Owner ‘going with the change’ as shop closes
HE SAYS END OF CLOTHING SHOP URBAN TRENDZ ‘FEELS LIKE A NEW BEGINNING’
ONE of Spring Bank’s best-known traders, who celebrated ten years of business last year, has closed down his shop in the street for good.
David Okwesia, who runs Urban Trendz, opened the clothing shop in 2009 at the height of the recession, but saw his gamble pay off.
Despite questions over the location he chose for his business, the shop soon transformed into a community hub in Spring Bank, complete with the Beats Bus recording studio giving young artists a space to hone their music.
But after the strain caused by the coronavirus pandemic, coupled with a hike in rent, Mr Okwesia has decided to close the doors of his shop for good and take his business online.
“Covid-19 has given me a lot of time to reflect and I’ve gone back in with a different head, weighed it all up and decided it might be for the best,” he said.
“When we first started we had a grant for black businesses and ever since then it’s grown from just a shop to a community hub.
“The original idea behind Urban Trendz was to call it ‘Little Camden’ because it reminded me of that and going round there, but then it was about the hip hop and urban culture, while the ‘trendz’ has meant it’s always current with the times.
“There were a lot of businesses closing down, but I managed to carry on and I put that down to encompassing all these things we do.
“But, sometimes, you’ve just got to go with the change.”
Urban Trendz sells a variety of clothing lines, from hip-hop and emo styles, to Rasta and urban fashion.
It also launched its Beats Bus Community Studio at the back of the shop - a portable music studio, which can be packed down and moved around the city - just under two years ago.
And it has also been a hub for graffiti artists too, with the site setting out wall space for artists to display their work.
The website, urbantrendz.co.uk, was also set up last year.
But Mr Okwesia said the online operation is not a permanent solution and he has now set up a Justgiving page to help fund a potential move to new premises in the city.
“People have been messaging quite a bit now they’ve seen the shop has closed,” he said.
“People miss you when you’re gone. So we are considering moving somewhere else, we are looking at potential other premises, but with all the rules and regulations it’s not that easy.”
He said he is hoping to continue the physical manifestation of his store for the existing customers he first saw when they were 14 or 15 years old and are now in their mid-20s.
“It feels he said.
“I can start small and build it up like a new business, but the name is there now, people know it and it’s been there a long time.”
To donate, visit Mr Okwesia’s Justgiving page at www. gofundme. com/ f/ funds- forurban-trendz-relocation-to-newpremises like a new beginning,”