#119: May 2016

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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Her inherent aura of cool and her
passion for the intersection between technology and fashion make it obvious
that Josine Michels, creator and owner of Netherlands-based OnTheBlock, has it
all under control. One of the only (and very few) all-female streetwear
webshops in Europe, OnTheBlock offers a killer selection, of both brands you
know (Stussy, for example), and some you may not (but certainly
will). Through the beauty of email, we've been fortunate enough to not
only "meet" Josine, but to correspond and work with her as well, and
it has been nothing but wholly enjoyable and inspiring. Luckily, she found a
spare moment from running OnTheBlock to answer a few of our questions and even sent us a few of our favorite pieces available on the shop. Below,
she talks about the streetwear industry, where she came from, where she is now,
and the future. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIoOz_l7owk_9R7IFbtHtbBYlcIO-S1ejRwUXbh8Q2i2OpvU9qDnGoSFXrO3wfQ1r51c8ImJIXSFdS7wKdePD84jKEV6n07FiixU1iQUCdZd6A6b-P9DQo1UPc2qh3ay9P_iBNlah7Bos/s1600/DSC04495.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIoOz_l7owk_9R7IFbtHtbBYlcIO-S1ejRwUXbh8Q2i2OpvU9qDnGoSFXrO3wfQ1r51c8ImJIXSFdS7wKdePD84jKEV6n07FiixU1iQUCdZd6A6b-P9DQo1UPc2qh3ay9P_iBNlah7Bos/s640/DSC04495.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.ontheblockshop.com/product/stussy-hooded-mac-jacket/" target="_blank">Stussy Hooded Mac Jacket</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b>1. What is your story in terms of your
background (academically, professionally, etc.), and what inspired you to start
On The Block?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">I’ve always been a computer-nerd. I
actually was growing up just as the Internet became big,  and I was just
so blown away about how it all worked. I spent hours and hours on the computer
looking into codes and creating websites. So it was a no brainer to go and
study Interactive Media, one of the first areas of study out here that focused on
new media. During my study I specialized in development, design and
interaction. When I finished studying, I got a job at Hearst Magazines (the
publisher for magazines like ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Men’s/Women’s
Health, and more) as a web designer. I had that job for almost 7 years, but
always did some freelance jobs on the side. Creating websites, coming up with
new ideas and concepts for blogs, events, exhibitions; you name it, I did it!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGgSLnbhZSx5PFw6-YGuWz0gREAg5RAfBx5n32DJ_UHUEuPNHqIHNZc_nKy2k5hjBMV_pDozDpdEIJB7Ayc_qpb9yJBQw8T2iiHVXt7hN_3zD5K-Z-F2z5wxOFvER2JMsAVq1jATe3Up8/s1600/DSC06555.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGgSLnbhZSx5PFw6-YGuWz0gREAg5RAfBx5n32DJ_UHUEuPNHqIHNZc_nKy2k5hjBMV_pDozDpdEIJB7Ayc_qpb9yJBQw8T2iiHVXt7hN_3zD5K-Z-F2z5wxOFvER2JMsAVq1jATe3Up8/s640/DSC06555.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">I used to order my clothes from the
States, since there was no webshop out here (in The Netherlands or Europe at
all) that sold the brands or style I liked. Of course, I had to pay insanely
high shipping and import costs. So with no experience in the fashion or retail
industry, but experience in designing and building websites myself and a whole
lot of motivation, I just decided to do it. I believed in it, so if nobody else
was gonna do it, why not me?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdZs1Pqb5kIiT13HdgjfljvqoGkaP10NdZiRuRvZWta5qTGk9HHYxk1mRiB1OiGrJyKnSjwRJA2vQS6hJD0JRT968jS1oBp4lmMbWuJX6povRfDsUPRpCJlT2zgqSUzHhq6FNDP2nWc2k/s1600/DSC04429.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdZs1Pqb5kIiT13HdgjfljvqoGkaP10NdZiRuRvZWta5qTGk9HHYxk1mRiB1OiGrJyKnSjwRJA2vQS6hJD0JRT968jS1oBp4lmMbWuJX6povRfDsUPRpCJlT2zgqSUzHhq6FNDP2nWc2k/s640/DSC04429.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.ontheblockshop.com/product/unif-mel-jacket/" target="_blank">UNIF Mel Jacket</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b>2. You're the only all-female streetwear
webshop in the Netherlands, and one of the few in the whole of Europe. What
does that mean to you and what kind of difficulties come with that
