When the pandemic disrupted many Ohio small businesses in 2020, one beautiful soul gave the struggling entrepreneurs hope.
Fashion enthusiast Lindsey Drahos opened Hosful Collective, a clothing boutique on Parsons Avenue in Olde Towne East, to offer a helping hand to local fashion designers, makers, and creatives affected by the COVID-19 crisis.
“We created a space to give other entrepreneurs a chance to have a brick and mortar and a storefront, without the overhead of a storefront,” Drahos explained. “So that when all these stores may have been closing, they were able to take their brand and put it into a space without having to pay the full rent.”
Hosful Collective is more than a communal space; it’s a destination committed to deepening and strengthening its Columbus community. Most of the small businesses they house are women-owned, Black-owned, and minority-owned. They showcase artists, creative vendors, artisans, and clothing and jewelry sellers.
“The whole idea was to basically come together and give other people the opportunity to be entrepreneurs,” Drahos added, saying that new vendors are always welcome at Hosful.
Last March 2022, the boutique hosted a weekly event celebrating Women’s History Month. They featured businesses owned by women and those women making a difference in the community.
Drahos admitted that starting the business in the midst of a pandemic was not an easy feat, but she still felt blessed knowing her shop had received overflowing support from the local community.
“Without the people that are there on a day-to-day basis, without the vendors and the talent that’s in the community, there wouldn’t be a Hosful,” she said.
