Latest / The Wilmac Wire / Peter Roberti | Third-Generation Tailoring, Style Confidence, and Giving Back

Transcript

Peter Roberti | Third-Generation Tailoring, Style Confidence, and Giving Back · The Wilmac Wire

• Emily Miller: Good morning, good afternoon, good evening. Welcome back to the Will Mac Wire. How are you doing today? I realized that I never ask you, our listeners, that question. And I want you to know that I hope you're doing well. Thank you just so much for tuning in. We recorded today's episode of the Will Mac Wire in person at Rockvox Studios here in Rochester, New York. And Steve and I really enjoyed it. We had a great time. in the studio and I'm really excited for you to hear this episode. Today we're sitting down with Peter Roberti, third generation custom tailor and designer at Adrian Jewel's Custom Clothing, a Rochester institution that his grandfather founded in 1964 after emigrating from Italy with only $33 in his pocket. And now we fast forward to today where all of their custom garments are still made right here in Rochester by a team of 60 tailors. In today's episode, you can expect to hear about style, about confidence, and of course, what it means to carry a 60-year legacy, a 60-year legacy business forward right here in this city. We're gonna dig into the art of personal presentation, how professional style has evolved in today's workplace, especially the hybrid workplace, and Peter's philosophy that when you look great, you feel great. We also talk about a program that he's launching locally to give away suits to local college graduates who are preparing to enter the workforce, which is wonderful. Thank you so much to Peter for joining us on the Will MacWire. Thank you to you, our listener, for tuning in. Let's get into today's episode. Welcome to the Will MacWire. I'm Emily Miller, joined by my co-host, Steve McDonald. On this show, we talk the drivers, the leaders, innovators, and decision makers pushing customer interaction technology and AI forward. And because we're proud to call Western New York home, we also spotlight the drivers in our own community, the people and organizations shaping growth and innovation right here. Let's get into it. Join us right here in Rochester, New York. He's a third generation custom tailor. His grandfather, Adriano, emigrated from Italy with just $33 in his pocket and founded Adrian Jewels in 1964. He learned to make his first suit directly from his grandfather. He spent the last 15 years plus designing custom bespoke garments for clients across the country. He's the vice president of the Custom Tailors and Designers Association. Welcome to the Will MacWire, Peter Roberti. Thanks for joining us. Peter, all right. Thanks for joining us in person in studio, Peter. We appreciate you being here. Love the intro, thank you. Yeah, of course. I should have added you're looking sharp, like as expected, all right? They can see it on the podcast. Yeah, they can see it if they're watching the video. All right, Peter, so we're going to kick things off with a really brief icebreaker to help our listeners get to know you a little bit better. Yeah, that's good. Very easy, lighthearted. All right, so we're going to start things off with Rochester in the fall or Rochester in the summer. Fall. Fall. Any particular reason why? Well, think one, I think the fall is absolutely beautiful here in Rochester. And two, I'm a big layers guy. I love, love, love the clothing and the layers in the fall. just, I just, there's something about it for me. I just love. It's tough to do in the summer, layers. Yeah, it's a little tough. Yeah, I stopped asking about spring because everyone just said spring doesn't exist here. Urban deserts for two weeks. okay, so Rochester in the fall. Love it. Okay, next one. First fitting or final reveal? First fitting or final? First fitting. First fitting? Okay, why? First fitting, ⁓ I feel like I'm going to go into a story, I just feel like... First fittings, especially even for like weddings, like sometimes like it's usually both like maybe the groom maybe brings in someone important to him and when they see themselves for the first time in the mirror wearing that clothing, know, there's people, there's guys that, there's family guys that people have cried literally in the showroom. So first fittings for me, they do it for me. That's pretty cool. All right. And last one, this is not a this or that. This is a little different. but the most memorable client that you've customized for. The most memorable client? Yeah. Are we doing Peter or Adrian Fuels? I'll leave that up to you. ⁓ Well, I would say the most memorable client. ⁓ I think that we've done a lot of famous people, which is really cool. But I think actually the most memorable clients are the people that ⁓ that they, you know, they've never thought that getting a garment or custom garment from us was attainable and then they do it. And it means so much more than just a garment. So those are the most memorable. Those are the ones that stick out