Showfields, known as the Most Interesting Store in the World, is the ultimate curator, bringing together the most mission-driven, design-oriented, innovative, unconventional, and relevant brands, artists, and communities from around the globe.

Offering brands a brick & mortar space is a way for consumers to engage with their favorite brands or discover new brands while they shop this unique retail experience.

By supporting local artists, empowering mission-driven brands, and connecting these locals and visitors, Showfields is merging the worlds between art, entertainment, and retail in a truly unique way.

See Also: How Nordstrom Is Honoring Its Commitment To Diversity And Inclusion

Showfields continues to support mission-based brands, and their community through all of the activations and work that they do – whether it’s working with a local artist to reimagine the design or curate a new installation, or donating percentages of sales to an organization supporting a cause.

Showfields is currently located in NYC (11 Bond Street) and Miami (530 Lincoln Road).

Katie Hunt, Co-Founder and Chief Innovations Officer of Showfields, began her career as the third employee of Warby Parker, and then served as Chief Brand Officer for Hinge, where she led the charge for the creation of their new product, their relaunch, and their rebrand. Additionally, Katie is the Co-Founder of The Fund, which is a VC fund made up of a community of founders and operators that invests and mentors early-stage companies in NYC, LA, London, The Rockies, The Midwest, and Australia.

Born and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tal Zvi Nathanel moved to New York City in 2012, where he currently resides and serves as the CEO and Co-founder of Showfields. For nearly two decades, Tal has worked to create successful consumer products and activations through his skills in e-commerce, entrepreneurship, and strategic partnerships. A serial entrepreneur and innovator at heart, Tal has co-founded several accomplished businesses, including Bluestone Group, and MyCheck, and was included in Forbes Israel’s list of the “Top Young Israeli Startups in New York.”

We connected with Katie and Tal to discuss how Showfields is reimagining the traditional retail experience for both consumers, brands, and artists across the globe.

Showfields is described as the “most interesting store in the world.” What gives your business this title?

The inspirational brands, artists, and creators we work with. Showfields is a stage, and in being a stage we are made interesting by the people and things we shine a light on.

In what ways is your store redefining the traditional retail experience? How is this setting a blueprint for other businesses in the space?

We Didn’t redefine Retail - Customers did.

COVID created a shift of power from retailers and brands to customers. This process would have otherwise taken years, but COVID accelerated this to a matter of months, and with the power shift fully in the hands of the customer, there is also a dramatic shift in their expectations.

Our power comes from being able to ask the right questions - And that's because from our inception in 2018 we were committed to rethinking retail through the eyes of the customer. This approach we developed is called C-Commerce (And the 5c’s) and it's a framework any brand or retailer can use.

A good example of what C-Commerce pushed us to reimagine would be the unique business model that gives our partners the ability to keep all sales, and allows us to align our interest with the customer.

How does Showfields offer a more curated shopping experience than other stores? What are the advantages of this curation?

We call our approach C-Commerce, or Consumer Commerce, meaning we are reimagining the entire retail experience with the consumer always at the forefront. C-Commerce is basically a framework that allows our entire organization to drive better decisions by constantly asking questions around the 5 C’s (Convenience, Curation, Content, Community, Connection).

What does it mean? It means that every decision in the company is evaluated through the lens of “Does it enhance the convenience, curation, content, community, and connection for our guests?” Whether it is a piece of technology or an artist we are curating, the customer needs to always be the first priority.

What are the advantages of C-style commerce for customers, versus brands, versus artists? In other words, does your store provide a mutually-beneficial experience?

In our view, they are absolutely one. Whether it is a brand, an artist, or a guest, we think of everyone who walks through our doors as creators. Even further down that rabbit hole, we believe we are living in the age of the creator where anyone has the ability to change the world when triggered by inspiration.

What we do for all of our partners and guests is create the most amazing customer experience possible. After three years of operation, we know that the happiness and satisfaction of our customers is the most important aspect for creating happiness for everyone.

How would you describe the brands, artists, and communities represented at Showfields?

We only curate the most mission-driven, well-made, and innovative creators and communities in our spaces. These are the disruptors who are reimagining the world and using new business practices to create sustainable change for all.

There is an important mission-driven component to your store. Can you talk more about how Showfields is leveraging small businesses and amplifying brand voices across the globe?

Imagine walking into a world where every brand, artist, and event you support are fundamentally changing how we do business. We take the work that the next generation of customers are normally doing on their own to find businesses worthy of support. We are making it easy for them by having a one-stop shop where they can discover and support mission-driven small businesses.

The essence of Showfields is diversity. How is your business reimagining what diversity means in terms of representation in the space?

There are more diverse founders than at any other time in history, and these founders are disrupting the markets they are building within. By giving more opportunities that work for small business owners to showcase their work, we have created a space where diversity is a given.

Additionally, we partner with brands such as American Express to feature and support mission-driven curations. Our current holiday curation with American Express is made entirely up of black-owned small businesses.

By creating a digital platform for those brands, at shopsmall.showfields.com, and having a partnership with American Express that can amplify those businesses and drive significant traffic, we are able to give these brands exposure to an entirely new audience.

It is about pairing our technology with the right partners to create meaningful experiences that benefit all, including customers who are looking to support diverse founders this holiday season.

Showfields is known to challenge the retail status quo. What qualities does it take to be a disrupter in the industry?

While what we do is disruptive, it is actually not a disruptive way of thinking or operating. We are simply reimagining the world through the eyes of our customers, and those customers expect a new way of doing things. They have grown up with the convenience of online shopping, are more passionate about mission-driven businesses, and want more meaningful experiences than their predecessors. We are simply building for them, and in doing that we are creating a new way forward for retail.

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