked as a seamstress, a dressmaker, freelance designer. I actually worked at as an adjunct at Albright teaching sewing for nine years. Then I met my husband, and he convinced me maybe one job at a time would be a good idea, and encouraged me to purchase the store.
Toni: Great. As I was saying before the interview, they’re absolutely beautiful windows. You said you create them, and they are stunning.
Susan: Thank you.
Toni: That’s awesome. Let’s go into the Project. Susan, what does inspiration mean to you?
Susan: Inspiration is very important to me. It’s like air. I seek it out. It’s my enabler. Because I am a creative and I’m very visual, I look for it everywhere. I can't even drive down the street. If it’s boring, I have to look around and find something to focus on that makes me happy. I find it in art, in architecture, nature. The rooftops out my window that I see are very inspiring for my creative side. The other parts of me that need inspiration are I love words. I love people. I find people very inspiring. Women make all the difference every day when they walk through. I’m inspired by their mannerisms, the way they talk, the way they flip their head, and that enables me to help them in my business and dress them and communicate with them.
Toni: I’ve done this project for many, many years and hundreds of interviews, and I haven’t heard anyone describe inspiration as an enabler. That’s the first time I’ve heard that, and that’s very cool.
Susan: Okay. Thanks.
Toni: When was the last time you felt inspired? Do you remember?
Susan: Yesterday.
Toni: What happened?
Susan: A friend came in the store saying, “I have a project. It benefits such-and-such. Do you want to be involved? This is what we’re doing.” Then, boom. All of a sudden, I’m inspired.
Toni: Okay, so you actually know when it happens.
Susan: Yes.
Toni: So you can feel it.
Susan: It’s my drug. I need it.
Toni: That is so cool. Alright. So, how do you take that and put that into practice here in Berks County?
Susan: I would say by creating happy customers. Because I’m at the store all the time, I use it to focus. I can't go off anymore and be in my studio all day, so I have to find the satisfaction in what I’m doing. I’m that kind of a person. If I’m not happy doing it, I suck at it, I don’t want to do it. I have hissy fits. I would say just putting a two-dimensional garment on a three-dimensional person that’s attractive on them, that pulls out their spark, that compliments all their best features and makes them light up and feel happy. It’s important to feel good in your clothing. Even though clothing can be—what’s the word—superfluous, basic, there’s something about putting it on. Remember how you felt in your Girl Scout uniform? Fearless. Full of courage. Every superhero needs a really great outfit. I think it’s important.
Toni: Do you consult when someone comes into your store, then?
Susan: Yes. Most of my customers, they come in with a reason to be there. We are the problem-solving store. I don’t do trends. When I buy for the store, I buy things that I know will solve a person’s problem, hide a figure flaw, make them feel comfortable. I’ve been doing alterations for 37 years on people. I know how women want to feel and look in their clothes, and that’s how I approach that part of the business, supplying them.
Toni: Is there another way that you can speak of that when you are inspired and it enables you to do something else that’s outside of the store?
Susan: I like to give the time when I can for charities, local things. Somebody’s getting a bunch of prom girls together that cannot afford to go to the prom, so I’m supplying alterations. I like the idea of bringing in girls that are…they’re not in a bad situation. They’re a little down. They don’t feel “as if.” I like to bring them in the store, treat them like customers, show them how. This is how it’s done. This is the best part of fashion. This is what makes you feel great, and you are beautiful. I like that fashion isn't as elitist anymore. Everybody’s entitled to trust themselves the way they want the world to see them.
Toni: Okay, so it’s very individual.
Susan: Very individual. I believe in that. I believe you should develop your own personal style. You should avoid trends. They’re bad for the environment. They’re not sustainable. They’re bad for third world countries. Build your wardrobe. Know what you want. Know how you want the world to perceive you. Go from there.
Toni: Okay. Who in Berks County inspires you?
Susan: There’s a lot of people around here. There’s a lot of creative people around here. There are a lot of movers and shakers. I love the people who are enlightened. I try to place myself with them as much as possible. They are the people who are willing to bend the negative perceptions that we have about this area. They look for the good. They do the good. They put their money and their time where their mouth is.
Toni: So, people like that inspire you that are out there doing something for the community in a good way.
Susan: Yes.
Toni: Any particular shout-outs?
Susan: Yocum Institute.
Toni: How so?
Susan: They are not just Wyomissing. They are in the community. They are in all the elementary schools. They are providing the arts education that some of these schools can't afford to.
Toni: Anybody else?
Susan: Let’s see. Probably a couple of ladies that are getting this prom thing together. It’s Adrienne Randall, Alneasa Jordan. They just decided to say, “Hey, we can do this. We don’t need a big committee. We don’t need a big program. We just need some able-bodied female people to get up there and help.”
Toni: It’s interesting when we talk through this Project, and you defined inspiration as an enabler. Those who inspire you also enable for people to have a better life. That goes hand in hand, and that’s pretty cool. That connection is pretty seamless for you. No pun intended.
Susan: Yes, it is. What’s the point otherwise?
Toni: Absolutely. That’s fantastic. Alright. So, what would you like your legacy to be?
Susan: I actually think about this sometimes, because I have grandchildren. I would like them to have my crazy killer work ethic, first of all, because you can do anything if you want to get up and show up. If I had had advice earlier on, it would have been to figure out who I was, put a lot of time, be selfish with my time to figure out who I was and what I had to offer, and what my passion was—what really ignited me. Once you find that passion, what ignites you, you hone that skill. You bang on that craft every day until you are nearly perfect, and then you share it.
Toni: Okay. Is that what you’re teaching?
Susan: That’s what I’m teaching. I am lucky to have this knowledge that I have. I have come by it self-taught, really. I can do things because I banged at it every day, and I want others to know that they can do that, too.
Toni: And to be inspired.
Susan: Yes; and to be inspired.
Toni: Thank you so much for showing up for the Get Inspired! Project.
Susan: You’re very welcome.