the most. cool. What an answer. People were expecting the famous people. Yeah. I was going to say for our listeners, who are some of the famous people? We've done a lot of guys. I mean, I have a lot of NDAs out there, so I can't all of them. I mean, we've done stuff like we've done like Shaquille O'Neal. We've done Robert De Niro. Like we've done a bunch of bunch of Buffalo Bills guys. We've done a lot of athletes. Yeah. Yeah. We've been very fortunate. Very fortunate. How is it doing huge athletes? Uh, it is, it is, he's actually, he's one of my father's clients, but I remember he's always told me his stories. Like, yeah, when I first had to meet, when I first had to measure him, I had to get on the bed to get his chest. You know, it was, but you know, some of these guys we've had, uh, yeah, we've got special tape measures that instead of the 60 inches, they go to, you know, eight, 90 inches. So yeah, it's a, it's a whole treat. It's very, very, very cool. But that's, that's wild. Very cool. All right. Easy enough, really brief icebreaker. We like to keep things lighthearted to get it going. But Peter, we're gonna dive into kind of that first section on your career journey to start. So I'd love it if you could tell us a little bit more about your career path. I know you grew up in a family of tailors, ⁓ but talk us through kind of how you got there and like why you like staying involved. Yeah, great question. ⁓ So I've actually, I've been doing this like, Like you alluded before, I've been doing this since I was 14. And how I got involved in the business is we do these shows around the country. So these trade shows where we do all the buying. All these custom tailors and mills from all over the world come in and we do a big trade show, a big conference. And I went to it one year with my grandfather and my dad and my whole family. And my grandfather was taking me around and he said, He bought me a black fabric and a red fabric, both of it. He said, this summer I'm gonna teach you how to make a soup. So, ⁓ in our factory in Ronacoit, in Rochester, in Ronacoit, ⁓ his alteration shop, his tailor shop was above the actual factory. So I spent the whole summer learning how to make a soup for myself. And it was the best summer ever. I got to spend it with my grandfather and I've been doing it ever since. So I've been doing it ever since, got involved and... I grew up in the factory sweeping the floor, started from the bottom and I've been doing it ever since. Very cool. And so can you like shed some light for our listeners, third generation? Yeah. So it started, like you said, with your grandfather. Like how did that come to be? So my grandfather was handpicked by Hickey Freeman. to help run the factory. So it goes back to the Hickey Freeman stuff back here. exactly. So he was from Milan, he, a small city outside of Milan, but he used to run the factory. But he was so young at the time, a lot of these, you can imagine, lot of these tailors were a lot older and they just kind of, you know, who's this guy, he's 22 years old running the factory. So he said, said, said, he said, screw it, I'm gonna run, I'm gonna open my shop up in the basement. And he opened the basement, or he opened a shop up, and basically from there he used to go to Detroit to service dealers where he would sell the clothing and slowly continued to grow the business. How long was he a Hickey Freeman for? Maybe, I think it was like three, four years or so. Not long at all. Yeah, so he started the company with his partner, Julia, who he got sick like... two months into the business and he couldn't afford to change the name. My grandfather couldn't afford to change the name and years later, here we are. Wow. So did he have connections to Hickey Freeman basically? If they were in the basement? mean, yes and no. He still worked at Hickey Freeman and slowly he just continued to build up his private label business, is that there was no retail store. It was only private label. So white label, private label. So he would literally make the garments, he would drive in the middle of the night to Detroit to deliver them to a clothing store. Oh my gosh. Yeah, and then he would drive all the way back. Yeah. That's how he did it. And then, so this clothes are still, slowly we bought a factory or a building and we put the factory there and we've been in the same spot. When did you go retail? So my dad, so at one of these trade shows, We were at the time, actually I wasn't around at the time, my dad's always told the story. He's like, we, there's a family, we were barely even, we were barely even putting food on the table. And at one of these shows, ⁓ one of our dealers came up to my grandfather and he said, Adriano, you made me a multimillionaire. So my dad's like, what's going on here? We're doing something wrong. So my dad's like, I don't know, I don't know dad, I don't know what I'm gonna do, but I'm gonna start the retail business. I don't know how to do it, but I'm gonna try, I'm gonna go for it. So he's just started, my