Shopping small and creativity meet
By Molly Burke
Anyone looking to host an event, buy clothes and accessories, shop for art or print clothing designs all while supporting local businesses can find something at Culturati Studios in downtown Youngstown.
Located on East Federal Street, Culturati Studios combines its 5,000-square-foot, multi-purpose rental space, Culturati Printing and The Culturati Marketplace.
Steven Jimenez, coordinator and owner of Culturati Studios, said Culturati brings people together with its different services.
“We have printing solutions, we have consignment [and] we have event space. That event space holds everything from fashion expos to baby showers, graduation parties [and] birthday parties,” Jimenez said. “Culturati is bringing people together, giving them a platform to celebrate life and be artistic and creative.”
Jimenez said The Culturati Marketplace sells a variety of fashion and art pieces, which are collected and made by himself and other employees.
“We sell everything from artwork to sneakers, clothing, jewelry, accessories and that’s just the beginning. Eventually, I want to get into vinyl and get into collectables, books, stuff like that,” Jimenez said. “[Our products come from] everywhere from the streets, flea markets, resellers [and] the internet.”
Culturati Studios held its Thrills and Threads fashion expo from 3 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 13 at the event. Customers could shop from about 20 local fashion vendors and the marketplace.
Tyrese Hawkins, a senior business major at Youngstown State University, came to the fashion expo to sell clothes and sneakers with his resell brand, 10ToesTy. He said vending at Culturati events allows him to meet new people.
“My favorite part about coming to events like this is that you get to meet a whole bunch of different people … and just catch vibes and nobody here is going to be worried about you, nobody here is judging,” Hawkins said. “It’s easy to just make friends as well.”
Senior marketing major, Mya Snyder, sells accessories and clothes made from discarded textiles with her business, Sew What? Sew This! Snyder vended at Thrills and Threads and said it was inspiring.
“Aside from networking … it’s so incredibly inspiring to not only know people around me are doing similar things and really succeeding with their art, but also knowing that there are opportunities in Youngstown. A lot of people don’t think there’s much going on in Youngstown but there really is, you just have to find it,” Snyder said.
Yanik King, a senior fashion and interior merchandising major, is the social media manager for Culturati and coordinator for The Culturati Marketplace. King said Culturati is important for the YSU community.
“We are right down the road from campus. It’s really good for people to come down. We have a lot of YSU gear so people can come and buy clothes,” King said. “There’s a lot of stuff here you won’t find in Ohio. We go out and we look for these things. We put time and effort to cultivate and curate all our pieces [and] price them reasonably for people in college.”
Fashion and interior merchandising major, Colin Ryan, interns at the marketplace. He said the internship has helped further his experience with his major.
“It’s gotten me a lot stronger in bonding with people and talking with people … trying to sell them clothes,” Ryan said. “I’m learning a lot of stuff in the fashion field like how to buy, trend forecasting and learning really what people like to buy.”
Those interested in booking an event, shopping at the marketplace or screen printing can visit Culturati Studios’ website. For more information and event dates, check out Culturati Studios’ Instagram.
