Gerardo Encinas used to take magazine clippings from his mother’s collection as a child to create designs in his sketchbook. Now he has a Columbus boutique filled entirely with clothes of his own design.
“I was in love since I was a kid with fashion, but I never had the opportunity in Mexico to do it,” he said.
Gerardo Encinas, a boutique specializing in custom designs and tailoring, opened at 251 S. Third St., last fall. Encinas opened his first boutique in December 2021 just up the street at 267 S. Third St., now home to White Canvas Designs & Holistic Wellness.
Encinas attended college in Mexico and got a degree in International Business. He moved to Columbus in 2001 and later met his partner Miguel Estrada. In 2003, the two opened an event-planning company that primarily worked with the Latino community.
Encinas learned how to sew in 2012 by watching YouTube tutorials. He started making quinceañera dresses and showcased them in 2013 during a fashion show he organized. A year later, Encinas became co-director of the Miss Ohio Latina pageant.
Encinas attended his first Columbus Fashion Week as a guest in 2016. He showcased his first official collection at Columbus Fashion Week in 2017 and has been a designer for the event ever since.
“I love to see my client’s faces when they feel beautiful,” Encinas said. “I think it’s the most beautiful thing for me as a designer to make somebody happy with my clothes.”
Encinas is joined by six other local and national brands that make up Common Thread, a destination shopping experience on South Third Street Downtown that launched in October 2022. The program is a partnership between the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation and the Columbus Fashion Council.
The CDDC owns buildings 237 through 275 S. Third St. When Encinas started using the space at 267 S. Third St., he rented it from Julie Wilkes, the owner of Seven Studios. At the time, Gerardo Encinas and T.Bears Florist, 237 S. Third St., were the only businesses on the strip.
The Director of Administration for the CDDC, Angie Black, contacted Encinas after noticing his pop-up shop. Encinas said Black liked the idea of bringing more designers to the strip, which is what inspired Common Thread.
Encinas operated out of 267 S. Third St., from December 2021 to June 2022. Encinas said he and Estrada liked the street visibility at 251 S. Third St., which is why they moved locations at the start of Common Thread.
Encinas said the Common Thread businesses are like a family. In fact, he knew some of the designers before the program launched, such as Darsy Amaya of White Canvas Designs, Joan Madison at 265 S. Third St., and Alex Vinash at 249 S. Third St.
Gerardo Encinas is open Tuesday through Saturday from 12 – 7 p.m. More information about the boutique and designer can be found at gerardoencinas.com.
Learn more about Common Thread at downtowncolumbus.com/commonthread.
All photos by Ashley Kimmel unless otherwise noted