dad started making phone calls and 40 years later, here we are. Yeah, so my dad started it. it was attached to the factory. So in the front of the factory, we- You just opened up a shop up there. Exactly. so now we've since expanded, but. When did you move it over to Monroe Ave? We moved it all. Ave, by the way, in Pittsburgh, New York, or Brighton. So we moved over there, well, that would have been, it was almost 20 years ago now because we've been at the new location. new location, three, going on four years. So, yeah, so. Wow. Yeah, it's been fun. It's been a lot of fun. That is cool. Yeah, it's fun. Okay, so you talked about some of the milestones, but that you've experienced at Adrian Joel's, but. We also mentioned before we started recording that your suits have been featured in Sports Illustrated, in Playboy, the Rob Report. Like, are there other milestones or like, I don't know, interesting facts that you could share about kind of where Adrian Jules has shown up? When you go in to get changed, I guess they're all over the walls. I'm a customer of Adrian Jules. Peter's great. But when you go in to get changed and try on your stuff, you should see all the newspaper and magazines clippings. you see a ton of athletes in all the pictures and stuff, which is pretty cool. Yeah, it's pretty cool. Yeah, it's pretty amazing. I think I always think about it, I'm like, these guys could go anywhere in the world, but they choose Rochester, New York. They choose us. You know what mean? Like, it's just crazy. ⁓ But yeah, we've been in different magazines, Times, you name it, we've been in it. ⁓ you know, we get to address, we get to be a part of a lot of special moments, draft, the NBA draft, like we've done all those, which is pretty cool. You know, I think stuff like that, you know, getting mentioned in books, it's pretty cool. It's pretty sweet. that, like, me as a marketing person, I like geek out about the branding behind that and like the history within that and how you've built it. It's just really, really cool. Yeah, and it's interesting because I, you know, we've, I think a lot of it comes down to like, really doing the right thing, right? It's not like if you just do the right thing and you treat people right, you know, it kind of organically happened. So we've never really we've done, you know, we've always been conscious of our brand, but a lot of it has been like, you know, really doing the right thing for people. ⁓ So we're talking about right now, like what the customers see. And when you go into the store, you know, you get to pick out your fabric and do that. You handle everything, though. And what I find unique is we've had conversations and stuff about the conferences that he was speaking at and the mills that are coming over from Europe and all over the place. Like that's a whole nother side of the business that the public doesn't really get to see, but it's pretty intense and pretty interesting. Could you kind of go into that a little bit about, know, I know you go down to Manhattan a lot and these mills are literally from Italy. UK, you name it. Absolutely, yes. I think you're spot on. I couldn't agree more. think that I always, whenever I speak at these conferences, I think it's 80-20, meaning 20 % of this business is the customer facing. The other 80 % is what the client doesn't see. It's going to see the mills. It's going to see the factories. We do trips to Italy where we go and visit. We go to Biella and we go and we... if we go visit all these mills, which is amazing. It is so much fun. We get to see all these mills, how the fabric's made, what's the differences between this type of fabric versus that type of fabric. I think it's very unique, it's very special ⁓ that we've always kind of operated on what was. what is the best out there. So we've always gone to these mills that nobody else goes to because we've always tried to research different things that are unique, exclusive, and special. ⁓ But I think that there's a lot of the pattern making is a lot of the things that people don't see. The behind the scenes, the tailors are really, mean those are the tailors that we have in Rochester, they're the heart of the business. I'm fortunate I get to see these see the clients face to face, but our tailors, those people that make up our factory, that's, we couldn't do it without them. Now you have some in the back of the retail store and then obviously a bunch in your factory, right? So you have them all over the place? So we've got almost 60 tailors. So three master tailors in Rochester. We've got one in Buffalo and then the rest of them are in Aaronicoy. Okay. Yeah. ⁓ And then are there differences, I hear you when you're showing me the fabric, from like, I know there's different cuts in a suit, looks different from a UK suit, an American style suit or Italian. Are there differences in the mills and the fabrics in these different countries? ⁓ yeah, absolutely. within, there's different collections that the mills put out. So, you know, the main mills are