Fashionware: Crazy Go Lucky of Union City, California

Clothing line name : Crazy Go Lucky
City / State : Union City, California
Established date : September 5, 2006
Website : www.crazygolucky.com

Price range for clothing : $15-$20
Where to buy your clothing : http://crazygolucky.storenvy.com

How did you come up with the name ?
– Personally, I’m not good with coming up with names. I came up with a bunch of names but many of them were either already taken or too weird to use. So after a lot of names that didn’t work, I decided to figure out a name that related to the “Crazy” Mike nick name I had gained in college. So after some Google searching and internet research, I stumbled upon “Crazy Go Nuts University” from the Strong Bad internet cartoon. I liked the way a phrase like that sounded and thought up names that were along those lines. Then at some point the term “happy go lucky” popped into my head and that’s pretty much how the name came about. The name is essentially the combination of “crazy” and “happy go lucky”, which I will admit is somewhat a lazy way to come up with a name. Although, I felt that the two ideas combined represented an attitude that fit well with this particular endeavor. Hence why I decided to roll with it. Lately I decided to official give the definition of the name to being cheerfully unconcerned in a bizarre, fantastic, or overly enthusiastic manner. This is to show that aside from being the company name, it also represents the attitude and feel of the company. Oh and just to note, I did not get the name from Family Guy. Yes I watch Family Guy, and the company Peter worked at was called the “Happy Go Lucky Toy Factory” and not Crazy Go Lucky. Also, it is not where I got happy go lucky. Happy go lucky is a widely used phrased that just popped into my head at the time.

Description of clothing line ?
– Offically I always describe Crazy Go Lucky as a company that utilizes designs of a colorful, bright, cute, nerdy, cartoonish, random, and sometimes bizarre art style. To further elaborate, a lot of the characters and ideology I use are inspired from my own personal interests and geek culture. While the art style is result of a combination of my own style which strong influences from cartoons, video games, anime, and comics.

Who are your influences ?
– My major influences are companies like Nintendo, Marvel, Tokidoki, Kid Robot, Tado, Sanrio. But in general, I’m influenced by nerd culture, video games, cartoons, anime, comics, and absurd humor.

What sets your brand different from others ?
– While I originally I wanted to say the fact that I am a one man operation set me apart from others, I realized that there are other one person businesses out there. Although, I will say that being the one that’s doing everything does make things personal and unique. As in some ways, the company is a reflection of my interests, ideas, beliefs, and other aspects of myself. Also since I am the one that does the designs as well, Crazy Go Lucky also showcase my abilities as an artist. Another way you can say Crazy Go Lucky is different is that I focus Crazy Go Lucky around nerd and geek culture. A lot of clothing companies I see are either trendy streetwear or gory zombie/horror shirts. It’s not to say those styles are bad, but it does make Crazy Go Lucky a little more unique by not following “mainstream” trends.

Are there any challenges you run into while running a business ?
– For the most part, the problems I’ve run into are pretty common to most people trying to start a business all by themselves. However, since my primary expertise is as a graphic designer I did have to research and learn as I go the other aspects of running a business.

Any plans for the future with your clothing line ?
– While, maybe not an immediate possibility I would like to also like to see polos, button ups, hoodies, as well as non apparel items like toys, prints, and skate decks released. But overall, I just want to continue to grow and expand the company and explore whatever opportunities come my way.

Here is some photos of there clothing line :

Interview by : WWS Mag Jerry Rodrigo