We had the good fortune of connecting with Suran Yoo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Suran, Let’s talk about principles and values – what matters to you most?
One of the most important pillars for my business since its inception has been transparency. The wig industry is notorious for being secretive and therefore, it’s been at best misunderstood and perhaps at worst, exploitative.

Silk or Lace has built a marketplace, the first of its kind, so that customers for the first time could compare prices from boutique brands, easily filter across pieces they’re looking for, and become educated on different types of wigs and hair pieces.

Everything we do is to increase transparency because it’s what builds consumer trust and breaks down barriers to try buying a wig online for the first time. We talk about issues behind wearing wigs such as hair loss, such as racial biases, and such as gender roles. Being open about these experiences helps bring our marketplace to life and really define the “why” behind our business.

What should our readers know about your business?
Silk or Lace is the first boutique, woman-owned marketplace for wigs and hair pieces. We launched in the beginning of the covid pandemic in April 2019, which presented challenges of its own, but also inspired us to think differently about bringing an online experience to life.

Almost a year later, we have over 10 brand partners on our life with over 200 SKUs in a very niche category. We have almost 19K followers on our Instagram that trust our curation and reviews of the products on our site. We’ve built custom features that make it super easy for our customers to shop for blonde wigs, curly hair toppers, wigs for alopecia, or other rare categories that was previously hard to find online.

We had various and continuous supply chain issues with our inventory, which helped us think creatively about what our customers need. We launched Resell: Silk or Lace in Fall 2019 in order to boost our inventory and connected with our customers in a new way by helping them sell their lightly worn pieces sitting in their closet. Our customers then became our sellers and we were able to build a unique sales funnel and customer life cycle. We won a new audience with these discounted wigs and hair pieces and helped high quality pieces become more affordable.

One constant lesson I’ve learned along the way is to always listen to my customers and put their needs first. They know what they want best if you’re willing to truly sit back and listen to them. We’ve built a listening process into every aspect of our company and will continue to leverage it as our guiding light as we grow!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If I had a week to spend in Dallas, I’d do the following things:

Eat: Dallas has some of the BEST Korean food in the US and you have to check it out whenever you’re here! Old school establishments like Korea House for traditional food or newer ones like Ddong Ggo TX for bar food or Sul and Bean for dessert are must trys. They all have great takeout options as well if you’re social distancing!

Drink: If you’re looking for a cozy, yet special experience, head downtown to Bourbon and Banter, a speakeasy bar. If you’re looking for something that’s more casual and eclectic, I recommend The Wild Detectives in Oak Cliff!

Hang out at the Dog Park: We have a rescue pup named Ford that we absolutely adore. We love taking him to Barney Wood Bark Park, which is hands down the best dog park in the DFW area!! It has a separate area for small and large dogs and is always super clean which is a plus for Ford to avoid his least favorite activity – baths.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
A book that really defined my outlook on life is Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth. It changed my attitude towards perseverance and working extremely hard as something not to fear or feel burdened by, but rather to enjoy and look forward to.

Grit gives me the edge that I need to think differently about failure and break past barriers that both I put on myself and society may put on me. As a minority woman entrepreneur, I find challenges exciting and am constantly inspired by gritty people.

Website: silkorlace.com

Instagram: @silkorlace

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suranyoo/

Facebook: facebook.com/silkorlace

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcQggB5UiFDPVVNDMqq6h9w

Other: Tiktok: @silkorlace

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