Four years ago, Matashia Dykes was working at S&D Underground and managing the Jimmy Jazz clothing store in Eastland Mall, while also holding down another job at the Chili’s restaurant in the parking lot. Fast forward to now, and the budding entrepreneur and hustler is set to open her own store in the plaza across the street at 18057 East Eight Mile called iBODY.
The grand opening for iBODY is Thursday, April 11 with the ribbon cutting beginning at 5:30 p.m. Dykes said she plans to have hourly sales, celebrity appearances, music and refreshments, photo booths giveaways, and more. The evening will be hosted by Jerrika Karlae.
“Whenever I would go shopping to buy clothes and try them on, people would say, ‘you bodied that. You look good,’” Dykes said on the inspiration for the name of her new store. “So I decided to name the store iBODY.”
The new iBODY store will sell women’s basic clothing, including crop tops, body suits, leggings, swimsuits, and more. Nothing in the store will cost over $60 and they will also sell shoes in the coming weeks.
“I feel my store is more than a boutique,” said Dykes, who does not want her new venture to be compared to similar stores in the city. “I wanted to go with a mixture of American apparel and clothing you’d find at a boutique. The vibe here and the items will be different from what other stores have. If you travel a lot and need to find something quick,iBODY is for you.”
Dykes said she became serious about opening iBODYin October, but the dream of becoming a business owner was years in the making. An ex-boyfriend of hers mother owned a store and took Dykes under her wing, exposing her to the world of entrepreneurship. What was once four years in the making, is now one day away from coming to fruition.
“This wasn’t something that I woke up to in the last two months saying I wanted to do,” said Dykes. “This has been something I’ve always thought about. I had a goal, I worked to save money, and I did it.”
“This wasn’t an overnight thing for me. I just placed it in my head that I didn’t want to make someone else rich anymore. I wanted to make myself rich. My goal was to be the boss. If it’s really want you want to do, it can be done.”
iBODY was also designed by Dykes. She went to college for visual merchandising and marketing, and was on Jimmy Jazz’s visual team, going around to stores to assist with marketing and attract customers. She used her experience and skills working an everyday job and transferred them into her own dream establishment.
“It’s blessing to be opening my own store and to have my touch on everything,” said Dykes, who was dressing mannequins in time for Thursday’s grand opening. “I knew exactly how I wanted it to look and literally designed everything. It really hasn’t hit me yet that I have my own store, but maybe when we officially open. Right now, I’m just humbled and blessed.”
Dykes, 27, is also a music artist, releasing her latest project titled Bag Secured in 2018.
iBODY will be open Monday-Thursday from 11-8 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10-9:30 p.m., and Sunday from 12-6:30 p.m.
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