The codex club, a Federal Hill-based business owned by Andrea Chen, will be opening a storefront at 2700 Remington Ave., Suite 1100 in Remington. The codex club was one of two winners of the Remington Storefront Challenge, which offered prime retail spaces in Remington to entrepreneurs and makers rent-free for up to two years.
The challenge was put on by The Greater Remington Improvement Association (GRIA) in partnership with Johns Hopkins University, Seawall, and Howard Bank. The winners were selected from more than 100 applicants by a community panel made up of residents, local business owners, and other community stakeholders.
The codex club sells locally-made clothing, home goods, stationery, and jewelry. Chen, who is a film actor and graphic designer, founded the store in 2015. She began selling goods online with a focus on greeting cards and printed clothing with original illustrations by her and other local artists out of her home in Federal Hill, and the company expanded from there. Chen has also taken on wholesale screen printing contracts.
Chen is from Texas and was living in New York City before moving to Baltimore. Chen didn’t know what to expect when she came to Baltimore, but was excited about the art and maker scene she discovered. In starting her business, she didn’t want to just sell her own products, she wanted to help support other small businesses in the Baltimore area.
Chen opened a pop-up store in Arundel Mills Mall last holiday season. While it was successful, she knew she wanted her business to be permanently based in Baltimore City. She was looking to open a storefront in Federal Hill, but turned her focus to Remington after winning the Storefront Challenge. Chen said she could still turn to South Baltimore for a second location and will be hosting a pop-up this Saturday and Sunday at Cross Street Market.
The codex club, which is taking over a former Pizza Boli’s location, worked with the Remington Storefront Challenge on improvements to the space. This included higher ceilings, an ADA-compliant dressing room, window displays, a showroom, and storage. A mural will also be added.
The codex club will host its grand opening in Remington on Saturday, September 7th from 10 to 11am. It will feature free ice cream from Little Baby’s, cupcakes from Charm City Cakes, and book signings of 111 Places in Baltimore That You Must Not Miss by local author Allison Robicelli.
The codex club will be open Monday to Sunday from 11am to 8pm.
“I’m excited to share the products by myself and the vendors you love, along with many more new items like clothing, home goods, and stationery,” said Chen in a press release. “We can’t wait to see all of our Remington neighbors, along with friends and new customers from all over the city. We hope our space will be an incubator and supporter of all Baltimore makers and artists.”
GRIA is thrilled to welcome The codex club to the neighborhood. Remington is home to so many awesome independent businesses and we are excited to have another woman-owned small business joining our community,” said Leah Irwin, president of GRIA, in a press release.
Photo Chen courtesy of The Boho M@rketing Co. Instagram
via https://www.southbmore.com/2019/08/23/federal-hill-based-business-the-codex-club-wins-remington-storefront-challenge/
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