2020 was (and continues to be) a chock-full of ups and downs for everyone. The fashion industry has been turned upside down in its entirety. Every facet of the industry has worked tirelessly to reinvent itself, adapt to the changing landscape and above all else, survive. One of the many in the industry who have been constantly adapting to these unprecedented times is our good friend and Voodoo LA store owner, Cory King. We first highlighted Voodoo upon its opening in Downtown LA back in January of 2019, so we decided to re-visit Cory and his newly relocated store while they are currently enveloped in the fast-changing pace of the market. Be sure to read the full interview and check out the new space below.

For those who haven’t checked out your last store feature, could you please introduce yourself and your store, Voodoo LA.

“Of course! I’m Cory King, the Operator and Creative Lead here at the Downtown Los Angeles-based concept boutique, VOODOO.”

Since we first interviewed you, how has the store changed in terms of product assortment/ business-wise?

“Man, it feels like everything has changed since then. We have completely realigned and restructured the business from top to bottom. We have a very different brand offering, we now carry a pretty robust selection of lifestyle items and accessories, and the most dramatic change is we relocated to a completely new storefront. The direction has shifted as we’ve started to understand our spot in the marketplace, really understanding who our customers are. They’ve been good changes, though. Change for the better, both now and in the future.”

How have you managed this year’s challenges and how has it dictated the new path for your business?

“2020 has been such a hard year on everyone. We are no exception to that. Small businesses have been hit really hard. The fashion industry as a whole has suffered. We fall into both of those categories. Not to mention that March 3rd of this year was our 1 year anniversary of being fully operational both in-store and online, then 10 days later we had to shut down due to COVID-19. Year two in a new business is a crucial growth year, and we’ve essentially had it taken away from us. So it’s hurt, but we are survivors, man. We’ve shifted focus and made a pretty big and nerve-racking move to a new storefront, cutting out a lot of overhead and preparing ourselves for the future.”

Relocating a business is never an easy transition, what can you tell us about that process?

“Man, we don’t have enough time to detail how difficult it really is (haha.) It was a massive transition that required hundreds of hours of work. We have an incredibly small team, plus you throw in the not-so-small fact that we were in the middle of a pandemic, yeah. Wow. Long story short, my girlfriend Aubrey and I spent many long days and nights doing all kinds of work and nonsense that we wouldn’t normally do. We got it done though and made it work, and I couldn’t be happier with the position we are now in.”

Interior design has seemingly been important to your personal life and business, what can you tell us about the new space and it’s interiors?

“Interior design is everything to me. It’s incredibly important in today’s retail landscape, especially in Los Angeles. I love the process of exploring what you can do with a space. I felt that, due to budgetary constraints, we didn’t maximize our last space’s full potential. So with the new space, we wanted to make sure we didn’t just repeat what we did before and be unhappy with it. We worked with a wonderful design firm called Nest, I really wanted to work with them because they had previously built out like 25 different Aesop stores and I was enamored with that body of work. The new space is small, only about 1,100 square feet of retail floor, but it has a great open floor plan with tons of natural light and a 30 foot ceiling. Aubrey and I pulled elements from all of our favorite places we’ve experienced to blend them together into the new VOODOO. We purchased an old display case from Barney’s and repurposed it. We brought in timeless furniture from renowned designers like Eames, Nelson and Jeanneret. Maxfield uses luxurious heavy suede curtains for their fitting rooms, so we included those as an homage to LA’s best store. One of our favorite hotels in the world is in Mexico at Punta Nizuc, so we drew inspiration from them by using a slatwall effect throughout the store. And of course we kept our signature purple color carefully featured in the space, a branding element we learned from the incomparable blue of Colette.”

Outside of just the physical storefront, what else will be changing with the store?

“We are continuing a shift away from traditional mens and womens buys and really focusing on unisex product moving forward. We have found that our customers are extremely diverse and fluid, and the goal is to be able to offer every product we carry to every person, regardless of gender. It can at times be difficult to buy this way, but we love a challenge. And I do truly believe that as we evolve and grow, our customers will take notice of that and appreciate it. Beyond clothing, we continue to focus on offering the best of the best when it comes to lifestyle items. We’ve brought in a wide range of items from leading brands like The Laundress, Truff Sauce, Morihata, C.O. Bigelow, among others. Every day I am excited about our accessory offering and love the companies we work with. They are wonderful partners who offer wonderful products. That’s what we want to continue. Growing with great people, great brands, and great customers.”

Have you been adding new brands amidst the Pandemic and have there been challenges with product deliveries?

“We’ve had a few issues with deliveries being delayed, but overall everyone has worked together well to get things done. We’ve expanded our offering with the unisex brand Les Tien, and we have a couple of really cool new additions coming soon as well. We are a little too premature to announce them, though. But soon!”

What are you most excited for in this next chapter of Voodoo?

“I’m excited for everything! The new space, the brand partners we have, of course the product, everything. I’m happy to be able to reopen even with restrictions, it’s a blessing. So many businesses have been claimed by the pandemic, I just feel so blessed to be able to still be here and be talking to you and offering our product to the world. I’m optimistic for the future and look forward to showing everyone this amazing new space we are in and what we are really about.”

Lastly, what advice would you give to anyone in the industry navigating these unprecedented times?

”There it is, unprecedented times. Every email I get has that phrase in it(haha.) But seriously, I would suggest that everyone do what you can to survive. If you have to facilitate a move, do it. 2020 has been about surviving, not thriving. Trust me though, the thriving will come. Nothing that’s worth doing is ever easy, and the hard work will pay off. You just have to trust the process. That’s what we are doing. The hard work will pay off if you do it right and you do it honestly. We look forward to breaking bread with everyone in the near future!”

Photography by Brandon Farrington

Store Feature: Voodoo Los Angeles Opens Updated Space Downtown