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Mike Cherman of Chinatown Market

I’ve been a fan of Mike Cherman for quite some time; from when he was setting trends at ICNY with 3M to designing tour merchandise for artists like Lil Yachty to his newest project Chinatown Market. There was this one time when I bought a t-shirt and I ordered the wrong size on accident. I immediately emailed with my order number just wondering if they could possibly swap me for the correct size and not only within minutes did I get a response, but Mike personally is the one that responded. I tell this story to say, that shows the kind of work ethic, passion, care and humble nature that got him the success that he’s seen up until today; that’s why I chose to interview him. He’s someone I believe that anyone who’s starting a small business should learn from. Learn a bit about Mike Cherman of Chinatown Market below!

1. Why did you decide to drop out of college? Was there a moment you knew it wasn’t for you?

MC: I decided to drop out of college in a moment where my parents gave me the chance to go to school for a year but I was faced with the challenge to find a scholarship so I could continue my education. I found myself at a crossroads, one that lead me to going after to ultimate dreams and not continuing my schooling. I just knew after my first year I was wired different than my classmates, I was working on the weekends and constantly pushing to find a career and work towards breaking into the industry I moved to NY to pursue and watched kids next to me just parting and living life. Not that thats wrong, its just not what I was doing.

2. What about Canal St. fascinates you?

MC: I grew up going to the city with my father as he worked in midtown, we would frequent chinatown for good food and shops. Visiting canal st., I would always be fascinated with the displays, buying different objects from t-shirts to toys that caught my eye. The different types of people all on canal hawking goods, selling everything, watches, bags, really whatever your heart desired - it was always so amazing to see. I love the whole concept of “Everything is for Sale”, the real hustle is still alive on Canal.

3. You’re being so transparent with everything it is you guys are up to with the brand from product development and everything in between that and the final product. Why did you decide to take this route?

MC: I used to do things very differently, hiding the process but I find its beautiful to display the beauty in the growth of the business itself. It all came from experimentation in the goal of having fun, thats where it always comes from.

4. I heard you say in an interview that it takes 30 minutes to conceive an idea and have it up online for sale. Why is that the method that you prefer? Do you think fashion being that fast is good or bad?

MC: I believe that if an idea takes too long to execute there is likely some disconnect with the consumer that they are not going to be able to understand. When I say 30 minutes I don’t mean 30 minutes from start to finish, I mean the conceptualization of the idea shouldn’t take you long, the “BIG” idea is what I’m talking about. The execution can take a long time but the big idea should be quickly digestible for the consumer, if they can’t understand something fast they will move on. T-shrits are in impulse buy even though many shirts live for a long time in someones closet you buy a lot of t-shirts in your life.

5. DIY from day 1 with ICNY and far before that I’m assuming. Why is that so important for you to always go back to with the projects you work on?

MC: DIY is what led me to what I do today. Everything is out of the necessity of needing to create product and release the ideas in my head out on product. It’s just the cherry on top that people actually like the stuff and want to consume it.

6. I’ve heard you mention you really thought a lot about appropriation with the brand name you’ve chose and there hasn’t really been any backlash about it. Could you elaborate more on this and possibly why you think this has been the case?

MC: Chinatown Market was never intended to be appropriating someones culture to build a brand. In my opinion bootlegging in more than just a Chinese thing, its a global phenomenon. Regardless I’m sensitive to peoples opinions and the way they feel. Never want to make them feel uncomfortable but we are always in a time of very high and strong emotion and feelings. It’a tough thing and I always just look to be respectful and not push the limits. Never want to disrespect anyones culture, etc.

7. What’s the most memorable experience you’ve ever had? A moment that always inspires you when you think about it?

MC: We just moved into a 6000 sq ft office, its pretty surreal to me, thats the biggest memory to date even tho we moved in yesterday.

8. You’ve touched on possibly working on a new brand that is very technical in every sense of the term. Can you speak on this and/or when we will hear more about this?

MC: I cannot yet speak on this, but its going to be good :)