Emmanuel and Alana worked together to curate and make accessible a collection of unique, durable & sustainable clothing, accessories, and home goods.

Back in 2019 as a student/barista, Emmanuel started to organize pop-ups around Grand Rapids to sell his collection of second-hand/vintage clothes. At the same time, Alana was developing her craft for unique handmade spoon rings. Eventually their paths crossed, and they collaborated on a pop up at Lantern Coffee Bar and Lounge.

It was just about to be the beginning of a great partnership between their clothes and spoon rings, then COVID-19 hit, putting a halt in their plans for future pop-ups. 

Fast forward to the summer of 2021, Alana and Emmanuel started thinking about selling clothes and handmade spoon rings in a space less transient that a pop up shop. Together, with their passion for fashion, community, and sustainability, they opened OTONO on November 12th, 2021 at 317 Division Ave S.

What you will find at OTONO are items carefully selected by Alana and Emmanuel. The space changes weekly with new clothes and home goods and you’ll find many plants (not for sale at the moment) and a store cat named Whipper.

During the other days of the week, you can find these two either rock climbing, thrifting, traveling, at the store setting up for the weekend, or at their respective day-jobs.

They have high hopes for their brand and for the community they’ve became a part of, and they are excited for the many things to come in the future!