Kylie Squiers
PHOTO EDITOR
Two local collectors, Trey Mathews and Stefan Drincic, set eyes on their mutually-founded dream of opening a retail store with a unique selection of streetwear, vintage, limited edition sneakers and other collectibles—a combination Omaha has not yet seen. Thus, “work•shop” was created.
“work•shop is a company driven by creative expression, love for local businesses, the positive power of collaboration and sustainable prices,” Drincic said. “The name was inspired by a Nike event, or ‘workshop’, that Trey attended at Notre, one of the coolest stores in Chicago. Nike teamed up with the architectural firm that designed Notre and taught the group how to recycle shoe boxes to turn them into furniture. They also plan to host classes in a similar manner such as tie-dye workshops, screen printing, sneaker customizations, etc.”
Last month on Sept. 10, work•shop launched their socially distanced soft opening of their storefront in Omaha’s Old Market (1125 Jackson Street Suite 7 in the alley).
“We were very conscious of the health concerns presented by COVID-19, so we took all the necessary precautions that allowed customers to still come shop in a safe manner,” Drincic said.
Prior to the soft opening, Mathews and Drincic’s journey began as two individual collectors, who were connected by a mutual friend. After discovering their same aspirations of creating the same type of store, work•shop was crafted into a local pop-up store.
“We hosted pop-up shops and built out a small retail shopping experience with existing businesses over a weekend or week,” Drincic said. “Within nine months, we hosted seven pop-ups using different locations. This allowed us to collect consumer data and test the market that led us to our decision to open a permanent retail space in the Old Market.”
work•shop is set to launch their grand opening of their storefront this Friday, Oct. 9. Their hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday from 1 to 8 p.m. and Sunday’s 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
If you’re tired of items in your wardrobe or wanting to refresh your look, work•shop also begins their “Buy, Sell, Trade” method on the grand opening day. work•shop stands strong with their sustainable mission to keeping items in circulation, not landfills.
work•shop carries various brands, from the streetwear products of Supreme, Stussy and Bape to vintage sportswear brands such as Nike, Adidas and Reebok. work•shop’s sneaker collections features kicks like Jordan’s, Yeezy’s and Nike SB Dunks, including high ticket items exclusively sold at the store. Other categories include “Harley Davidson & biker tees,” “nature & destination” and “cartoons & pop culture.”
Once things settle down for Mathews and Drincic, they plan to further their goals for the work•shop by focusing on their creative phase. From finding resources to showing people how to create their own merchandise and start their own brand, work•shop plans to walk people through the initial design process, visual merchandising, photography and overall marketing.
“Seeing everything come together is surreal,” Drincic said. “It’s been a long time coming and we’ve still got a lot to do in terms of what we want to accomplish as a business, but it’s been amazing to see the support Omaha has shown.”