gonna be Northern England and in Italy, in Biella. in, so when we were talking about grades of fabric, so like vicuña, so the vicuña fabric is the rarest and the most luxurious fabric in the world. We're actually the largest distributor. What is it? Vicuña, it's an animal in the Andes mountains. they actually, yeah, so this fabric, sorry, just similar to like how you geek out about marking high walls. So actually, so we get it. So it's kind of like wine. So there's different vintages of the vicuña. So, you know, they, you know, so, we only get it like once every three years and they only, they don't hurt the animal. They only hold it for like three, three minutes, but they only take the fiber from the underneath the neck. Okay. So, and also depending on what the animal eats and the weather is going to determine how nice the fabric is. What? So different years are going to be better than others. So this fabric, so the vicuña is, you know, that fabric is, in my opinion, is the best fabric in the world. Yeah. So that could come out like Italy has, know, some of the mills in Italy put it out, which, you know, we love that stuff. So there's a whole science. Yeah, there's so and then there's different there's super 200s or super 240s 120s 130s and you know a lot of it is actually you know, the lot of it is the water which is gonna make how you know how the fabric feels so there was there was a mill not to go too far into this but there was a there was a fabric mill that tried to duplicate the same mill that they had in Italy and they tried to put it here in America the same exact mill Everything the same. But the fabric was not nearly as nice because of the water. You know, it's similar to like pizza. know like pizza? Yeah, down in Manhattan it's because of water. It's because of the water. Yeah, versus like in Florida or something like that. Nothing against Florida pizza. But the pizza in New York City is just so good. Oh my gosh, that's wild. Very cool. feel like I just wrote down Vicuña to look it up afterwards. do you get? when you talk about like famous people or athletes, is that pretty much referral based? It's not like you're out there marketing to them. Everything would be introductions. Everything would be an introduction. Yeah. A lot of them actually, a lot of the athletes that we work with are retired athletes. Those are the best ones. Yeah. because they're a little bit more low maintenance, they're going to the country clubs, they're just... Yeah. We like working with those guys. ⁓ I bet. That makes sense. definitely. Okay, before I move us into our next section, ⁓ what keeps you motivated to carry the legacy of Adrian Jules forward? question. It's deep. Everything, I think all the, everything that we do now is around, like all the decisions that we make are around legacy. And I think that you get to a point where the decisions that you got to be, that you make, they got to, they got to pull you towards something. You know, it shouldn't feel like you're pushing to do it. Like you should feel like you're, you're, drawn to it. Like you're called to do something. So I think that that's, That's the big motivation. That's kind of helped shaping where we're taking the company. And a lot of it's around like kind of giving back. And I think that when you make a big impact, the economics kind of follow. So if the why's big enough and the impact is big enough, like the economics and the people and everything in the business, they come to you. You know, and I think that that's kind of, I don't know if that answers your question, but that's kind of the motivation behind it. Go ahead, T. What's your take on, that's great answer by the way, on bringing it into kind of the 21st century and technology and AI, I know you will mention your social media stuff, but you guys are pretty up to speed on all that and putting stuff out there. Has that changed over the years? Is that something that you as kind of the younger generation has had to push? 100%. Yeah, I think that if you don't embrace technology, mean, we as tailors, we would be, you're finished. You have to. As much as we are in the tailoring business, we're in the marketing business too. We've got to be able to market ourselves. I think that you use tools like AI and the tools, the technology, just to enhance your skills. And so yes, we use it every single day and I think it's super important. And I think the ones that don't embrace it, I think are gonna be left behind. Yeah, all right, love it. Okay, so we're gonna talk a little bit about your philosophy. I've read it now in all our emails back and forth, because it's in your email signature. But it's when you look great, you feel great. Where did that come from? And like, what does that mean in practice? I remember distinctly we were, it was myself, my father, and John, who's been with us now for, excuse me, for like 30 years or something. It's like family. He's a guy's a rock star. But, so we were upstairs at our old showroom across the street, and we were just kind of