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Local uses personal interests to create shirts, shorts and
more
It can be a little hard to pin down a specific audience for
Jared Straub’s clothing line Havoc Concepts. That’s because the
22-year-old Gavilan College student continues to evolve the small
business he established in 2008 as he goes along.
”
I first started coming up with designs,
”
he said.
”
There was no exact idea. I just like to design.
”
He looked at what his friends liked and then came up with the
idea of developing a company and a brand name.
”
The designs reflect what is going on in my life,
”
he said.
When he first started, he focused on motocross apparel and more
recently he’s been working on designs for mixed martial arts.
”
It keeps it interesting and allows the products I’m making to
change to reflect the popular trends
– the atmosphere and the people who surround me,
”
said Straub, of Hollister.
Local uses personal interests to create shirts, shorts and more
It can be a little hard to pin down a specific audience for Jared Straub’s clothing line Havoc Concepts. That’s because the 22-year-old Gavilan College student continues to evolve the small business he established in 2008 as he goes along.
“I first started coming up with designs,” he said. “There was no exact idea. I just like to design.”
He looked at what his friends liked and then came up with the idea of developing a company and a brand name.
“The designs reflect what is going on in my life,” he said.
When he first started, he focused on motocross apparel and more recently he’s been working on designs for mixed martial arts.
“It keeps it interesting and allows the products I’m making to change to reflect the popular trends – the atmosphere and the people who surround me,” said Straub, of Hollister.
When he first got started he said he looked at what other clothing companies, such as Affliction, were doing. Instead of just printing a brand name prominently on the shirt, he wanted to use more intricate designs. His images mix abstract designs with more concrete icons – such as a rose on a girl’s shirt, a finch on a hooded sweatshirt or a skull on a shirt geared toward men.
“I’m trying to do designs that are a little bit edgier, but that appeal to a lot of people,” he said.
He said he often starts his designs off freehand – and admitted a lot of them start when he is in classes at Gavilan College, where he is studying business – and then polishes them up in Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator.
Straub has a website he uses to market his clothing and he has tried to get local stores to sell his items, though he said getting a distributor has been the biggest challenge. For a while, he had a deal at a store in the Gilroy Outlets but it went out of business. He went back to selling his items through the website and word of mouth, but he is open to selling his clothes in local shops if he can find a willing partner.
He also uses social networking sites to get feedback on designs. He said he often posts a design on Facebook and asks for feedback from friends or customers before he prints it up on clothing.
“I do a prototype and change it according to the feedback,” he said. “It’s cool using potential customers and friends. It helps me offer a better product.”
He added that he tries to keep the prices down on his items, but also uses quality T-shirts and mixed martial arts shorts for his designs. For instance, the MMA shorts on which he embroiders his designs were purchased from the biggest wholesaler of MMA clothing, Sprawl. Straub said he sells the shorts for about half of what other brands sell them. He explained the difference between martial arts shorts and other athletic shorts – a stretchy waist that straps shut, stretchy material in the thighs and a slit on the outside of the shorts to allow for more kicks and other movements.
On the site, a typical T-shirt sells for $11 and a pair of MMA shorts go for $35.
He also prints an original tag on the inside collar of his shirts to give a sense of authenticity to his products. He works with printers and embroidery shops in San Jose, Gilroy and Morgan Hill, depending on the needs for each design.
“I have some designs that are larger and some printers can’t do that,” Straub said. “Then I have to go to a specialized company.”
In the past, he has printed each item in batches of 50 but he is hoping to run them in batches of 25-30 in the future.
Another challenge is trying to create clothes that appeal to both men and women.
“Girls lines are more challenging because there are so many options (already available),” he said.
Straub said he would like to sponsor local MMA fighters or other athletes in the future, and has worked with some in the past as a way of “giving back.”
In the fall, he will be transferring to the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he will continue to study business. It is entirely likely that his interests will continue to evolve there and the influences on his designs will change again.
“It’s just kind of fulfilling,” he said. “It will always be something I try to promote a little. I may not always be able to put a lot of money into it, but I will try to advertise it.”
For more information, to place an order or to see the designs, visit www.havoc-concepts.com or call Straub at 408-612-7707.
