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After creating a brand of his own, Jackson Ensley, founder of Popcycle, realized the struggles of building a brand and created a platform to help other young entrepreneurs gain traction and visibility in the space.

“The thought process behind this was when you bring together 20 brands, and all those brands bring all their people together, you can create something pretty special,” Ensley said.

Ensley created the start-up in 2019 as a way to help and promote student brands. Popcycle held its most successful pop-up shop this Thursday on the first floor of Bird Library, featuring over 17 vendors and giving customers the opportunity to buy from student-run fashion brands, Ensley said.

“Honestly, (the turnout) blew me out of the water a lot, because there’s been consistent people coming all day. Normally, there’s just waves (of people) and there’s dry periods,” he said. “But today, it’s been consistently packed.”

Popcycle began with small pop-ups and grew into a campus fashion staple, collaborating with other student organizations such as Zipped Magazine and Fashion and Design Society. After two years, Popcycle has grown into a platform that not only supports young entrepreneurs but the community as well, donating its earnings to charity. The past two pop-ups profits’ were donated to Callisto, a charity supporting sexual assault victims in college.

Aidan Turner, a sophomore architecture major, is one of the many students who sold his work at yesterday’s pop-up. Turner created the leisure wear brand Grater Things two years ago, which produces a range of products like sweatpants and hoodies in a variety of different colors. Turner said the brand was inspired by following your dreams and what comes after achieving success.

“Once you achieve that success, what do you do? You look back on it, look back on how you got there, the things that you did, the people that you met to get to that point,” he said. “And we say, enjoy the journey, make the most of that journey, have fun with it.”

Interested in learning more about Popcycle? Send us a DM or visit our website to hear our story! :incoming_envelope:
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Popcycle has been proud to represent student-owned and locally-operated brands for the past 2 years. Follow along to hear more about what’s coming on April 28th!
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:camera_with_flash:: @communal_kettle

A photo posted by popcycle.cuse

Senior film major Kai Philavanh, another student creative, displayed her brand Tomboyish at the pop-up. Tomboyish started collaborating with Popcycle after Ensley reached out to student designers to feature in the Popcycle shop. From the increased exposure, Philavanh said her work has reached a broader audience and grown in popularity.

Philavanh said that she originally began selling clothing online, but the only people who were interested in her products were her friends at Syracuse. She also said that Syracuse has a great community of creatives and fashion-forward people, so it has been cool to see the community jump on.

Customer Arielle Cohen, a senior communication and rhetorical studies major, shared her excitement for the event and to buy from student brands.

“It made Bird Library cool, which is really hard to do … Bird Library is one of the ugliest buildings on campus, but this is super inviting,” Cohen said. “I really like the streamers outside. I didn’t even know that there was this … until now.”

Published on May 2, 2022 at 12:23 am

Contact Paola: pggonzal@syr.edu