Refresh Clothing

What’s more “refreshing” than hearing about someone persevering in maintaining a local business amid the tumultuous ups and downs of entrepreneurship? For Corey Bishop, Refresh Clothing 2 was more than a short-term gig. Earlier this month, on October 3rd, the clothing store celebrated its 10th anniversary. For Bishop, it was an especially monumental day, because it also marked 25 years of entrepreneurship for him.

You might think that because he’s been an entrepreneur for so long, owning and operating his own business was always Bishop’s intention. However, it wasn’t until he overcame personal challenges in his life more than twenty years ago that he began to shift his focus toward business. He learned under the leadership and tutelage of mentors like Eric Walker what it meant to take ownership, and it instilled in him a drive to do the same with others. “I had to change my mindset to see myself as an entrepreneur and economic developer. Now, I’m set on training the next generation of entrepreneurs,” said Bishop. Bishop’s experiences have further inspired him to invest in developing younger entrepreneurs, whether they’re under him or in the Birmingham community. He has even undergone trainings and gone to events to learn how to lead well with REV Birmingham, Central Alabama Redevelopment Alliance, a business advisory services program called TeamUp, and more.

After working at the formerly family-owned Music-n-More for over a decade, Bishop transitioned to fashion, developing the trendsetting clothing store Refresh Clothing 2 located in Five Points West in 2014. His heartbeat and vision for the store is that it would lead the way in changing his community for the better. Just like entrepreneurship was refreshing for him after a hard season, and how his customers “refresh” the ready-made and interchangeable clothing collections in his store, so, too, does Bishop hope to refresh Five Points West. “We have businesses and people coming back and businesses and people staying. It’s finally feeling stable here. We deserve that. I’m hopeful for the future,” Bishop explained. To further propel his ambitions for his neighborhood, Bishop has also invested in other business ventures like Twice as Nice Water Ice, Italian ice with a twist, as well as supported other local businesses. Although he’s been an entrepreneur for over a quarter of a century now, it’s clear he’s not planning to get out any time soon. Corey Bishop and Refresh Clothing 2 are in it for the long haul.