Vanguard by Shopify Studios

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Society & Culture
**Vanguard by Shopify Studios**

How unexplored communities and unexpected subcultures make money today.

Latest Episodes:

Introducing Vanguard Season 2 Jul 03, 2019

Show notes

Here’s a sneak peek of our second season.

The Anti-Capitalists Selling Gender Confirming Products Mar 20, 2019

Show notes

Noah Kloeze is one of three worker-owners of Gender Gear, a collective that sells gender confirming products for trans and gender variant people. After an uncomfortable encounter at their physical location, the collective had to radically rethink their business. This is what happened.

Store: Gender Gear, Come As You Are
Recommended: Feist, Peaches

Host
Anshuman Iddamsetty

Producers
Michelle Macklem
Emma Fedderson
Anshuman Iddamsetty

Senior Supervising Producer
Tammi Downey

Engineer
Jason ‘Metal’ Donkersgoed

Musical Score
Jim Guthrie

Monsters Are His Friends Mar 13, 2019

Show notes

Jerry Parrino is the owner of The Horror Dome. By the time he was 46, Jerry was burning out from a thankless day job. He decided to quit and bet everything on his dream of running a Halloween-based side business. How did he come to that decision?

Store: The Horror Dome
Recommended: Big Foot Claim a Fake, Ex-Enthusiast Says

Host
Anshuman Iddamsetty

Producers
Michelle Macklem
Emma Fedderson
Anshuman Iddamsetty

Senior Supervising Producer
Tammi Downey

Engineer
Jason ‘Metal’ Donkersgoed

Musical Score
Jim Guthrie

The Designer Making Truly Plus Luxury Clothing Mar 06, 2019

Show notes

Tamara Malas is the maker of a luxury plus womenswear collection offering clothes up to a size 32. Tamara was living the dream working in high-end fashion, but the body shaming and fatphobia of the industry was too much to bear. How did she recover from her trauma and launch a luxury clothing line for the truly plus?

Store: Tamara Malas
Recommended: The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Curvy Con

Host
Anshuman Iddamsetty

Producers
Michelle Macklem
Emma Fedderson
Anshuman Iddamsetty

Senior Supervising Producer
Tammi Downey

Engineer
Jason ‘Metal’ Donkersgoed

Musical Score
Jim Guthrie

The Critic Changing Comic Books Feb 27, 2019

Show notes

Zainab Akhtar is the publisher of ShortBox, a mail order box for independent comic books. Zainab wanted to change the way independent comics were sold but as a visibly Muslim woman, her efforts were often dismissed. How did she enter a market designed to exclude her?

Store: ShortBox
Recommended: Thought Bubble, Critical Chips, Toni Morrison’s quote on race

Host
Anshuman Iddamsetty

Producers
Michelle Macklem
Emma Fedderson
Anshuman Iddamsetty

Senior Supervising Producer
Tammi Downey

Engineer
Jason ‘Metal’ Donkersgoed

Musical Score
Jim Guthrie

What Drives an All-Femme Skate Crew Feb 20, 2019

Show notes

Arianna Gil is the cofounder of Brujas, a Bronx-based skate crew and streetwear brand dedicated to radical political action. But the politics behind their clothes are often overlooked by mainstream gatekeepers and too radical for social media. How do they get their message out?

Store: Brujas
Recommended: 1971, F2L, The Attica Prison Riot

Host
Anshuman Iddamsetty

Producers
Michelle Macklem
Emma Fedderson
Anshuman Iddamsetty

Senior Supervising Producer
Tammi Downey

Engineer
Jason ‘Metal’ Donkersgoed

Musical Score
Jim Guthrie

Why These Wigs Are Made By Drag Queens Feb 13, 2019

Show notes

Vanity is the cofounder of Wigs by Vanity, the makers of luxury synthetic lace front wigs for drag queens. Vanity quickly cornered the drag market, but her business was always a side hustle. What made her decide to go full-time?

Store: Wigs by Vanity
Recommended: RuPaul’s Drag Race, Priscilla: Queen of the Desert

Host
Anshuman Iddamsetty

Producers
Michelle Macklem
Emma Fedderson
Anshuman Iddamsetty

Senior Supervising Producer
Tammi Downey

Engineer
Jason ‘Metal’ Donkersgoed

Musical Score
Jim Guthrie

The Asian Gay Thing Feb 06, 2019

Show notes

Anne Ishii is the co-founder of MASSIVE GOODS, an agency and lifestyle brand featuring art from queer and feminist artists from Japan. In a single year, Anne suffered two tragic losses — any one of them would have destroyed her business. How did she survive the impossible?

Store: MASSIVE GOODS
Recommended: Gengoroh Tagame, Opening Ceremony, New York Art Book Fair, Toronto Comic Art Festival

Host
Anshuman Iddamsetty

Producers
Michelle Macklem
Emma Fedderson
Anshuman Iddamsetty

Senior Supervising Producer
Tammi Downey

Engineer
Jason ‘Metal’ Donkersgoed

Musical Score
Jim Guthrie

The Beyoncé of Tarot Jan 30, 2019

Show notes

Courtney Alexander is the maker of Dust II Onyx: A Melanated Tarot, a Tarot deck designed for a black audience. Dust II Onyx was an instant hit, but the emotional toll of success almost destroyed Courtney. Was it worth it?

Store: Dust II Onyx
Recommended: University of South Florida, Wangechi Mutu, The Hoodwitch, Dust II Onyx: An Interview With Courtney Alexander

Host
Anshuman Iddamsetty

Producers
Michelle Macklem
Emma Fedderson
Anshuman Iddamsetty

Senior Supervising Producer
Tammi Downey

Engineer
Jason ‘Metal’ Donkersgoed

Musical Score
Jim Guthrie

Welcome to Vanguard by Shopify Studios Jan 18, 2019

Show notes

Vanguard by Shopify Studios explores the human stories of entrepreneurship from unexpected corners of our current moment.