coming up. were doing, actually we were doing a marketing video. And we were like, what are we gonna say at the end? And then we kind of all came up with it. And it kind of just stuck. But I think that clothing is a feeling. And that's kind of the whole philosophy behind it is how clothing makes you feel when you're wearing it. And how does it transform your identity? So when you look great, you feel great. Yeah, I like it. You talk about marketing phrases and that sort of stuff, and that one's like, yeah, makes it look bright. I love that. When did you guys come up with it? Like how long have you been using it? We've been using it now probably around eight years. Okay. I feel like you hear it out on podcasts and out in the world a lot too. And I echo it when you put on a suit or something that you know you look good and you just feel better. Oh yeah. You're almost putting on like a superhero outfit to go out into the work day or out to an event or whatever you're doing. just feel better about yourself. Right. Yeah. And I think too it's a bit of like you're saying, a bit of a mindset. Like if I'm walking into a room and I'm like, all right, I'm gonna dress the best I can, because I wanna be at the top of this food chain, like it kind of translates. So, 100%. Sometimes work days, we're pretty casual at Will Mac. I'm probably one of the only ones who wears a suit fairly often. But I can see it shifting myself when I just throw on my vest and a packies. and I'm buttoned down like, ⁓ it's just an easy going day. Am I as sharp as I should be? Am I pressing as much as I should be? So you can definitely notice a difference when you're dressed nicely. 100%. Yeah. You mentioned like hybrid workplace culture too. So, and what we've seen too is especially the younger generation comes in and treats it a little bit more casually. We had that sin during COVID where a lot of people were home and had pajamas on the bottom and a blouse on the top or something like that? Like, have you seen that change since COVID or as hybrid work has come more to the forefront? I just want to make sure I understand the question. Have you guys seen it kind of going back to people? Yeah. And like, you, did you see an impact in your business during that time? Well, we did. And I think that it's interesting. It's actually, I think it depends on how you look at it. So like a lot of our people in our industry, they're like, what are we going to do? People aren't going to be, you know, people aren't working from home, blah, blah, blah, blah. Where we kind of, we kind of looked at a different look, a different outlook. we said, actually we moved to a bigger space from across the street to our new space now in COVID. We have family members that thought we were out of our mind. They're like, what are you guys doing expanding? No one's even dressing up. But, but for us, a lot of people are coming up to us and they're saying, how do I... and own the room in this new era of dressing. I don't even know what to wear. Before it was easy. You could just wear, whether it be a whatever, black suit, gray suit, navy suit, this is easy. Now it's like, okay, I gotta wear slacks, sport coat, I gotta wear jeans and a sport coat. How do I still own the room and look like I own the place? and stand out and networking or whatever it might be. So that's where guys have been coming to us. ⁓ So it's actually for us, it's actually helped our business. Yeah, you have a big casual section now. Or not suits, but nice casual. You made a point that I should have hit on another great part about wearing a suit. So you're not thinking that much in the morning. It's a lot more simple. All right, I'm putting on this suit. I can throw on a white or blue shirt. Am I wearing a tie? Boom, boom, you're out. getting dressed up casually, you got a lot more stuff to worry about and to decide on. Yeah. Well, and it's interesting, we are actually this year, more than ever, we are doing more suits than we've done in the past. Okay. I mean, which is interesting to me, but yeah, I think it's a balance. Everyone kind of goes in, you know, it goes in a cycle. Yeah. So I graduated college in 2006. My first job was up in Boston at Xerox as a sales rep. It was mandatory. You were in a suit every day. We were all in suits. The girls were all in dresses or least women's suits. And I would bet that that is not the case at that company anymore. And it's very rare in our technology industry ⁓ that you see people suited up. I think you do go down to Manhattan, you will see at least 50 % of the people dressed in suits still. But that's banking and those types of companies. I think it's interesting though because In my opinion, I think that there's a, it depends on the line of work that you're in. But I also think that it's a, like what we were talking about before, like it's a feeling. Like people just, know, if they, and it's a personality, it's part of your brand. Like I think that depending on how you wanna dress, I think that it could open up doors. It opens up