Today we’d like to introduce you to Jace Nelson
Hi Jace, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
With Hometown Wears you can find style that feels like home.
Born and raised in the land of 10,000 lakes, I call the Midwest home. From the cabin to the Northshore, camping to ice fishing and Fair food to hot dish, I can relate to all the hometown vibes that make where we live so great.
Hometown Wears was born out of a keen eye for creative design and a desire to highlight all the icons, saying and “official” things of Minnesota.
With my first design in hand, I tested the waters at the State Fair years ago with our Minnesota t-shirts and they were a big hit! Over the next few years I played with different colors and got a feel for the right sizes and design preferences of the Fair crowd….what better scale and diverse Minnesotan representation could you ask for?
Outside of the Fair we didn’t do much business, but people kept asking where they could get our shirts and we generated enough demand to try the online market.
Learning the nuances of the online realm, from digital storefronts to promotional outlets has been a very rewarding challenge and has greatly helped round out my personal and professional skill sets. I built out our online store with Shopify, bought up our URLs, created our social presence, formed an LLC, and it was off to the races.
My wife and I have our day jobs, but at night we are busy fulfilling orders, preparing new shirts and quickly getting on a first name basis with our local mailman.
The feedback and support on the shirts has been amazing and it is extremely rewarding to see my vision come to life. I just recently ran into a woman at the airport who was wearing one of my shirts and it was a surreal moment for me.
Next on the docket is wholesale avenues and testing the waters with some local stores and boutiques (Patina and the like). If any of your readers have suggestions I am all ears!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
While we have been selling our shirts at markets and fairs for years, the online world was new to me and I had a lot to learn. I launched the online store and all that went into it in just a few short weeks to capitalize on the Holiday shopping market. Much of it was intuitive, but there was still a ton of things I simply didn’t know. I spent many a late nights scouring the web, looking up best practices and seeing what the competition was doing. It is a fairly saturated market as far as online clothing stores go, but focusing in on that hometown pride niche has been helpful.
Amidst an endless stream of social/online chatter, getting the word out was and is a challenge, but starting small and continually chipping away at it has already started yielding new customers and sales.
We’ve been impressed with Hometown Wears, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
At Hometown Wears we specialize in creative designs that you can wear to show off your hometown pride.
From “Ope!” to “Uff Da” our shirts say it all. Celebrate everything that makes Minnesota great — lakes, loons and a whole lot of hot dish! Show off your hometown pride in our comfort fit t-shirts featuring every iconic saying and symbol of the North Star State. Our t-shirts are comfy and cozy, just like our home state, and the cotton/poly blend means they keep their shape and size.
Shirts are just $19.95 and come in purple, maroon and navy.
So, no matter if you grew up here, spent the summers, or just have fond memories of your favorite state, you can always find Style That Feels Like Home with Hometown Wears!
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I love being creative. Be it in design or even problem solving, I have always enjoyed coming up with a vision and seeing it come to life. As a child I found that my brain works in a very unique way and I can see ordinary things and visualize what they could become in a way that others can’t. I have a corporate job that allows me to flex my creative skillsets, but at home is where they shine brightest – just ask my friends and family about my Halloween parties….
Pricing:
- 19.95
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hometownwears.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hometownwears
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HometownWearsProfile/
