After a successful incubator run at The Market Arcade, Trend Up owner Giovanni “Gio” Centurione says that his move to Allentown has been the best move that he ever made. Gio shares a space with Siobhan Taylor, owner of Ms Eye Candy, who formerly owned a boutique in the Elmwood Village. Combined, the two run a sort of micro-cooperative, where they not only share a similar customer base, they also share some operational duties, including hosting pop-ups such as yoga, jewelry, homemade purses, podcasts, sip and shop, fashion shows, photo shoots, book signings, open mic/cypher, DJ parties, and designer meet and greets.
The pop-ups help to supplement the business, while attracting new customers into the two-shop space. Tomorrow (Saturday, December 15), Trend Up and Ms Eye Candy are hosting Whimsy Confections from 2pm to 5pm. Then, from 7pm to 9pm the space will be taken over by Emci Kyng, who is part of the local KRUMP (Kingdom Radically Uplifted Mighty Praise) dance community. Gio says that the super interactive event (Fall Down at Trend Up) will include spoken word, dancing, and hip-hop.
Since moving into the new Allentown space this past May, Gio has been concentrating on building up his merchandise. These days, his hottest lines are EPTM, Reason, Crysp, and Cooper9. He says that his best selling merchandise includes sunglasses, book bags, funky t-shirts, joggers (fashionable ‘sportywear’ track suits), and jewelry.
One of the new products that Gio is very excited about is the 4th & Avery watch line created by two brothers, James and Jalen Law, who hail from Buffalo. “They are brand new,” says Gio. “Jalen is a painter in Buffalo – his brand is Buffalo’s Own. Both Jalen and James are designers – Jalen is based out of Buffalo. The watches are mainly sold online… Trend Up is the only store to carry them in Buffalo. The watches are reasonably priced at $65.”
Moving forward, Gio and Siobhan plan to revamp the store, keeping it as fresh as possible, while continuing to expand product lines. The coming together of Trend Up and Ms. Eye Candy is a sensational success story that we should all be proud of.
Trend Up | 85 Allen Street | Buffalo, New York 14202 | (347) 962-6162 | Facebook |
Ms Eye Candy | 85 Allen Street | Buffalo, New York 14202 | (716) 240-9961 | Facebook
