The name practically explains itself. Fresh Local Product was inspired while clothes shopping in a mall retrofitted with farmers’ market stands in the center area. At the time the only disconnect between the clothing vendors and the makeshift produce vendors it seems was that “organic - rough around the edges - I made this with my own hands - personal touch”.
Being a designer I knew I could fill that void. The cherry on top? Teaming up with some friends and family, we picked up a screenprinting machine and prepared to get our hands dirty.
When I actually started designing the first line I really wanted to establish a brand that ALL people regardless of interest, ethnicity, or social attitude could relate to. I didn’t want the designs to be overly “Islandish” as there were already many brands with that vibe, but “timeless” and “clean” without a touch of relevance wouldn’t fly either. Being born and raised on Maui, a place full of diversity, "Fresh" & "Local" came to mind because fresh and local is ALWAYS in demand and is THE golden standard no matter who you are, where you go or what the "Product" is. At the same time the words Fresh, Local and Product each have so many definitions that they purposely were left up for interpretation so that we would be able to communicate many different ideas with the same basic foundation.
Instagram was in its infancy then, no algorithms holding back business posts from being shown to their follower network. All it took was a few shots of our new Product and we hit the ground running. The first two years flew by, designing by day, printing at all hours, marketing at every moment in between. Thousands of pieces were moved in that time period. Events, Fairs, and Festivals were nonstop. Photo and video shoots were a normal way to spend a weekend. I loved seeing people learning about the brand and start following it, and repeat customers coming back for every new release.
Although we had a great run, eventually life catches up with you. I’m not one to go into personal details online, but priorities have shifted and circumstances changed. Gone are the days of in-house printing and cleaning off the plastisol from my fingers just in time to load up the car and drive off to set up for another event. We still design though. And I’m happy to say many of our customers are still there supporting us and everything we stood for from the beginning.
Constant FRESH designs by LOCAL people passionate about solid PRODUCT. Period.