L ifestyle /C ulture
Philly Fashion: Shani Weiss Creates Schlep and Schmoe
P H I LLY FASHION
SASHA ROGELBERG | JE STAFF
LIKE MANY millennials,
Generation Z “zoomers” and
20-somethings in between,
Shani Weiss turned to TikTok
when the coronavirus sent
everyone into their home.

By viewing one-minute videos
on the social media app, supple-
mented by watching YouTube
videos, Weiss, 29, learned
to operate an online apparel
business, all while working as a
senior associate at an investment
company in Philadelphia.

With this self-taught knowl-
edge, Weiss created Schlep and
Schmoe, a clothing brand blending
Judaism with popular culture.

Selling T-shirts and hoodies
with catchy TikTok-inspired
phrases and pop culture
references, such as “I’m a
Stan For Bubbie’s Brisket”
and “Jew-wish,” Schlep and
Schmoe has gained traction
among young Jews.

But Weiss’ side-hustle
clothing company wasn’t
created just for the fun of it.

In May, after the most recent
wave of violence in the Israel-
Hamas conflict, Weiss sat
down at her computer, ready
to work her day job, but felt a
22 JULY 22, 2021
disconnect. Weiss didn’t work
with many Jews and felt her
job was not a place to discuss
politics. But when she looked
at her phone during breaks,
Israel was the only topic people
seemed to be posting about.

“I felt like I was really living
in two opposite worlds,” Weiss
said. She wanted to take action
and was no stranger to
advocating for Israel — she
had formed the Israel activism
group Dragons for Israel at
Drexel University, where she
studied finance and manage-
ment information systems,
before graduating a semester
early in December 2013.

Feeling that posting on
social media was “fleeting” and
“divisive,” Weiss pivoted.

“I was thinking, ‘What is
something I could do that is not
necessarily just a reactionary
action to what’s going on right
now?’” Weiss said. “Well, one
way that you could go about
it is really instilling a great
sense of Jewish pride in the
next generation.”
Along with the wealth of
knowledge she accumulated
from TikTok, as well as from
her six-month stint with a
startup company in Israel after
college, Weiss built the Schlep
and Schmoe website and hired
an outside printing company
to print shirts to order, so
Weiss didn’t need to worry
about keeping inventory.

She reached out to Jewish
TikTok users to share infor-
mation about the business, and
Schlep and Schmoe garnered
attention after the Times of
Israel published a piece on
the brand last month. The
company gained more than
550 followers on Instagram
“without spending a single
dime on marketing.”
Sales have been good, Weiss
said, though sales aren’t every-
thing to her.

“This isn’t something that
I’m doing to make money,”
Weiss said. “This is a way for
me to give back to the Jewish
community.” Having grown up part of the
Modern Orthodox community
in Cherry Hill, New Jersey,
Weiss said she’s always had
a deep connection with her
Judaism, but hasn’t always had
the easiest time finding a space
to express her Jewish pride.

At Drexel, which has a
relatively small Jewish commu-
nity — Jewish Federation
estimates that 5% of the school’s
approximately 23,600 students,
or about 1,200, are Jewish —
Weiss became involved in Hillel
and Chabad on campus.

“All of those different
experiences just allowed me to
gain a deeper appreciation for
Judaism, build a really great
community and have a really
positive relationship with
Judaism and Israel,” Weiss
said. “If I could give that back
to just one other young Jew
or Gen Z Jew, that would be a
success to me.”
Beyond just helping others
wear their Jewish pride on their
sleeves, or more specifically, on
the front of their shirts, Weiss
hopes to help support Jewish
organizations monetarily,
locally and beyond.

To that end, Schlep and
Schmoe is partnering with
JEWISH EXPONENT
Shani Weiss, 29, created Schlep and Schmoe to instill a sense of Jewish
pride in young Jews.

One of more than 50 available shirt designs on schlepandschmoe.com
Courtesy of Shani Weiss
two organizations: It is
donating 10% of sales to
the Amit Emergency Relief
Fund through Amit NewGen
Philadelphia, “a group of
up-and-coming leaders in the
world of Jewish philanthropy,”
and for an event for Just Cause
Events, a New York-based
organization combining
entertainment for young
professionals with fundraising.

Schlep and Schmoe is donating
two articles of clothing to
raffle off at the event, with the
proceeds going to One Israel
Fund. Weiss hopes Schlep and
Schmoe will grow its offerings
to towels and bags and also
expand its reach in the commu-
nity. Until then, she’s just
excited seeing people wearing
Schlep and Schmoe shirts.

“It’s just been a ton of fun,
honestly, to see it out there and
to see people reacting positively
to it,” Weiss said. “And then to
see people actually wearing the
shirts — it brings me so much
joy.” l
srogelberg@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0741
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM