.png)
Meet Jen Coleman (left): Co-Owner of Target Does It Again (the most-followed blog for discovering all things cool at Target and Ascot and Hart, personal lifestyle clothing shop with partner, California-based Laura Wiertzema (right). The duo has been proudly featured by Business Insider, CNBC, and DFWChild.
What is the story behind you and your business partner?
Laura and I met online—everyone thinks we are sisters! We crossed paths in the blogging world and when Instagram started, we would comment on each other’s stuff all the time. We just had so much in common! We exchanged phone numbers (this was before DMs on IG), started texting and chatting, and the rest is history! Now we run three businesses together and talk everyday! I feel so lucky that we met and have such an awesome friendship. We just get one another and have each other’s back no matter what. It’s pretty amazing!
Where did the idea for “Target Does It Again” come about? When + how did Target actually get involved?
Laura and I would text each other our Target finds regularly and say: “Target does it again! Look what I found!” We started posting outfits on our personal Instagram pages back in 2012. People couldn’t believe we were wearing Target clothes and how great we could style them. We decided to make a separate page devoted to our Target finds (@TargetDoesItAgain). The night we launched it, we got 10,000 followers and knew we were onto something! Target took notice four weeks in. The next thing you know, they’re flying us to NYC and we are hanging out with Nate Berkus and Rebecca Minkoff at a Target event. We didn’t monetize for a while (this was all before affiliate programs and sponsored posts). Our husbands thought, what are you guys doing?! We just knew it would turn into something! Soon the sponsored posts started rolling in and we have made some great partnerships with some amazing brands. It’s really cool to help smaller brands get noticed in such a big store. We work with Target occasionally, but the majority of our work is directly with the brands that are sold in Target.
When did you and Laura start your brand, Ascot and Hart?
We launched Ascot and Hart after seeing how many brands would reach out for us to plug their products. We thought we should sell our own merchandise instead of everyone else’s and also just wanted a space to share the stuff we loved! We were always going to flea markets and estate sales. When Target flew us to our first event in NYC, we went to a flea market and bought all this awesome vintage jewelry with the little money we had. We listed it online to see what the reaction would be and sold out in 10 minutes! We knew that, once again, we were onto something!
What did you do before starting your businesses?
Before Target Does It Again, I was a...
Coleman’s favorite places to frequent in Dallas are Revel Workshop—a hair salon in the design district with the most adorable pup—and the skatepark with her son, Cove.
FOLLOW ARTIST //