doors for you to get in, get into. And I think that it's, I don't know, we've been very fortunate. Yeah, very cool. I want to backtrack a little bit just because I'm curious. So we talked about some of the athletes that you've worked with, and then we've referred to the business side. Do you guys see a certain demographic that you work with more than others, or do you pursue more athletes or more business? How do you approach that? We work with business owners. I think it makes up like 82 % of our business. Athletes, we work with athletes only if it's on an introduction basis. we proceed with caution. But I think business owners, get it. Time is valuable. They want to come in. They want to know that it's going to fit the right way. They respect that what we're doing. I think that that's... That's really who we work with. I think also, at least for me, I love that it's local. Like a lot of times when you'd get a suit made, custom made, you're shipping it back and forth. If it's not fitting right, it just takes, and all of sudden it's been six months and you still don't have it. Having it local, you can just pop in whenever you want, see how it's going or get it fixed quick. There's something to that, I think, for the Rochester community big time. Yeah, I appreciate that. We've really built out that when we moved across the street, we wanted it to be an experience in our showroom. We've got the bar in there, we've got the lounge area, people like to, they can't wait to hang out in there. So it's more than just clothing now. I appreciate that, Steve. We talked about that with Lauren Dixon from Dixon Schwabel about experience and how the brand goes across the experience. 100%. So I love that you kind of brought that to the store and then like Steve kind of said too, like there's a relationship building aspect to Absolutely. Okay, very cool. We'll move now into more of the community conversation. So we kind of alluded to it before, you, Adrian Jules has several like community initiatives going on. And I know like you're launching a program to give away suits to local college graduates that are preparing to enter the workforce. So can you tell us a little bit more about that program? Yeah, so we've got what I'm most passionate about, the Dress for Your Destiny campaign. I just, I was actually, I was telling Steve about it. were above our factory. We've got all these garments there that have been there for like years. you know, we didn't, was no plan. They've just been there. And I, I just, I don't know, I came up with this idea. called my dad, I said, I know what we're gonna do with all these garments. Cause every single year we're like, we gotta do something with these garments. What are we doing with them? So I said, I wanna give them away to, I wanna find different organizations, different charity organizations to give them to. And I wanna find different colleges to give them away to. We're alter them and we're gonna show that dressing for interviews makes an impact. You know, so, and I... I had an experience, mean, I had a client buy a garment for his, you one of the things that kind of triggered it, a client of mine bought a garment, an interview outfit for his son. went on multiple interviews and he's brilliant, brilliant kid. But it wasn't until what was, you know, because as soon as you walk into the room, there people that are making so many different judgments around you. then the first interview that he had, got the job. But I think that, so then from there, we kind of came up with this program, we're to do 100 garments for people. Yeah, it's going be cool. well, we're actually, we're doing one of them with ABVI, is a school, it's not a school, but it's an organization for the blind, are visually impaired adults, which I think is going to be awesome. Like that, like that for me, that just, you know, that just feels good. Right. You think too about like, I don't know, I think, when I interview someone, if they're not coming like dressed for a job level above what they're applying for, like you said, you make those assumptions very quickly. Well, and it's tough because now everything that you see online, some of these, like they see this lifestyle of people that, you know, they're dressed a certain way, they're in a hoodie and it's just not the case in the real world. you have to at get in the door. And that's where we hope to make the impact. Yeah, I mean, some people might say it's not fair or whatever, but that's the reality of life. And at least at this point in the United States, you're judging someone how their appearance is. And quite frankly, all that is saying is, okay, they know how to take care of themselves. They know how to dress properly, get out the door properly. And that's like the bare minimum. of having a job. So if they can't get that right, what does that mean about what else they're gonna bring to the table? Right, exactly. Couldn't agree more. So we talked about the Dress for Your Destiny campaign. I know Will Mac has a relationship with Golisano