As we all know, the lovely town of Lewisburg that surrounds Bucknell has a lot of charm. Between the lampposts, family-owned cafes, and art festivals, it offers what many metropolitan cities do not. However, when it comes to filling a young woman’s shopping needs, Lewisburg leaves much to be desired.
We recently had the opportunity to speak with Bucknell alumni and fashionista, Lindsay Hooper, who works for a fashion tech start-up company called Magnetique. We were able to get her thoughts on the woes of the shopping scene, and to hear how the company she works with now can solve many of these shopping concerns.
1. As a fashionista, what do you think downtown Lewisburg lacks most?
I should probably start out by saying that since my freshman year the shopping has gotten infinitely better. That being said, it’s no secret that the options in Lewisburg are pretty limited. I think that part of the problem is that the only real place to shop is Market Street. There’s simply not space to put in a mix of stores, and many national stores and boutiques wouldn’t think of opening a location in the heart of Amish Country. Essentially, if one of the shops didn’t carry something that I wanted (read: needed), then I was out of luck. I hate ordering clothing and shoes online, so I was limited to whatever I could find on Market Street. Plus, at least for me, half the fun in shopping is in the process of perusing and trying on different items that I might not otherwise pay attention to, because, hey, why not? I wasn’t able to do that at school.
2. While at Bucknell, what did you do to try and satisfy your shopping cravings?
I used to love Lewisburg’s Night Out! Even if I didn’t walk away with many purchases, it was still fun to stroll Market Street and drink wine long after the shops would otherwise be closed. I was lucky because I was able to cultivate relationships with many of the shop owners, so Lisa Wilson and Barb Ross—the lovely ladies who own and stock Wilson Ross—would ask me if there was anything that I particularly wanted at the start of each season, or whenever they took trips to New York, and come back with special goodies for me. I was also able to get to know Marc Williams of Marc Williams Goldsmith, so I used to go into his workshop in Williamsport and try on the jewelry of my dreams.
3. Can you tell us a little bit about the company you work for now?
Magnetique is the first app of its kind. It can be really difficult to make the jump between seeing a must-have item in a magazine and making the purchase, and we take the hassle out of the hunt. If you see something that you love in a magazine, you can capture an image of it with your cell phone (iPhone or Android) or tablet (iPad or otherwise), and then our identification software will link you to every store in your area, and if there aren’t any brick-and-motor shops, then we give you everything you need in order to comfortably order it online. Magazines are the taste arbiters; we’re simply the bloodhounds of shopping.
4. Will it help those craving to get access to looks they love?
Yes yes yes!! I’m sure that there are places in the surrounding Lewisburg area that carry the items that Bucknellians crave, but they are difficult to track down. Magnetique will enable Bucknell girls to have greater access to more mainstream shopping. I would have LOVED to go on shopping excursions with my girlfriends outside of Lewisburg and make a day of it. Magnetique will make that a possibility.
5. Do you think having access to Magnetique while at Bucknell would have fulfilled some of your fashion desires?
Of course! If I had had Magnetique when I was still in school—and to be fair, it didn’t exist then—I wouldn’t have had to wait to go home before I could really go shopping. I spent years (YEARS) searching for the perfect vegan leather skirt, which is simply an item that I wasn’t going to be able to locate on my own in Lewisburg, and I finally located it with the Magnetique app in New York. To be fair, though, I also found it in Minnesota, Texas, Oregon, North Carolina, California, and of course, in Williamsport. Had I known about the boutiques two towns over, perhaps I would have found it sooner.
There you have it! Finally a way for the women of Bucknell to do all of their shopping, when and where ever they please. Magnetique gives us the ability to get the best of both worlds; Lewisburg’s small-town quaintness and charm, along with access to the looks we all desire.