By.Everyone for Everyone: A retail environment built for belonging
Photography By Taylor Villarreal
Fashion retailer By.Everyone recently relocated to Tulsa from Oklahoma City, creating a new wave of excitement for its local creative community.
Owner Elyjah Monks reflects on this transition: “It’s been unbelievably emotional closing [the store] in OKC, but overwhelmingly joyous and exciting to be in Tulsa.” Moving to Tulsa has made Monks realize that the timing is right for him to transform the store into the kind of retail concept he’s always envisioned. “Having a fresh start here and having people that are excited about it who didn’t have access to it before—that’s what makes this something that people are ready to be a part of.”
Being a multi-brand retail store, By.Everyone aims to highlight the people and legacies behind the products it carries. “I think that’s why we have such a great relationship with our designers; it is because we tell their stories,” says Monks. The emphasis on storytelling and building relationships in the fashion industry has helped provide clarity for the direction of the store’s future in Tulsa. “I figured out that if I’m going to be educating every single person on every single brand and designer that we carry, then it better be somebody that I actually love and that I have a real connection to.”
This love for the brands and the people involved is the inspiration behind the curation of the store’s selection. Having this assortment of high quality apparel, home goods and accessories sets it apart from many other retail stores in Oklahoma.
And the caliber of brands accessible to the Tulsa market now through By.Everyone is just beginning to ascend. Sourced primarily at Paris Fashion Week, By.Everyone has been able to build lasting connections while making Oklahoma’s presence known to the industry at large. Monks says, “If we can get people to understand that ‘Hey, these guys do it the best, and they are our homies. Not only are you supporting us, but you are also supporting our friends and it is this nice cohesive thing’—that is the way I want to introduce a brand into this space. Our goal is now is to create more brand awareness for By.Everyone out here.”
“I think that’s why we have such a great relationship with our designers; it is because we tell their stories.”
From products to the physical space itself, Monks has been a driving creative force since he began selling his own clothing designs in a small space near the Nichols Hills area in 2017. Expanding to an upstairs studio and then to a larger storefront in the Plaza District in 2018, he learned to build physical components of each store he’s been in—including everything from the suspension racks to the new archway and built-in shelves seen inside the new Tulsa store located in the Kendall Whittier neighborhood. “I had gained so much knowledge about what a space should feel like and what it should look like,” he says. “I wanted something that felt really organic, which is why all of the things in the new space are built with soft edges. It is also why everything is circular and why everything is finished with crown molding. There are no hard angles. I wanted everything to feel soft so people could flow throughout it.”
The meaning behind the name “By.Everyone” is credited partly to this origin story. Monks’ retail evolution went from Path Gallery to Silent Studios and lastly “By.Elyjah,” and was one day turned on its head when a former team member joked that the brands carried in the store were not made by him anymore, but were made by everyone. The name stuck, and the store’s Instagram handle changed that same day.
Although, being a tastemaker tends to cause an overflow of creativity beyond just a brand name. By.Everyone branded products are quickly becoming a mainstay and will soon be expanding. “People walk into the store and ask, ‘Oh, do you make all this yourself?’ If the answer was yes, I’d be a very busy, talented man.” Monks laughs. “Although it’s what makes me really want to tap into that side of it again where I can say that no, I didn’t make all of this, but I made some of it. All of the other things in here are made by my friends, because a lot of the designers in here have become friends over the years.”
Currently, many people are looking to discover in-person experiences that encourage community and creativity. “We are in this digital age of immediacy and getting something now on the internet, and that is all good and well, but the whole reason I do this is so people can come here and feel something,” Monks says. “Whenever I wanted to build this space, I wanted people to feel how I feel whenever I’m in an environment that feels good to me. Somewhere that is imaginative and like a museum.
“I really just want people to feel like they can come here and hang out. If they find something they like, that’s amazing—they can take a bit of it home with them.” •
By.Everyone’s new location is found at 2201 E. Admiral Blvd., Suite B, in Tulsa. Shop online at by-everyone.com and follow @by.everyone_ on Instagram.