When customers walk into TrenLend’s new storefront on Chapel Hill Road in Cary, they enter an inviting and organized space with color-coded dresses lining the gold clothing racks. Above one of the racks, a large sign reads, “TrenLend.”
Emmy Weiland and Amelia Zahn, two fourth-years studying marketing and the owners and founders of the clothing rental business, started TrenLend as an affordable way to rent out clothing to fellow college students in 2022.
“We are a new concept in the clothing rental industry that basically allows people to try on the items before renting them,” Zahn said. “We really wanted to give people a chance to love what they rent before they commit to it financially.”
The clothing rental industry is a sustainable and affordable way to find an outfit for any occasion, and TrenLend offers the experience of in-person renting.
“We are one of the pioneering establishments of its kind in the United States,” Zahn said. “We do think this is going to be the future of the rental industry, and we are just excited to be a part of it.”
Just a year and a half after launching TrenLend online, Weiland and Zahn opened their brick-and-mortar storefront in early August.
“It took around a month to get the store outfitted,” Weiland said. “We came to the space, looked at the barebones because it used to be a fitness center. We had to add things like paint and the dressing rooms.”
Chapel Hill Road in Cary leads directly to Hillsborough Street in Raleigh. Weiland said the storefront’s location makes it easily accessible from around the Triangle.
“With this location, it is technically in Cary, but the road it’s on is such a good location for people from Chapel Hill, from Durham,” Weiland said. “It’s easy for everyone to get to.”
The business owners hosted an opening celebration for the storefront with their family and friends.
“I was really happy in that moment,” Weiland said. “All my family and friends were here, celebrating us. This was finally real and happening.”
At TrenLend, prices range from $15 to $80.
“We are getting new stuff every week, and if you have any styles or trends specifically that you would like to see in our store, we are happy to look for those trends going forward,” Zahn said. “We really want to be inclusive of all styles and size inclusion as well.”
When balancing their work and student lives, Weiland said the key is communication.
“We split up roles,” Weiland said. “I usually work in the morning because I have class in the afternoon and then [Zahn] comes in the afternoon to work.”
Weiland and Zahn met through a mutual friend and clicked right away.
“We work really well together,” Weiland said. “We balance each other out, in ways that she’s really strong when I’m weak, and I’m strong when she’s weak.”
Weiland and Zahn agree that although balancing being students and business owners is challenging, it is also rewarding.
“I don’t think TrenLend would be where it is today if we weren’t at NC State,” Zahn said. “And with the community we have, especially the panhellenic community … The amount of support we’ve had from the students has been absolutely amazing. They’ve been the ones to get the word out there.”
Zahn and Weiland started Trenlend in their sorority houses, and it was the support from their peers and professors that inspired them to move into a warehouse space and eventually, a storefront.
“I had an intro to entrepreneurship thinking class last year with Professor Jennifer Capps,” Zahn said. “She was the first adult to look at me and be like, ‘This is such a good idea, you need to take this so far.’ Having that someone believe in you — who is an entrepreneur, has seen so many things in the entrepreneurship community — that was probably what we needed to take that extra step.”
Both founders said one thing they love about their business is being able to meet and connect with people from the community.
“I had someone come in this summer,” Zahn said. “She came in and was just so positive about everything. … And she rented things for events all the way through October. Seeing someone be so excited about this experience and so confident about their rentals … it just really reassures me in what we are doing.”
The storefront is located at 8420 Chapel Hill Rd., Cary, NC 27513, Suite 111. For more information, visit their website or Instagram.
