Meet Ali Rice & Michelle Marchewka | Co-Owners of Wreck’d Collective

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ali Rice & Michelle Marchewka and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ali Rice & Michelle Marchewka, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
As creative minds we wanted to own our own business where we could thrive off of building up our unique ideas. We love thrifting and are passionate about the longevity of our planet so we thought, “Why not create new pieces from the unique gems that we find?!” Honestly, what’s better than being your own boss? It’s what most of us are dreaming about. We finally decided to take the leap this year and haven’t looked back since.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Wreck’d Collective is a women-owned retail boutique started by Ali Rice and Michelle Marchewka in January of 2023. We are committed to changing the way people think about fashion and want to empower them to make a positive impact on the environment. We want to offer our customers a guilt-free way to shop for clothes that are both fashionable and sustainable. At Wreck’d Collective, we believe that fashion should not only be stylish but also environmentally responsible. That’s why we focus on thrifting and upcycling as a way to reduce waste. We pick only the best thrifted gems and give them a second life by creating unique, creative designs on them. We even offer custom options if you have an idea we don’t have in the shop which helps to distinguish us from other retail and apparel companies.

We are currently in the beginning stages of our business. We are testing our market locally by doing pop-up events in downtown Colorado Springs, Old Colorado City & Manitou Springs stores while looking at ways to expand our product into local businesses across Colorado as well as selling to our customers across the states through our website at WreckdCollective.Com.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Here’s the list:

– Garden of the Gods (of course)
– C.O.A.T.I
– Meow Wolf
– Ivywild
– Helen Hunt Falls
– Gold Camp
– Old Stage Road
– The Exchange
– Red Rocks
– Cronk Art and Curiosities
– Eclectic Co
– Art Walks
– Skyspace
– Thrift Shops
– The Rabbit Hole
– Summit Pikes Peak
– Cripple Creek
– Sunwater Spa
– Woodland Park

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We would love to thank the people throughout our lives that fostered and encouraged our creative and independent movements. Our friends and loved ones have been completely supportive in our business launch. They’ve been purchasing our clothes, using word of mouth, letting us host pop-up shops at their own events, giving us ideas for new business and marketing ideas and really just overall being so supportive.

Website: www.wreckdcollective.com

Instagram: @wreckdcollective

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wreckdcollective

Image Credits
Wreck’d Collective LLC