Our Story
When Amy Gillespie and Chris Compton set about starting a business to curb the boredom caused by the COVID stay-at-home orders in sunny Southern CA, they were open to many options. So, why graphic apparel?
Amy Gillespie has been an entrepreneur her entire life. Enjoying great success for many years in the MLM industry- few people know more about sales, marketing, and connecting with customers than Amy does. She’s also an avid concertgoer, with a collection of hundreds of hats, t-shirts and sweatshirts commemorating various concerts, music festivals, vacations, and historical places she’s enjoyed over the years.
“I'm a big time swaggie! I love live music and I love the merch! Any time I go see a band or go to a festival, I have to buy a hat or sweatshirt- if I don’t, I feel like I missed out. It’s a memorabilia thing for me, which is why for example, I have every sweatshirt the Stagecoach Festival has offered since I started attending”, Amy says. “Some of the lines I’ve had to wait in for these products are enormous! There’s a ton of demand- so this is a business I really have a passion for.”
Between her entrepreneurial skills, and the nostalgia she feels collecting her own commemorative graphic apparel, it is certainly understandable why Amy chose to turn her sales and marketing talents towards the graphics apparel industry.
Some of you may remember Chris Compton as an internationally known Smooth Jazz Saxophonist. During the late 90’s and 2000’s, his music career saw over a million song downloads, over a hundred thousand albums sold, international radio play and literally thousands of concerts.
It is well known that one of the most profitable elements for touring musicians is- you guess it- MERCHANDISING. However, once technology began changing the way we consume music (think mp3’s and streaming services), Chris, along with most musicians, began to feel the impact. Suddenly, tangible music media just wasn’t selling anymore. What used to be hundreds of CD’s and DVD’s sold per show became merely dozens, and sometimes less.
“I consider myself lucky in that during my time in the music biz, music media was a hot seller. It wasn’t until towards the end of my big ride that I began seeing the downfall of CD sales during live shows”, Chris says. “Having that experience really brought to light the importance of working musicians monetizing their art by having products available that people can walk away with at the end of a show.”
Having experienced this first-hand, there’s no one more understanding than Chris is about monetization. “These days, the hot ticket for bands to profit from the stage is graphic apparel- hands down”, Chris says. “We're helping working musicians and other artists increase revenue, and that makes us feel pretty good.”