Institute and you work with them very often too to provide suits for their graduates instead of wearing like a traditional cap and gown. So can you share more about that? Yeah, before he shared. So yesterday or today, we were talking about this and I was telling, Emily about the Golisano, because you told me about the Golisano stuff. She's like, yeah, I know. Golisano's been talking about it for a while now. So it's pretty cool that it's out there. they, I'll let you explain. Yeah, so it's pretty amazing. they, I'll give you the quick one-on-one version of it, but you know, I love the idea of being able to, instead of a cap and gown, they're doing a blazer, a sport coat for all the graduates. And they, no shortcuts. They handpicked the fabric, galisano blue, you know, everyone gets a special personal label. know, they had special buttonhole colors, buttons, the whole thing. Like, I was there this past week and just the students are, they're just so excited about being a part of this. It's amazing. Like, just, you could tell. that it means so much more. And again, like you were saying before, the experience, it's about the experience. They get it at Golisano. And I mean, there's a lot of great universities, but just being there, just everyone just, there's this aura and feeling around the Institute that just, it's just amazing to be a part of it. How did that come about? One of my clients, I think it was a combination. To be honest, I don't know the whole story. We were trying to figure it out actually at the first graduation with the group that we were working with. like, how did this happen? But I think it's a combination. knew a group of the people that were at the university. Tom's been a really good client of my father's, Asia and Jewels. it's just the whole, everything kind of aligned. Now they're opening up Buffalo. We're gonna be a part of that. It's pretty cool. Just to be a part of their journey, the students' journey, and just to see where they take it, it's amazing. And these guys, these students are rock stars. They're awesome. Yeah, we're big advocates and partners of the program. And we couldn't be happier for them in the fact that they're moving to Buffalo. It's kind of timing perfect as you guys are moving into Buffalo as well. So, it's awesome. Yeah, mean, too, when I... think about it in the caps and gowns that I have hanging in the back of my closet versus getting like a suit jacket. I'm like, that's a no-brainer. What I'd rather have, I mean, come on. They'll actually utilize it. Exactly. That'd be what I'm wearing on my first day of work after I graduate, you know? So that's pretty cool. Yeah, it's pretty neat. Yeah, we were there and there was a couple of graduates that were there. They had the jackets on and yeah. Yeah. And you know they're wearing them, know they're wearing them at their jobs that they're doing, whether it be at an interview, it's awesome. That's very cool. Okay, so stepping away from kind of the giving back to the community and taking a look at the greater Rochester community. So Adrian Jewell has been based in Rochester, a part of Rochester now for over 60 years. How have you and your dad and your grandfather like seen the ecosystem, the Rochester business community kind of change and evolve over the years. We've always worked with a lot of small businesses, business owners. And it's interesting. think that we've always had, our business has always been built on relationships. Like that's what it's been built on. And I think that Rochester, the community, the sense of community that people have and the loyalty, and like you said, like, there's something about it being made right here locally. Like that's real. I think that is real here in Rochester. I think that people want to support local and even myself, like when I'm going shopping or buying something, like I want to go to these local businesses. want to go to support local. And I think that that support I think has helped us throughout some of these times where it's just been, you know, super tough and I think that, especially like even during COVID, that was tough. But we had strong relationships and people supported us still and we gave back when we could and we're still here. The typical business owner, business customer, so you spoke about Tom Gulsano, obviously that guy probably has worn a suit for a long time and continues to wear a suit. Do you see a change in people, like current customers that are maybe getting into retirement or close to retirement age, shifting into going for more casual, they maybe have wedding events and stuff, or do you still get the guy, like someone like myself, who goes in pretty much strictly for suits and some sports jackets here and there? It's a combination. think that people are, they're getting, the way that they're buying now is a little bit different. And I think that they're buying nicer stuff than quantity. You know, they said, you know what, I'm not gonna, you know, I'm just talking, I'm saying, a lot of guys are just like, I'm