A long time Ago...
Ryan Durkin was walking past the store front of a vintage cloth store when he saw a classic Star Wars t-shirt on a mannequin. Finding collectible items, from figurines to furniture, had always been a passion of his. So, when Ryan saw this collectible t-shirt, he had to get it.
Over the next few weeks, Ryan kept returning to the same store hoping to discover more vintage t-shirts, but he was disappointed. When asked about similar items, the owner of the clothing store admitted he did not have anything else ready, but instead he offered Ryan a huge box of iron-on transfers.
Over the next few weeks, Ryan kept returning to the same store hoping to discover more vintage t-shirts, but he was disappointed. When asked about similar items, the owner of the clothing store admitted he did not have anything else ready, but instead he offered Ryan a huge box of iron-on transfers.
Building Business
In that box, which contained almost 20,000 “retro” images, Ryan saw an opportunity. He started decorating t-shirts with the transfer prints and selling them on eBay. This is how Retro Fashions began, and Ryan soon developed a reputation amongst his friends as the “t-shirt guy”.
Besides being a young entrepreneur, Ryan was a YoungLife leader. He started getting requests from people he knew to provide t-shirts for specific events, and so he setup a small screen-printing operation to create custom t-shirts. Building on the success of this new business, he contacted youth groups throughout the United States. Soon, he was distributing his custom designed shirts all over the country.
Strategic Partner
The business quickly expanded beyond the point where Ryan’s printing operation could keep up with demand. For several years, Retro worked with various screen printers before developing an exclusive relationship with one particular partner. Express Screen Printing has been responsible for producing and delivering all of Retro’s garments for the last decade.
While Ryan was pursuing other business interests, vintage furniture, real estate, and a café, he needed his partner to assume operational control of the t-shirt business. Logan King, the owner of Express, offered to take over the enterprise. The name was changed to Retro Garments & Fashion, and Kathleen Gish became the primary customer contact.
Please feel free to contact Kathleen (kathleen@retrogarments.com) for all of your custom apparel or promotional product needs. We look forward to hearing from you.
While Ryan was pursuing other business interests, vintage furniture, real estate, and a café, he needed his partner to assume operational control of the t-shirt business. Logan King, the owner of Express, offered to take over the enterprise. The name was changed to Retro Garments & Fashion, and Kathleen Gish became the primary customer contact.
Please feel free to contact Kathleen (kathleen@retrogarments.com) for all of your custom apparel or promotional product needs. We look forward to hearing from you.