Jazzberry Chauffeur is a street artist-inspired clothing brand that mixes quirky designs with a bit of youthful philosophy.
Xavier entrepreneurship and economics student Brandon Pindulic co-founded the company, which is named in homage to a friend's rich uncle who employed a chauffeur dressed in a jazzberry suit until the Great Depression, when he lost it all, according to the business' website.
The company sells T-shirts, caps and outerwear that nods to that rich uncle's past, while also looking toward a dream-fulfilled future.
Each design tells a story, outlined on the Jazzberry site, where the brand is sold. For instance, there's this
purple T-shirt that features a sunglasses-wearing, saxophone-toting red berry. The story? "A literal creation of our name, Jazz-Berry-Chauffeur. This scenic tee is also reminiscent to the roaring '20s when jazz musicians dwelled in nightclubs introducing American culture to jazz music."
The black
Chauffeur Your Dreams T-shirt is described this way: "Everyone has dreams, goals and desires. At first they seem quite plain and ordinary, hence the basic JbC orbit illustrated on the front of the tee. But as people begin to learn more about other individuals' dreams and dig a little deeper, an intricate image of their life goals begins to appear, hence the rocket-equipped limousine scorching around a metropolis that inhabits some of the wealthiest individuals and most prized possessions sculpted on the back of the shirt."
Prices for the clothes range from $20-22 for tees, and $35 for hoodies.
Pindulic, who came to Cincinnati from New Jersey for college, co-founded the company in 2011 while still in high school.
"We started by selling shirts," he says. "We had these fresh designs, and worked with friends who were graphic designers. We started by selling to friends and family. We financed it ourselves, we just put in a couple hundreds bucks of our own money and it grew."
The typical Jazzberry customer is male, 15-24 years old, and into the brand's bold colorful graphics and casual, steetwear style, according to Pindulic.
This year, the business is preparing to offer more products, while beefing up its marketing presence.
Pindulic creates some designs as well as tapping some friends' creativity. He has worked with manufacturers inside and outside the United States to make the shirt, but that will change soon, he says.
"We've decided we are going to make all U.S.-based products for our new lines," he says.
By Feoshia H. Davis
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