Just when you thought the business ventures of Oxford Pennant couldn’t get any more rewarding, the owners have partnered with J.Crew. Yes, Buffalo’s pennant darlings are on the move again – this time it’s not a new location, it’s a major league deal hatched with one of the world’s most prolific retailers. Moving forward, Oxford Pennant merchandise will be found in J.Crews nationwide. The Made-In-America pennants and T-shirts will also be obtainable on the J.Crew website.

After Oxford Pennant wrapped up its Spring Kick-Off Party at its downtown Buffalo flagship store, I connected with co-owner Dave Horesh, who, along with his business partner Brett Mikoll, have managed to create quite a unique business sensation based around their unique pennants.

Per the “JCrew x Oxford Pennant collaboration”, Horesh explained to me that they had been working on landing the J. Crew account for over a year. “We started calling J. Crew, suspecting that it would be a good fit,” said Horesh. “One time, we called and said that we were in their neighborhood (in NYC), and they invited us to stop by and say hi. They ended up giving us a tour, and at one point we were in a main meeting area and we were introduced to the right people… it was happenstance. That’s how it happened. That’s how we got the deal. The first thing that I did when I got back to my hotel room was to call my wife and tell her the incredible news.”

According to Horesh, J. Crew ended up placing orders for a lot more than they ever expected. Altogether the company ordered five custom banner designs and seven custom t-shirt designs. Incredibly, one of the t-shirts has the Buffalo skyline, with the downtown address for Oxford Pennant. How cool is that? “It’s our shop T,” Horesh told me. “They went hard on the Buffalo stuff. We submitted a number of designs and they chose the ones that they wanted. That was a great feeling, because they have their own designers. Now these banners and Ts are all over the country, in every J. Crew store, and online. It’s so great to see J. Crew models wearing our Ts – it’s a nice feeling. It’s one of those Oh My Gosh! moments. It’s one of the biggest things to ever happen in my life.”

Horesh told me that the new J.Crew relationship will help to show larger brands that they can be trusted, and that Oxford Pennant can bring equity to the table. He said that J. Crew saw something in their brand, and wanted to help tell their story. Now they’re riding the wave, and waiting to see where the relationship will take them. “The sky is the limit,” said Horesh. “But even if it’s a one and done, it’s still a major feather in our cap.”

I asked Horesh how Buffalo played a part in all of this, and he told me, without hesitation, that this city has played a crucial role in all of their successes. “That’s why we opened a manufacturing facility downtown,” he noted. “That’s why we opened our flagship store in Downtown Buffalo. People from Buffalo care about us, and have been staunch advocates. There are even expats, all around the country, who are helping us to get their places of work to align with our brand. They love their hometown, and they want to see us thrive. So they tell their bosses to take a look at Oxford Pennant for company merchandise. Now that’s some real hometown pride. We’re sold on Buffalo – we love it here.”