Fashion Entrepreneur Tradeshow - Fashion-A-Preneur Hackathon

In celebration of Global Entrepreneurship Week, the Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation in partnership with Fashion Designer in Residence Stacy Stube kick off Baltimore City's first ever Fashion Entrepreneur Trade Show called Fashion-A-Preneur. This event will have a mix of panelist discussions for small fashion companies. Topics include: how to grow by selling directly to customer in the digital space, finding market opportunities with crowdfunding. The trade show encourages a move away from the traditional debt based wholesale fashion business model. Where instead positioning for just-in-time manufacturing, small batch production, niche market products and services. 

Fashion Entrepreneurs will have Trade booth Tables to showcase current collections, along with various supportive businesses and organizations specifically focused on small fashion business start-ups. 

By empowering the local fashion business community, the power shift moves back into the hands of the maker to transition onshore apparel manufacturing to the next generation. 

Event Panelist Speakers

Sally DiMarco - Fashion Education for Entrepreneurship

A graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) (Bachelor of Fine Art, Fashion Design) and Johns Hopkins University (Masters Degree in Higher Education).

She has earned her highly regarded reputation in the fashion industry beginning as the chief assistant to the fashion designer at Glenbrook Coat Company, which was based in Baltimore. At Glenbrook, the fur-lined coat collections for names such as, Chanel, Yves St Laurent, and Dior were created.

Currently, she is the Fashion Director for SEW Bromo a program supported by the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower in Baltimore. 

Sally will discuss where fashion education and entrepreneurship collide to create opportunity through business, in particular, what trade skills are needed to become the maker. 

Marc Sklar - Luxury Fashion Retailing

Founder and owner of Gian Marco Menswear, a multi-million dollar international importer of luxury and designer merchandise since 1990. One of our goals is to find undiscovered European designers in the USA and bring them into the States. The second part of that equation is to refine the product to be compatible with our client's needs and likes without diluting the designer's original concept.

Jim Peterson - Fashion Business Set-up 

A serial entrepreneur known as “the floor guy” because he has owned a couple of flooring companies and a flooring manufacturing company for the past 20 years. Jim now serves as the Small Business Outreach Coordinator for the Small Business Resource Center (a division of the Mayor’s Office of Women and Minority Owned Businesses Development) 

Peterson will discuss, how the SBRC can help you grow your fashion-related business through networking, affordable capital lending, and manufacturing assistance. 

Jill Silverman - Sustainability in Fashion 

Jill completed her Master's in Fashion and Apparel Studies at the University of Delaware, where she focused on sustainability and received the Certificate of Social Responsible & Sustainable Apparel Business. Her experience includes teaching a course on sustainability in the industry, fabricating a bio-textile that could reduce waste and toxic chemicals in the footwear industry, providing upcycling tutorials. She currently works at Fashions Unlimited as the Product Sustainability Manager and hopes to help craft a less wasteful industry. Through this conversation, Silverman will discuss methods to design and produce more sustainably. 

Jason Tompkins - Styling to Sell Online

A graduate of The Fashion Institute of Technology and the Conde Nast school of design in London. He is a Fashion stylist and women's wear designer whose current clients include Ralph Lauren, UnderArmour, Belk, Peter Millar the Omni Hotel group and the American Craft Council. Jason will provide tips on marketing your product online, how image affect sales, how to convey your brand's unique visual story in a saturated digital era. 

Ilya Schroeder - Mindful Modeling   

Has been in modeling/acting for over three years. His main passion is to show that modeling is more than superficial posing and just “pictures” but much deeper. Ilya will discuss his journey in building a career, but also the beauty that embraces confidence and self-love.

C Harvey - Manufacturing for Entrepreneurs

Founder of North Star Needle Co., an online platform that connects emerging fashion designers that have small batch needs to independent apparel producers that produce from a home office or studio. C. Harvey previously founded Generation of Dreamers and Baltimore's Gifted. 

Event Agenda

5:30pm - 6pm: Sign-In & Enter Attrium to Network with Panelist & Fashion Entrepreneurs

6pm - Welcome by Stacy Stube - Fashion Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Baltimore 

6:15pm - Panelist 5-minutes Presenation & 5-Minute Q & A 

(1) Sally DiMarco 

(2) Marc Sklar 

(3) Jim Peterson

(4) Jill Silverman

(5) Jason Tompkins

(6) Ilya Schroeder

(7) C Harvey

7:45pm - Discuss Key Challenges & Opportunities for the Fashion Community

8pm - Return to Attrium to Meet the Entrepreneurs & Talk with Panelist 

8:30pm Event Wrap-up 

Bring Business Cards to Network

For more information. 

Contact: Stacy Stube

Email: info@elsafitzgerald.com 

Location: The event is being held in the University of Baltimore Business School, when you enter the building walk up one flight of stairs to the sign-in area. 

Parking: Street Parking by Meter, Closest Garages: The Fitzgerald and Maryland.