This summer is starting to bring out a number of local names, showcasing at first glance would be brand new fashion from major stores, but in reality is simple products from Utah designers.

--- One of the bigger names starting to make its presence known is Aequitas Clothing. Based out of Farmington at the hidden wonder known as The Collective Loft, the small shirt design company has quietly been getting themselves over in shops and expanding their line to an impressive set, attracting both hip-hop and skater crowds and slowly gaining appeal to a much wider audience. I got a chance to chat with co-owners Casey Childs and Josh Kamp about the company, their work, thoughts on local fashion and retail, and some other topics here and there.

Casey Childs & Josh Kamp

http://www.aequitasclothing.com/

Gavin: Hey guys, first off, tell us a little bit about yourself.

Casey: I'm 23 years old. I grew up in Syracuse, Utah. I'm majoring in graphic design.

Josh: I’m from Syracuse Utah, I’m 28 I currently work at a bank and go to SLCC. To have a clothing company has been a dream of mine for a long time now.

Gavin: How did you first take an interest in clothing and printing?

Josh: I would go place’s and not find something that I liked. I thought it would be fun and wanted to start a clothing company that the name had a deeper meaning then just a tag line.

Casey: I've always like t-shirts. In high school some friends of mine started their own t-shirt company and I thought that was pretty cool. So I asked them how to print on t-shirts and they told about screen printing. While in high school I got really into digital art and design. So I mixed good design with t-shirt printing.

Gavin: What were some of your first designs like? Still got any around?

Casey: They were pretty different from everything else that other companies were doing at the time. My main focus was to not have a logo or any artwork printed right in the middle of the shirt. I thought of the placement as tattoos on your body. You wouldn't get a logo tattooed in the middle of your chest. So I placed the artwork to wrap around the body or have it angled differently. We still have a few designs left from our first three that we printed.

Gavin: How did the idea come about to start up a clothing line?

Josh: I always wanted to have a clothing company and was just thinking of names. I was lining more to Aequitas then the others. Then my sister was talking to Casey one day and he called me and was interest in starting one as well.

Casey: I was hanging out with Josh's sisters and they told me that Josh wanted to start a clothing company. So I gave him a call and we talked about what we wanted our designs to look like. So I came up with a logo that would show what we were all about at that time.

Gavin: Where exactly did the name for the company come from?

Josh: I was watching a movie and saw a tattoo of Aequitas on the actors hand. Thought it sound cool and looked up the meaning and liked even more. Especially after learning the meaning behind it, Aequitas means justice and equality in Latin.

Gavin: Was it difficult getting everything set up or did things flow rather smoothly?

Casey: Things flowed very smooth. We would split up things that needed to be done. I designed a bunch of artwork and Josh got all of our business papers done.

Josh: It was hard to learn all that we need to do but mostly it been fair smooth. Luckily we have friends that are willing to help us out.

Gavin: What's the process like in creating a shirt, from design to final product?

Casey: Really, I'm not sure about it myself. I sit down and start sketching out stuff on my computer and things just start coming to my head. Usually I'll start with a little bit then turn that idea into a full meaningful design.

Gavin: How has the reaction been like to the products from both shops and buyers?

Josh: Over all a lot of people like our stuff. We had a booth at Weber County Fair it really didn’t do to well there.

Casey: So far the response to our stuff has been really positive. Sometimes people don't get it, but thats alright. Its not for everyone. Shops have always liked what we have given them. They sell well in their stores.

Gavin: A little local, what's your take on the local fashion scene, both good and bad?

Casey: I think its getting better. More people are opening their eyes to what can be done in our state. We shouldn't have to go to somewhere else to find something. We should improve the culture around us and give people the most choices here. Just because their are chain stores everywhere doesn't mean you can't start your own store and have something unique.

Josh: More people as time past seem to be more focus on buying local first. Salt Lake local fashion scene is growing as time goes as I have scene in the Fashion Strolls. I think more and more we do these fashion strolls it bring more artist and designers out and show there art work either on canvas or clothing.

Gavin: Anything you believe could be done to make it bigger or better?

Josh: More local business becoming involved in the Fashion Strolls, becoming more local orientated.

Casey: I think its all about getting the word out. Facebook and MySpace have made it a lot easier to do this.

Gavin: What's your take on Fashion Stroll and what its done for the local business?

Casey: I think what the Fashion Stroll is doing is good for buyers and sellers. Its free and you get to see what new things are coming out. If you want to sell, you just pay a small fee (very small fee) for some fliers that get printed.

Josh: It provides small local artist help get there product out there. It allows local artists to come together and help each other out. It also shows the public that there is local fashion out there with the help of the local TV and SLUG. They just need to find it.

Gavin: Do you have any favorite clothing shops you like to work with or shop from?

Casey: We work with model.citezen and Uprok. And so far that has been a positive experience for us. I like to shop at Bastille in the Gateway. And T-shirt websites online.

Gavin: What are your thoughts about local retailers and how they deal with local products?

Casey: Most retailers are doing pretty good by letting smaller companies sell their stuff in their stores. Sometimes they want a presentation of your stuff and sometimes they don't.

Josh: With anything really, you have some that will help you out and give you some space in there store. Then just on the other side there not to open to local in there.

Gavin: What's it like for you doing business in this current economy?

Josh: I think with our company being new and still growing it really hasn’t effected us. we sold more the first of this year then the last two.

Casey: People don't want to spend a lot of money on clothes. We have been selling our t-shirts around $15 since we started. So hopefully that price will influence people to buy our stuff more. It hasn't hit us too hard because our shirts are affordable.

Gavin: Are there any plans to expand beyond what you've got going now, or are you mainly sticking to shirts?

Casey: We want to eventually do pants and shoes. I'm a huge fan of RAW denim and I would like to make some jackets and pants out of those.

Josh: We would love to move include denim, belts, jackets, bag and wallets.

Gavin: What can we expect from Aequitas Clothing next year?

Casey: Hopefully pants and more jackets.

Josh: We are getting better of what we doing and always looking for the best way to make are customers the best with a sick design. We are working doing some of our on clothing design from start to finish.

Gavin: Is there anything you'd like to promote or plug?

Josh: Just us, and model.citizen.

Casey: We are part of the Collective Loft. We do shows and sell our stuff their almost every weekend. Check the website for more info at The Collective Loft and our website.