A 2007 Kennett High graduate will mark a serendipitous homecoming of sorts when an established downtown business celebrates a creative reincarnation on Friday, March 6.

STATE & UNION, whose name identifies its location, represents a collaboration among Mike Cangi, the Kennett grad; Brian Linton, a classmate at Temple’s Fox School of Business; and Doug Harris, a leader in Kennett Square’s renaissance and the former proprietor of the Eco Boutique.

Cangi and Linton are both past winners of Temple University’s Be Your Own Boss Bowl. Linton won in 2008 for an organic coffee house, and Cangi came out on top in 2011 for a company that would provide parts to hybrid electric and alternative fuel vehicles. In 2010, they combined their energies to launch United By Blue (UBB), an outdoor apparel retailer.

The entrepreneurs based UBB on the business model of "people, planet, profit," not the "profit at all costs" model of their predecessors, according to a press release from Historic Kennett Square.

UBB’s name reinforces its commitment to people’s dependence on water, and for every product sold, UBB removes a pound of trash from the world’s oceans and waterways. Through organized volunteer cleanups all over the United States, over 200,000 pounds of trash have been picked up by hand, by over 4,000 volunteers, in 21 states, in just under five years, the release said.

Philadelphia serves as home base for UBB, with its flagship store in Old City - and its newest location on Walnut Street in University City. However, Kennett Square offered a unique opportunity since Harris was an early supporter of UBB.

When Harris rebranded his former retail operation as STATE & UNION – which opened in August - he did so with the idea that UBB would operate as a “store in store.” So the combined space will feature brands familiar to both Eco Boutique and UBB shoppers: those who make their products in the U.S. and maintain high standards for social and environmental responsibility.

"We felt that Kennett Square is the right place at the right time for our store concept," Cangi said in the release. “And Doug Harris was an early adopter of UBB and a leader in the renaissance Kennett Square has been enjoying over the past 10 years. It is a great collaboration with our No. 1 advocate."

Cangi said the Kennett Square space "looks and feels just like a UBB store; from the brick pillars, to the live edge wooden shelving for the displays.” In addition, all the merchandise at the other UBB stores or its website, such as Red Wing Shoes and Pendleton wool, will be available at STATE & UNION.

The celebratory launch of the "store in store" concept at STATE & UNION will occur Friday, March 6, from 5 to 10 p.m. at 103 W. State St. in Kennett Square. The festivities will include local gourmet food from Portabellas and the Country Butcher, craft beer by Victory Brewing Co., and boutique wines by Flickerwood Winery. The Sin City band will perform.

 

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