Welcome back to a new Brands Feature for the week. If you fell behind in your reading, check out our previous post featuring Shirley from Fashionpowwow™. This week, we head up to the Garden State to meet up with Joe Cirincione of J.Ciro Designs. Recently, we had an opportunity to chat with Joe about his high quality accessory brand. Check out the full interview below!

Let’s discuss the history of your brand. When and why were you created?
I started making cuff links in December 2011. I initially began after shopping for wedding party gifts for my groomsmen, and not finding what I was hoping to purchase. After that, I made cuff links on the side for a few years and then officially created the company, J.Ciro Designs LLC, in January of 2014.

What is the objective of your brand?
The objective of J.Ciro is to provide consumers with an affordable, yet high quality, variety of fashionable accessories including watches and cuff links. Many of the cuff link designs stemmed from personal inspiration and the concept of “daring to be different” while others are more traditional and simply designed to be stylish and durable. Additionally, after the successful launch of our first watch collection in October 2016, our motto has become “Quality. Style. Class.” This first watch design, the Ambassador Collection, was created to be an elegant, yet affordable, option for both men and women to obtain a beautifully crafted dress watch. Overall, J.Ciro strives to merge the concepts of uniqueness with high quality fashion at an affordable price.

What does your brand offer to your consumers and customers?
J.Ciro offers a collection of timepieces, cuff links, and other accessories.

How are you able to distinguish your brand from others?
Quality, affordability, and unique designs. On top of the designs we already have, we also do custom cuff links. This concept includes anything from custom materials, photos, initials, to custom wedding gown cuff links (a huge hit!). We specialize in taking care of our customers and ensuring they get exactly what they want. Our wedding business also specializes in building the right package for bride and groom gifts, or something for the entire wedding party.

What are your long term goals for your brand?
I would love to walk through a major retailer one day and see J.Ciro watches and cuff links on the shelves. In addition, we want to continue to grow with our small business partners and expand to new clothiers and style shops across the U.S.

Where do you see your band in the next five years?
I see J.Ciro expanding its watch collection to include several new designs. The goal would be to have J.Ciro still have the service and care of a microbrand but to expand into larger markets and become more of a household name.

How did you like the watches? Which one is your favorite? Be sure to share your ideas in the comments section below!

Thanks for reading!

It’s time for another Brands Feature! While snooping through our Instagram account a few months ago, we happened to stumble across Fashionpowwow™, a brand that promotes unique statement pieces.

Today, we sat down with the creator of Fashionpowwow™, Shirley to talk about her brand in it’s entirety. Let’s take a look at her interview below!

Who are the creative geniuses behind your brand?
I, Shirley Jean-Baptiste, is the Founder and Creative Director of Fashionpowwow.

Let’s discuss the history of your brand. When and why were you created?
What started as a passion project for me became a “real business.” As a professional copywriter/marketing writer who writes for other people all day, it’s nice to have a project that’s all mine, without anyone’s input. This is my baby, and I have complete creative control. I started Fashionpowwow in August 2015, and it’s been in operation ever since. I’m still learning the ins and outs of this very competitive and saturated field.

What is the objective of your brand?
I want people to wake up in the morning and feel excited about wearing one of my creations. I know that when I’m completely enamored by a piece or an outfit, the excitement is like no other.

What does your brand offer to your consumers and customers?
We offer tees, sweatshirts, hats and accessories. I look forward to offering shoes, dresses and an array of other products in the future.

How are you able to distinguish your brand from others?
I believe that people are multifaceted. So, I aim to create apparel that speaks to their fun, spiritual, and confident sides. I try to stay away from trends because they are so fleeting. I create tees that customers can wear five summers from now, without them feeling like they’re out of style or season.

What are your long-term goals for your brand?
I want Fashionpowwow to be a household name. I wouldn’t mind seeing my favorite Pisces, Rhianna, in Fashionpowwow  apparel.

Where do you see your brand in the next five years? 
I see Fashionpowwow getting better with time and being a go-to destination for fashionistas all over the world.

Still interested? Be sure to head over to their website and make a few purchases here. Also, be sure to follow Shirley on Instagram @fashionpowwow.

Thanks for reading!

We are back once again to showcase a new brand for the week. Today, we had an opportunity to chat with the creator of a new brand, Keasha from Merch by KC. With a simplistic approach to fashion and personal style, Merch by KC has apparel for everyone.If you haven’t done so already, take a moment out of your busy day and read Keasha’s interview below to learn more about her brand.

First, what is the name of your brand?
The name is my brand is Merch By KC.

Who are the creative geniuses behind your brand (Staff members)?
Currently, I am the only creative behind the brand. As I expand I will be looking for brand ambassadors and other creatives to join the team.

Let’s discuss the history of your brand. When and why were you created?
I have always been very into fashion and styling, but I never knew how passionate I was about it until I grew older. I jumped into styling when I first moved to Atlanta. I had a great opportunity to work and be around brands such as CEO Millionaires, Strip Club Veteran, and Trapavelli. These brands all created by rapper 2 Chainz. Being around very influential people at street execs as well as an entrepreneur club I had joined inspired me to create my own brand. I felt it would be a great way to broadcast my creative side and expand my clientele with styling.

