Groups, including Target, shed light on Latino businesses with downtown pop-up event

Artist and entrepreneur Mizrrain Lias moved to Minnesota from Venezuela in early 2018 in search of better opportunities to further his fashion line.

With business partner and childhood friend Gerardo Zea, who moved to Minnesota years before, they launched an online store to sell Lias' artistically designed accessories, boots and shoes under the brand Edicion Especial. From their design studios in Albertville and St. Paul, the Lias and Zea ship unique shoes and handbags to customers across the U.S.

After three years of being primarily an online business, though, the friends are seeking consumer-facing opportunities to expand their brand, and are doing so with the help of several Twin Cities organizations, including Target Corp.

Edicion Especial is one of 10 Latino-owned businesses from the Twin Cities that will have items for sale inside Gaviidae Common on Nicollet Mall this week as part of a pop-up shopping experience that coincides with Hispanic Heritage Month.

The event is being organized by Chameleon Shoppes, an initiative of the Minneapolis Downtown Council, and the Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC). The event is being hosted by Target's Hispanic Latino Business Council.

The daily shopping experience is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and ends Friday.

"This is a good moment to show and go outside of just the online experience," Lias said through an interpreter. "People like to touch and feel the product and I think this is a great opportunity to find a new niche in our business."

Vendors chosen for the pop-up experience are given the opportunity to conduct mock reviews with Target representatives, said Shannon Fitzgerald, a project leader for Chameleon Shoppes. The pop-up store will provide vendors the opportunity to interact with leaders from Target's diversity supplier division. Vendors also will receive a one-year membership to Impact Hub MSP, a co-working space where small business owners receive business development education.

Roughly 80% of businesses participating in the pop-up event are LEDC clients. An opportunity of this level will help these business owners "think big", said Rico Duran, a business development associate at LEDC.

"This pop-up experience in downtown Minneapolis will be an opportunity to grow as a brand, helping us to show the community, Target and businesses our products," Zea said. "Also, it will be a learning experience for us to grow our knowledge on this field."

Lias began designing clothes in 2004 in Venezuela. As a visual arts and graphic design student, he started stamping his designs on t-shirts, giving him the inspiration to create what he referred to as "walking expressions of art."

In 2018, when he moved to Minnesota, he shifted his focus to shoes and handbags. His shoes were being sold in a store in St. Paul until the pandemic forced that store to close, Lias said.

About a year ago, Lias moved his mother, sister and nephew to Minnesota. He wants to open a shoe store and is currently eyeing a location in the Twin Cities.

"This is a great opportunity, especially with Target's support," Lias said. "This is a great step forward for us."