not gonna wear, I don't mind wearing a suit every single day, but when I do have one on, I wanna look and feel really good. And I know when I have that on, it might be a conference, it might be a speaking engagement, it might be a wedding. There's gonna be a ton of photos, I gotta make an impact. So I don't need 100 of them, but I want a handful of really, really good ones. So that's the way people are shopping now. And then on the casual stuff, mean, that's the jeans and stuff that people are, it's out of control. Well, I think back to, and you probably weren't around for it, but your dad, like the Kodak and Xerox and Bausch and Lamm, those guys were wearing suits daily. I know. So they might not have been going and getting unbelievable suits, but they needed quantity. And it's just different today. You don't have that. And everyone wants something that's different, something that's exclusive. Show me the book that nobody else is looking at. They want different things, so yeah. One of the questions that sometimes I get if I'm in a suit conversation is what are the big advantages of going and getting a custom suit, first going to a department store and getting a high end I don't want to call him designer, but like a Tom Ford or someone, a known suit, and then just getting it altered. Other than obviously experience is way better. Yeah, sure. Yeah. And I think a lot of it comes down to relationship and trust. And there is a relationship that you build, that you build together and a trust that, you know, based on your lifestyle, we understand your lifestyle, how you're going to wear the clothes, what you're going to wear it for. So that way you're in the proper garment, you're in the proper fabric versus just walking into a store and saying, wow, I really like that. But does it actually work into your lifestyle? And does it really fit you or is he just saying that? I would say that is the main thing. That's gonna really kind of separate the two. yeah. Awesome. All right. So before we close, Peter, I have to commend Like I said, the branding element that the Adrian Jules brings to Rochester. Like I'm just thinking of one example of when I saw you guys, but Rochester Business Classic golf tournament. Like you guys had a tent out on the green. That's the first and last time I've golfed. But, like, being that consistent presence around Rochester is appreciated. We gotta give Rocco a shout out for that. He's been a legend on the golf course circuit. in the time. But you show up. You show up in the places and you represent a great part of our community. So thanks for coming in. As I start to wrap this up, Steve, is there anything else you wanted to ask Peter? No. Similar to Emily, I... To advocate, obviously, I'm a customer, love the suits, Peter does a great job. ⁓ It's a great experience to what you guys are speaking to. It's easygoing, smooth, and it's right in town. So, it's just very easy, which is great, and the suits look phenomenal. Yeah, no, I'm grateful for being a part of this, so thank you guys so much. Thank you. was a total fun. Of course, yeah. So, okay, as we start to wrap up, Peter. But besides all the awesome stuff that you guys are doing that we talked about today, are there any other initiatives or programs that Adrian Jules, did you like our listeners to hear about? Well, we just opened up, I think I touched on it a little bit, but we just opened up Buffalo ⁓ last year. that's been a lot of fun. I feel like we're a six-year-old business and a startup. We're going in a million different directions. We're going to different events and having different events. That has been so much fun seeing, you you get to a point where you're like, want other people to be successful, pull other people up. And the people, the team that we have out there, like seeing them succeed, like that really fills me up. Where in Buffalo can we find Adrian Jewels? We're in Williamsville, right on Main Street. Perfect. Okay, very nice. Right by where I went to high school. Where Jim was. Yeah, it is right by here. ⁓ All right, wonderful. Thanks for sharing, Peter. For our listeners, if you'd like to connect with Peter or follow along with what Adrienne Jules is doing, you can find Peter on LinkedIn under Peter Roberty, and you can find Adrienne Jules on Instagram and Facebook at AJ Custom Suits. And last but certainly not least, head over to the Adrienne Jules website, www.adriennejulescustomclothing.com. Peter, thanks for joining us today on the WillMac Wire. What a wonderful, wonderful chat. Thank you guys. Thank you so much. you. Thank you for listening to the WillMac Wire. If you liked today's conversation, make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts or watch full episodes on our YouTube channel. You can also learn more about WillMac technologies and our work in customer interaction technology at willmactech.com. We'll be back soon with more conversations with the drivers. those shaping our industry and those building right here in Western New York. See you next time.