Bucaleany Inc. – urban street wear built on a Harlem way of life: Our motto is to be unique, classic-cool and fly everyday because it’s the only way

I am D’landar Jones, owner of Bucaleany clothing brand. I was born and reared in Harlem, New York. I grew up on 135th st. between Malcolm X and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard. I am the middle child of three siblings. Growing up I played many sports. Sports taught me how to interact with others and it increased my social skills. Playing with others and creating my own activities built my character. I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit. I sold and bartered with my schoolmates when I was in the fourth grade at P.S. 92, Mary McCloud Bethune School.

My first business endeavor was selling the paper planes I made from the loose-leaf paper in my notebook. At the time, I didn’t know that I was in love with design. The airplanes I made were unique because I made them colorful, and they flew longer than my classmates planes based on their design. During lunch I sold these for extra change and candy. I did this until the fifth grade, but I had to stop when the principal said that the custodians were tired of cleaning up all the paper out of the school yard. I was always inspired by my dad who owned his own business, and was a photographer and an artist.

My dad past away when I was seventeen. It was very hard for me then, and I dropped out of high school. It was not until my aunt encouraged me to go back to school and to college that I realized I wanted to create my own future and start a business of my own. Today I still live in Harlem, New York and my dreams for the future are to positively impact the world through my creativity, and inspire others to do the same.

I began Bucaleany in 2010. I developed a love for fashion , and I realized there were no clothing brands in my community impacting urban street wear on a major scale. I was determined to create something of my own. Bucaleany is an independent family owned business that I created with my brother. It is built on a Harlem way of life. Our motto is to be unique, classic-cool and fly everyday because it’s the only way! We make T shirts, hoodies, sweats, and headwear. Our customer base is urban. They are all races, and range from age 15-35. At this point, our business is based locally in Harlem. Our sales are good in the inner city and in street festivals. The current challenges that we face are getting our products made for the lowest price, and our lack of marketing capabilities. We want to increase sales and production, develop additional marketing strategies, and seek investors. Our goal for the future is to the be the number one clothing brand to buy in Harlem, and to also have national and global impact. I am most proud that my brother and I have created and kept our business going for six years through adversity. As the business has grown my brother and I have grown as men with a mission and a purpose. We have given back to our community by going into schools and speaking to kids, having back to school drives, giving to Goodwill, shelters and even helping families out during the holidays. This has helped us establish a base in Harlem our hometown and has also inspired the youth in our community to want to invest in themselves and their community.

This loan will help us expand our inventory, get into a trade show, and improve our online presence. We will use $3,000 on inventory, $5000 on getting into a trade show, and $2000 to improve our online presence and marketing capabilities. The inventory will help us meet the demand of store orders and online purchases. The trade show will allow us to have a platform, put our brand in front of store buyers, and introduce our brand into to other major markets nationally and abroad. Increasing our presence online will help boost our sales.