What is the objective of your brand?
The objective of my brand is to show people that women also matter in urban street wear. A lot of clothing brands have really dope menswear items, but very little for women. I feel at times, we get the short end of the stick when it comes to finding dope urban street wear, even in clothing stores. A lot of brands lack a women section or if they do have one have very little to offer for us. I wanted to see change so I decided to create it myself. I wanted my brand Merch by KC to be aimed at minimizing gender differences within fashion and urban streetwear. I decided to create a collection within the brand called “The Unisexx Collection”. This collection is what I considered gender neutral and is something I created so that it could be worn by both male and females. I have also created another collection within the brand called “Tom Boy” that will drop later this year as well.

What does your brand offer to your consumers and customers?
Merch by KC will offer stylish street wear, that includes clothing and accessories, for both men and women. I am currently working on adding more items to “The Unisexx Collection” within the next couple of weeks. I plan on making sure that my brand displays the different ways that both men and women can rock streetwear.

How are you able to distinguish your brand from others?
I think my brand will be different from others simply because I am making it unisex. A lot of collections only cater to one sex when creating clothing pieces. I plan on making sure I display how both men and women can get creative and add their own style to my clothing pieces.

What are your long-term goals for your brand?
My long-term goal with my brand is to shine light on the importance of focusing on both audiences when creating a clothing line and to minimize gender differences within fashion. I would like to see clothing creatives and other clothing lines providing more options for women and to also show that clothing should not always be gender driven. When I say driven, I mean saying that women can only wear pink and men can’t. I want to make sure with my brand that a guy wearing pink or a crop top CAN be worn by both sexes.

Where do you see your band in the next five years?
Within the next five years, I see my brand expanding to a store front. I plan on working hard to be sure I can open a store to display my brand as well as getting my brand onto other sites. I also want to get my collections into urban clothing boutiques around the world.

Congrats Keasha for turning one of your passions into fashion. If you are into “The Unisexx Collection,” head over to Merch by KC’s official website here. Be sure to follow Keasha’s journey on Instagram as well.

Thanks for reading!

We apologize for the lack of updates lately. The team is working around the clock to bring in some new content for Spring.A few weeks ago, we met with Dante English, creator of a new clothing line called Positive Vibes Only. As you know, we love featuring other tastemakers like ourselves. For this post, we asked Dante to explain a little bit more about his brand line and the inspiration behind it. Check out the full interview below!

Who are the creative geniuses behind your brand (Staff members)?
Duke Page and myself.

Let’s discuss the history of your brand. When and why were you created?
Positive Vibes Only clothing was started in 2016. The name itself is one of the statements that help your mindset at times. Back in the day, my friends and I group message to have conversations. Anytime there was an argument or something negative happened we would say PVO. The more and more we said it, the more I realized how staying positive in life helped me get through the trials and tribulations that I have faced before. No matter what happens in life I try to see the bright side or see the positive in that negative situation, and make the best of it. So I said, “Hey, I am going to get some shirts made and see how it goes.” So, I reached out to some friends and had some logos drawn out and the reached out to my cousin to make the logos for me. Once I had the logos created I reached out to Ryan Lee to get the colors out.

What is the objective of your brand?
The objective of our brand is to get people to undestand the message behind Positive Vibes Only. It serves as a mindset that can help you in everyday life. For instance, if you wake up in a bad mood, you might say, “Hey, I want to wear my Positive Vibes Only T-shirt today. No matter what happens today I’m keeping positive vibes only today.” If someone sees the shirt I want them to think “Hey, I like that slogan. Positive Vibes Only today for me also!” When people see something with words on it they automatically read it. When you read something in your head it flows through your mind. Now you have positive vibes only in your mind throughout the day.

What does your brand offer to your consumers and customers?
Our brand offers sizes for men, woman, children, and toddlers. We have summer winter collection. T-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, sweaters, coffee mugs and phone cases are what we offer. We have a large supply of different color T-shirts available for you to match with any shoe and outfit.

How are you able to distinguish your brand from others?
Our brand can be distinguished from others by our logo design. One logo is a stop sign with PVO and Positive Vibes Only words inside. This is the #StopNegativity logo. Our most popular logo is the #StayStrong fist logo. The fists stand for power, solidarity, strength, and is used as a salute to express unity. Our newest Logo is the 2017 To-Do List. This logo originated from the Instagram posts that went viral. It was the statement with three boxes with a statement and the last one had a check mark. Our logo says “2017 To-Do List” and the choices are stress, be Negative, and Positive Vibes Only. I’m sure you know which box has the check mark.

What are your long term goals for your brand?
The long terms goals of this clothing line are to touch millions of people’s minds and bodies. It’s more than just about the money or the recognition. I want walk in the mall and see my logo on a famiy, a woman, a kid, a man, or anybody. I don’t want them to know I am the creature of the line. Just seeing people in different cities and states in the clothing and smiling is what my long term goal is. Then if the money comes I want to give back to the community and make donations to people in need. When I do make those donations it will be from Positive Vibes Only.

Where do you see your band in the next five years?
In five years I see this company with new products in the market. I see new color waves. I see new logos and logos to give people variety. I see the brand on a Steve Harvey Show talking about the effect that this mindset can have in our everyday life. Remember it’s more than a clothing line……….it’s a MINDSET!

Be check out Positive Vibes Only here! Thanks for reading!