Today we’d like to introduce you to Sebastian Malczewski.
Sebastian, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born in Poland and moved to Chicago 16 years ago. When I first arrived, I worked as a car salesman and also worked as a bartender for a while. I have always loved fashion, though – always loved dressing up and styling outfits – and wanted to step into a career in the fashion industry. Working with shoes sort of happened by accident – or by grace, rather. Around 10 years ago, I started selling women’s, men’s and children’s shoes. I worked with different factories and manufacturers to buy shoes from different labels. I found my niche with men’s shoes and decided to focus solely on menswear.
I’ve had a store location in Wicker Park for several years, but two years ago, I closed my other store locations in Glenview and Portage Park and moved into a bigger retail space a few doors down on Milwaukee Avenue. This allowed for more room to grow, but was also a chance to share a storefront with custom suiting and tailoring company, the Dapper Club. By sharing a space, we can provide men with complete outfits in a luxury environment.
When I launched Marc Nolan in 2017, I had spent almost a decade learning about the industry in a hands-on, trial-and-error way and I wanted to utilize those experiences to provide men a curated collection of high quality and trend-forward products. By keeping the business small, I could create a unique retail experience for men where the environment and product line feel like luxury, but don’t carry the same price tag. The name “Marc Nolan” came about in recognition and appreciation of my best friend and business partner Marc and as a tribute to my son Nolan. Family is very important to us and I wanted to create something meaningful for my son – a business he could be proud of.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It’s still not a smooth road! There are still numerous obstacles and challenges we face as a small business every day. One of the biggest challenges with small businesses is capital; you need money to make money it seems. Though we only operate from one brick and mortar location and do a portion of our business online, we obviously don’t have the advertising and marketing budget that large retailers have.
Within our budgetary constraints, our growth has to be more organic and incremental. We have many loyal customers and our size does have advantages – we can keep our quality high, give more personalized service, and keep our customers coming back.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Marc Nolan – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Marc Nolan is a men’s footwear company that focuses on three tenets: quality, style and price. All our shoes are crafted with genuine leather or suede and feature full leather lining and padded insoles. And while we have a large range of classic dress shoes, boots, and loafers, we provide more fashion-forward options each season too. As a small business, we value superior products and customer service over a bottom line, so all our shoes retail below $150.
I’m most proud that Marc Nolan has proven that a company can provide a luxury shopping experience without the high price. Every pair of Marc Nolan shoes comes with micro-suede dust bags and a sterling silver shoehorn. Including those extra amenities and that touch of luxury without a big markup definitely sets us apart.
Our showroom in Wicker Park also sets us apart. We have a welcoming space where customers can come in and shoot a game of pool or have a cocktail while they shop. And we’re always around to give customers styling tips and ideas for how to wear certain shoes, and to help choose which styles and colors work best in their wardrobe.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Each season we’ll be adding new styles and expanding the color options for existing styles. While we’ll maintain a range of products in a curated collection, I want to focus more on sneakers and other casual options moving forward. As workwear and business casual looks become more versatile and trend-forward, men will seek more casual shoes to complete those outfits.
We’re also looking to expand our online presence – our ecommerce site, our style blog and our social media channels. Focusing more on the online arena will allow us to grow us customer base while we continue serving our existing customers from our Chicago headquarters.
Pricing:
- $105.00 – $135.00
Contact Info:
- Address: 1252 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60622 - Website: marcnolan.com
- Phone: 773-227-3502
- Email: help@marcnolan.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/marcnolanshoes
- Facebook: facebook.com/marcnolanshoes
- Twitter: twitter.com/marcnolanshoes
- Yelp: yelp.com/biz/marc-nolan-chicago
Image Credit:
Kevin Reodica
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