Jabali Walli, a clothing brand designed by Sarah Gurevitch ’19 specifically for Choate students, no longer has a table in the Choate Store. However, the organization is still expanding. Now, it’s selling hats.
The process for the partnership between Jabali Walli and the Choate Store was a collaboration between Gurevitch and Mr. Dan Cronin, the District Manager for the School Store. “The first thing I needed to do was sell some shirts and earn a following,” Gurevitch said. After making a profit and earning a name for the company on campus, Gurevitch and Mr. Jim Yanelli, Director of the Student Activities Center, spoke to Mr. Cronin.
From left to right, Haley Williams ’18, Joey Hong ’19, and Jeanne Malle ’19 model Jabali Walli hats.
“It’s one thing for someone to say something, but you need to follow up. I had to send some emails during the summer and make an advertisement sign, and then I finally got my own table in the school store,” Gurevitch said. Mr. Cronin approved of Jabali Walli being sold in the school store for the fall term.
However, at the end of the term, Gurevitch had to take Jabali Walli out of the Choate Store. She had only negotiated for the shirts to be there for a term, and Higher Learning Supply Co., the company that manages the school store, decided to remove Jabali Walli from the store..
No longer being sold in the store, students and faculty must contact Gurevitch in order to buy a shirt or hat. The hats, a new product as of December, come in popcorn yellow, light blue, and navy blue. “Jabali Walli has a presence on campus, but it’s just known for t-shirts,” Gurevitch said. She continued, “I want it to be a clothing brand, so I needed to expand on that.” Gurevitch also hopes to make a special Brea
st Cancer Awareness shirt next fall (October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month).
Though the company has only been around for seven months, it is reaching its goal of generating a profit. Gurevitch said, “Now I am at the point where I need to use that money to reinvest in the company.” Mr. Jim Yanelli originally loaned Jabali Walli $2,797 to help start the company. With the loan paid back, Jabali Walli has generated more than $1,600, some of which Gurevitch used to make Jabali Walli hats and restock the shirts. The remaining money after making the hats will be deemed as profits and go to the School’s Financial Aid Program.
Thinking about the future of Jabali Walli, Gurevitch said, “I hope this is something that is grandfathered into the school. For example, when I come to my ten-year reunion, it would be such a goal to see that this is still continuing.” She added, “I plan to pass the company down upon graduating to someone who I know will take care of it, who will pass it down to someone else when the time comes, effectively making it a part of the Choate community.”
