In 2000 I moved to New York City after college. I worked for a fashion brand during the day and went to design school at night.

After three years I released my first product: a long-sleeve t-shirt. I made it in standard and in-between sizes.

I sold directly at street markets in Soho on weekends. In 2005 I built a website.

By 2009 I had enough online sales to leave my day job. Sales were growing, but problems with manufacturers were growing too.

An order with a pant factory in Brooklyn was six weeks past due. I called every week. Finally, the owner, Mr. Hertling, told me: "We'll get to your order when we get to it. If that's not good enough, you need to make a decision."

I decided to start a factory. I mentioned it to a vendor from my day job days. He said, "Come talk to me and my business partner in East Rutherford." They offered me space in their building. That's how we landed in New Jersey.

That was early 2012. I moved into a back corner of their building, bought my first machines, hired a full-time seamstress, and posted an ad on Craigslist for a jean maker.

Gabriel replied. He had just arrived from the Dominican Republic, where he worked in a GAP jean factory. He taught us how to make jeans and stayed six months.

We found Mr. Chin on Craigslist too. A former shirt factory owner from India, he spent three months with us.

For the next decade we ran the factory every day. It provided flexibility, but it also created complexity.

I used the factory to solve fit problems. If a customer needed an adjustment, we made it. If enough customers needed the same adjustment, we created a new fit option. We could fit anyone, but the options became too complex for most.

In late 2023 we simplified our fits. The collection had the same problem: too many products. In early 2025 we discontinued everything except cotton jeans, solid colored button-ups, and crewneck t-shirts.