Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Aequitas Clothing
Posted By Gavin Sheehan on May 19, 2009, 3:03 AM
This summer is
starting to bring out a number of local names, showcasing at first glance would
be brand new fashion from major stores, but in reality is simple products from
--- One of the bigger names starting to
make its presence known is Aequitas Clothing. Based out of
Casey Childs & Josh Kamp
http://www.aequitasclothing.com/
Gavin: Hey guys, first off, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Casey: I'm 23 years old. I grew up in
Josh: I’m from
Gavin: How did you first take an interest in clothing and printing?
Josh: I would go place’s and not find something that I liked. I thought
it would be fun and wanted to start a clothing company that the name had a
deeper meaning then just a tag line.
Casey: I've always like t-shirts. In high school some friends of mine
started their own t-shirt company and I thought that was pretty cool. So I
asked them how to print on t-shirts and they told about screen printing. While
in high school I got really into digital art and design. So I mixed good design
with t-shirt printing.
Gavin: What were some of your first designs like? Still got any around?
Casey: They were pretty different from everything else that other
companies were doing at the time. My main focus was to not have a logo or any
artwork printed right in the middle of the shirt. I thought of the placement as
tattoos on your body. You wouldn't get a logo tattooed in the middle of your
chest. So I placed the artwork to wrap around the body or have it angled
differently. We still have a few designs left from our first three that we
printed.
Gavin: How did the idea come about to start up a clothing line?
Josh: I always wanted to have a clothing company and was just thinking
of names. I was lining more to Aequitas then the others. Then my sister was
talking to Casey one day and he called me and was interest in starting one as
well.
Casey: I was hanging out with Josh's sisters and they told me that Josh
wanted to start a clothing company. So I gave him a call and we talked about
what we wanted our designs to look like. So I came up with a logo that would
show what we were all about at that time.
Gavin: Where exactly did the name for the company come from?
Josh: I was watching a movie and saw a tattoo of Aequitas on the actors
hand. Thought it sound cool and looked up the meaning and liked even more. Especially
after learning the meaning behind it, Aequitas means justice and equality in
Latin.
Gavin: Was it difficult getting everything set up or did things flow
rather smoothly?
Casey: Things flowed very smooth. We would split up things that needed
to be done. I designed a bunch of artwork and Josh got all of our business
papers done.
Josh: It was hard to learn all that we need to do but mostly it been
fair smooth. Luckily we have friends that are willing to help us out.
Gavin: What's the process like in creating a shirt, from design to final
product?
Casey: Really, I'm not sure about it myself. I sit down and start
sketching out stuff on my computer and things just start coming to my head.
Usually I'll start with a little bit then turn that idea into a full meaningful
design.
Gavin: How has the reaction been like to the products from both shops
and buyers?
Josh: Over all a lot of people like our stuff. We had a booth at Weber County Fair it really didn’t do to well there.
Casey: So far the response to our stuff has been really positive.
Sometimes people don't get it, but thats alright. Its not for everyone. Shops
have always liked what we have given them. They sell well in their stores.
Gavin: A little local, what's your take on the local fashion scene, both
good and bad?
Casey: I think its getting better. More people are opening their eyes to
what can be done in our state. We shouldn't have to go to somewhere else to
find something. We should improve the culture around us and give people the
most choices here. Just because their are chain stores everywhere doesn't mean
you can't start your own store and have something unique.
Josh: More people as time past seem to be more focus on buying local
first.
Gavin: Anything you believe could be done to make it bigger or better?
Josh: More local business becoming involved in the Fashion Strolls,
becoming more local orientated.
Casey: I think its all about getting the word out. Facebook and MySpace
have made it a lot easier to do this.
Gavin: What's your take on Fashion Stroll and what its done for the
local business?
Casey: I think what the Fashion Stroll is doing is good for buyers and
sellers. Its free and you get to see what new things are coming out. If you
want to sell, you just pay a small fee (very small fee) for some fliers that
get printed.
Josh: It provides small local artist help get there product out there.
It allows local artists to come together and help each other out. It also shows
the public that there is local fashion out there with the help of the local TV
and SLUG. They just need to find it.
Gavin: Do you have any favorite clothing shops you like to work with or
shop from?
Casey: We work with model.citezen and Uprok. And so far that has been a
positive experience for us. I like to shop at Bastille in the Gateway. And
T-shirt websites online.
Gavin: What are your thoughts about local retailers and how they deal
with local products?
Casey: Most retailers are doing pretty good by letting smaller companies
sell their stuff in their stores. Sometimes they want a presentation of your
stuff and sometimes they don't.
Josh: With anything really, you have some that will help you out and
give you some space in there store. Then just on the other side there not to
open to local in there.
Gavin: What's it like for you doing business in this current economy?
Josh: I think with our company being new and still growing it really
hasn’t effected us. we sold more the first of this year then the last two.
Casey: People don't want to spend a lot of money on clothes. We have
been selling our t-shirts around $15 since we started. So hopefully that price
will influence people to buy our stuff more. It hasn't hit us too hard because
our shirts are affordable.
Gavin: Are there any plans to expand beyond what you've got going now,
or are you mainly sticking to shirts?
Casey: We want to eventually do pants and shoes. I'm a huge fan of RAW
denim and I would like to make some jackets and pants out of those.
Josh: We would love to move include denim, belts, jackets, bag and
wallets.
Gavin: What can we expect from Aequitas Clothing next year?
Casey: Hopefully pants and more jackets.
Josh: We are getting better of what we doing and always looking for the
best way to make are customers the best with a sick design. We are working
doing some of our on clothing design from start to finish.
Gavin: Is there anything you'd like to promote or plug?
Josh: Just us, and model.citizen.
Casey: We are part of the Collective Loft. We do shows and sell our
stuff their almost every weekend. Check the website for more info at The Collective Loft and our website.
On Topic...
-
Film Reviews: New Releases for April 19
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, Abigail, The Beast, Hard Miles, Sasquatch Sunset and more
- Apr 19, 2024
-
Film Reviews: New Releases for April 12
Civil War, Escape from Germany, Coup de Chance, Hundreds of Beavers, La Chimera, Sting
- Apr 11, 2024
-
Film Reviews: New Releases for April 5
Monkey Man, The First Omen, Wicked Little Letters, Girls State, Scoop, Exhuma
- Apr 4, 2024
- More Gavin's Underground » More Culture »
More by Gavin Sheehan
-
Gavin's Underground: End Of An Era
Nine and a half years of local entertainment blogging comes to an end.
- May 26, 2017
-
Torris Fairley
A quick interview with the up-and-coming SLC-based comedian.
- May 25, 2017
-
Cirque Asylum
A look into the dance school teaching unique forms of aerial arts.
- May 24, 2017
- More »
Latest in Buzz Blog