responsibility?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">It’s funny, because the last couple of
months I’ve seen some other small female-only shops opening up out here in
Europe. So I can’t really claim that I am the only one anymore. But the fact
that this is happening actually is a great sign. It means the industry is
slowly growing! The difficulty I had in the first years was reaching out to the
right people. Since it’s such a niche-market, I had to invest a lot of time (and
money) into reaching the right people. Finding the right balance on how to
spend my marketing budget (and me not having any marketing background most of
all), that really was my biggest difficulty.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqz669iOvJ-VT1Uo4g4w0TXzrPecVlFw3wDZSaNR2N9k5XK8tZoSHMvnlIf6drulbCSr8XDER6i4oYfDjEiZKygtqFOrLjgYTwD4-F97fJ3CJ_QE9H2fJsp8RLc5JYeHCwiMxo-2W0PXM/s1600/DSC06573.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqz669iOvJ-VT1Uo4g4w0TXzrPecVlFw3wDZSaNR2N9k5XK8tZoSHMvnlIf6drulbCSr8XDER6i4oYfDjEiZKygtqFOrLjgYTwD4-F97fJ3CJ_QE9H2fJsp8RLc5JYeHCwiMxo-2W0PXM/s640/DSC06573.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.ontheblockshop.com/product/dimepiece-la-colorblock-anorak/" target="_blank">Dimepiece LA Colorblock Anorak</a></div>
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3. What are some of your favorite brands right now, or maybe an
underappreciated/up and coming brand we should keep our eyes out for?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">I’m obsessed with Parisian label<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.instagram.com/pantheoneparis"><span style="color: windowtext;">Pantheone</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>right now. Their designs are so
refreshing in a time where brands just can’t really seem to be very original no
more. Some other brands I’m really feeling right now are<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.instagram.com/brashydotnet"><span style="color: windowtext;">Brashy</span></a> and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.instagram.com/wiacollections"><span style="color: windowtext;">W.I.A.</span></a> -
they are both killing it!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b>4. Similar to question #2, but what does being a woman in the
street fashion world mean to you? Does it play a role in how
you view the industry, or do you not let it affect your perception?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">To be honest, it doesn’t affect me at all. It might be
different when you have your own brand/clothing line, but for me being a
retailer, I don’t really look at it as a men/women thing. However, I do get the
impression that people give me more respect for being a woman in this business.
A lot of people (male and female) have said to me that I have "balls"
for doing this. I don’t see it like that at all though.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://www.ontheblockshop.com/product/unif-noob-bodysuit/" target="_blank">UNIF Noob Bodysuit</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b>5.Where do you see the future of street
fashion headed in terms of trends, influencers, brands, whatever? </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">That’s a tough question, because things
change so quickly in the fashion industry. What I do know for sure is that
there will be more and more focus on female lines amongst bigger brands. OBEY
and Stussy are really, really doing an incredible job on this. Their new
womens' collections (Fall and Holiday 2016) are incredible! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Be sure to shop the links throughout the page and send Josine some love on social xx</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/ontheblockshop/" target="_blank">@ontheblockshop</a></span></div>
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Creator Collaborations, fashion, featured, street style

119 is On the Block with Josine Michels

Her inherent aura of cool and her passion for the intersection between technology and fashion make it obvious that Josine Michels, cre...

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Posted by Ava Skinner / Sunday, May 15, 2016

119 is On the Block with Josine Michels

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