Upper Albany Main Street (UAMS) is pleased to announce that on October 25, 2013, Su Seguro, Inc. had its grand opening at 685 Park Street, Hartford, CT, and they are now ourВ  newest Upper Albany Merchant Association (UAMA) member.В  Su Seguro is an insurance agency operated by Latinos and marketed to the Latino community. This Agency offers a variety of affordable insurance coverages for Auto, Home, and Small Businesses within a diverse network of providers and they provide aВ freeВ full analysis of their customers” insurance needs in order to recommend the products that are best suited to meet each customer”s specific goals.

The CEO of Evay Cosmetics, Vivian Akuoko is currently marketing her cosmetics line through unique distribution channels. With help from Upper Albany Main Street, her  marketing model now includes UPC and barcode tracking. This method of product management will help the business to remain organized, maintain the proper inventory levels, and will also ultimately move more merchandise into the hands of  local, national and international consumers. Products  that are being sold by Walmart, Amazon, eBay, and other worldwide retailers are required to have a product UPC code.  Over the next several months, UAMS and Evay Cosmetics will come together to purchase over 20 unique UPC barcodes from GS1 (a United States based firm that helps merchants exhibit their brand in front of many retailers).  Once all 20 UPC barcodes are obtained, Vivian plans to label over 100,000 units within the first 3 weeks.

Evay Cosmetics is located on 1465 Albany Avenue, Hartford, CT and offers a wide variety of men’s and women’s cosmetic products.  Her newly redesigned packaging and website can be seen and ordered online at evay.co or telephone orders may be placed by calling the store at (860) 724-0606.  Vivian expects to increase sales by 280% over the next year through her new product management system and expanded distribution channels.

Evay Products can be found online on Amazon.com by clicking here: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_12?url=search-alias%3Dbeauty&field-keywords=evay%20cosmetics&sprefix=evay+cosmeti%2Caps%2C203

On October 16, 2013, members of the Upper Albany Main Street (UAMS) board, Upper Albany NRZ and Upper Albany Merchants Association met with Senators Eric Coleman and John Fonfara to discuss the Route 44 Safety Improvement Project, Brownfield  Restoration and other pending projects  for the economic development of Albany Avenue.

In light of recent publicity with CHEETAH, a brand of educational plush toys, books, and games,  the Hartford Courant has published the following article to support CHEETAH’s mission – bring your child to their first day of school.

http://articles.courant.com/2013-08-16/community/hcrs-78513-statewide-20130813_1_million-father-march-school-day-first-day

Be at your child’s school on the first day of school and/or on Tuesday, September 10, 2013!

For more information about the Million Father March in Connecticut, please contact   Dr. P. Trowers-Lawrence at 860-794-5082,  paulette@mydreamcheetah.com, or Jackee Bryant, M. ED at 860-840-6393, jackeebbred@live.com.

Upper Albany Main Street is proud to announce that it is the recipient of a $100,000 grant from the City Hartford’s Community Development Block Grant Program. This grant will support our award winning Micro Business Incubator Program that assists small businesses in the Upper Albany, Clay Arsenal, and Blue Hills neighborhoods.

Grants received during 2013 – Barney School of Business/UAMS

Executive Director of Upper Albany Main Street, Marilyn Larsen Risi graduates from the Executive Management Institute on Tuesday June 5, 2013.

The Executive Management Institute is a 10-month program in which executive directors from Hartford-area nonprofits come together to learn about nonprofit management and governance.  Participants learn from knowledgeable presenters in a variety of fields, and have the opportunity to develop a network of peers with whom to learn and share ideas.

Upper Albany Main Street was awarded a grant from Bank of America’s Charitable Foundation and we would like to thank Bank of America for their support.  As we look to provide our community with important educational and workforce development initiatives, Bank of America’s investment in our organization will enable us to continue performing our vital work.

Karibu Clothing And Gift Store is a participant of the Micro Business Incubator through which they were assisted by gaining a web presence and eCommerce website created by interns at the University of Hartford.

They are a number one African clothing store that offers beautiful ready made clothing for children, men, and women for all occasions.  They are located on 1866 Park Street, Hartford, CT, 06106.  For questions about their products and services offered, please call (860) 243-3540.  You can find the website online at www.karibuclothing.com.

Former UAMS intern, Keith Wood secured a position as a buyer at Electric Boat in Groton, CT.    His job includes solicitation and procurement.  In addition he is a strategy orientated, idea generating manager with extensive experience in interpersonal relationship building, teamwork, and sales.  Keith has solid soft skills coupled with a background in IT and knowledge of computer hardware/software, and outside-the-box thinking.

Keith continues his interest in new business ventures, finance, corporate strategy, Customer Relationship Management and innovation.

Evay Cosmetics, a local business on Albany avenue goes global, with a new cosmetics line for men and women. This new line is an Anti-aging skin care system. The entire Upper Albany Main Street merchants association is very excited about Evay Cosmetics achievement. The proprietor, Ms. Vivian Akuoko credits her success to the help she has received from the University of Hartford (Upper Albany Main Street(UAMS)/Micro Business Incubator (MBI) program), The University Entrepreneurial center, Hartford Economic Development Corporation (HEDCo), Dr. Margery Steinberg and many more. We at UAMS/MBI would like to congratulate Evay Cosmetics on this achievement, and wish for continued success.