We always say a gift of Akron makes the best gift of all!  The St. Vincent-St. Mary Graduating Class of 2010 has created this really cool mural for generations to come.  Thanks to history teacher/assistant football coach Anthony Boarman for sending this to us.  How sweet that they made our downtown store tower over the Akron Art Museum. 

Here is a great article featuring us, as well as our good friends at CLE Clothing Co and some other really cool NEO-proud companies, from Inside Business magazine:

Tee Times

Hey, you. Yeah, you, hangin’ out all casual-like near the watercooler, waiting to dish about last night’s episode of Lost. If you really want to get people talking, you’ll sport a CleveLand That I Love T-shirt beneath that button-down. “Every time I wear it, I get stopped by people wanting to know where I got it,” says Greg Vlosich, co-owner of GV Art + Design, one of several pro-hometown T-shirt companies sprouting up in Northeast Ohio. “We’re just trying to promote Akron … and show some of the creativity that exists in this town,” says Ed Gaffney Jr., owner of Akron’s Rubber City Clothing. A former analyst for a Wall Street investment bank, he believes pro-hometown T’s are the next big thing. And given that C.L.E. Clothing Co. is about to sell its 10,000th T-shirt, he may be right. So what are you waiting for — the next episode of American Idol? That’s so last decade. — Miranda S. Miller
Who	C.L.E. Clothing Co.	GV Art + Design	Rubber City Clothing	Rusty Waters Apparel
Where	Cleveland	Cleveland	Akron	Cleveland, Youngstown, Pittsburgh
Why pro-hometown T-shirts?	“There’s a resurgence in Cleveland — a food movement, an art movement — we kinda want to be a part of that,” says Kubinski.	“To try and give back to the community,” says Greg, who wants to give a portion of the proceeds to charities and school art programs.	“Location T-shirts run by small startup companies is going to be the next trend,” says Gaffney.	“We wanted to add some local flavor [to our line],” says Chizmar.
Your style	“Fun, hip, trendy, but down-to-earth, and cute, if I can say that as a guy,” says Kubinski.	“It relates to everybody,” says Greg. He’s gotten orders from DJs, rappers, skate shops, churches and community groups.	“We’re not trying to be übercool.”	“Different … experimental,” he says. “We always want to keep positive.”
What should I buy if I want to wear what everyone else is wearing?	C.L.E.’s Heart of It All. The V-neck was their first design and is available in three colors.	The CleveLand That I Love shirt’s block letters make a bold statement. It’s available in three colors and hoodies.	Akron Witnessed First. “I think anybody that follows LeBron James and is from Akron should have one of those shirts.”	“The I hearts with the anatomical heart and the skulls.”
What’s next?	“We weren’t really prepared for what happened last year. You’re probably gonna see our T-shirts in a lot more locations,” says Rees.	“We’re trying to team up with local businesses. We have eight to 10 designs and other Cleveland products.”	Detroit. “We want to go to other cities once we get a solid base here.”	Hoodies and bags. “Getting our apparel in more stores.”
How can we work your T-shirts into our office wardrobe?	As an undershirt	“No one’s going to say ‘no’ to positive Cleveland stuff.”	Bags. “People can carry the spirit of Akron and Rubber City Clothing even if you’re not wearing one of our shirts.”	“A T-shirt under a suit jacket always looks kinda classy.”
How has social media helped your business?	“We wouldn’t exist without it. Our marketing budget last year was $75. Twitter is an amazing thing,” says Rees.	“Facebook and the Web site have helped out a lot. We’re still learning, but it’s starting to take off.”	“Facebook builds an awareness … and allows us to go to market very quickly when we come out with new merchandise.”	“We’re trying to use it for feedback on designs.”
Famous sightings	Lollapalooza in Chicago	The Cleveland Browns defense ordered the Browns shirt last year.	“We’re the official retailer for the Pretenders.”	Cleveland native and Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Chris Chambers

We are now four weeks into our sort-of new venture of Rubber City Clothing- Highland Square.  Since April 2009, the store had been known as Made in Akron- a fine retail shop featuring an eclectic mix of local art, jewelery, clothing, food souvenirs, and just about anything and everything Akron.  When we decided to change the name at the end of January, we were met with mixed emotions.  On top of that, Elizabeth and Kelly- who had managed this store and kept its eclectic mix in great order- moved on to some bigger & better things in their lives- Kelly moved to the Steel City & is happily in love; and Elizabeth is busy promoting and running her new eatery, Urban Eats which just opened within Musica serving mouthwatering paninis and flatbread pizzas.  Plus, we cut the winter hours down to Thursday-Saturday, 11am-7pm till Mother Nature stops beating us with snow.  So many questions came pouring in: Are you closing?  Are you getting rid of the art?  Who will run it now?  Well, the answers are No, no, and Sarah from downtown.  We are here to stay in Highland Square- still promoting the hell out of Akron- just now with more clothing.  We still have all of the jewelry, food, souvenirs, accessories, music, and most of the art- we’re going to take a more gallery approach and feature different artists for certain periods of time.  We’ve got a great new layout that presents our favorite art, screen-printed t’s in a much better way.  More sizes and colors available now too!  If you haven’t been down to the revamped store on South Highland Ave, come check it out!   We’re here Thur-Sat, 11am-7pm.  You can always shop online- www.RubberCityClothing.com or www.MadeinAkron.com 24/7.

My apologies, the title of this blog appears to reference a hilarious 2003 movie, and a not-so-hilarious 2002 movie….this is not about movies…..

This week marks a little shift in the Rubber City Clothing family.  For the past year and a half, Sarah G (that’s me) has worked almost daily, providing you with service, smiles, and perfectly folded t-shirts (thank you too many years of working at a Gap).  Now, I’m going to be here just a bit less, thanks to the University of Akron.  I just began my path to a Master’s Degree in Clothing & Textiles.  I graduated from Can’t Read, Can’t Write, Kent State in 2005 with my BS in Fashion Merchandising, so it’s been a little weird to be going back to school almost 5yrs later.  Thank God for my mother’s youthful skin, otherwise I would feel much, much older around all the little kiddies who weren’t alive when Reagan was President.  So far school is pretty great- 2 textiles classes & a research class; and lots of projects planned for all of them.  I’m sure I’ll be sharing some of my UA stories in months to come.

As for Rubber City Clothing, we’d like to welcome Nick to our little family.  Nick aka Panic is the announcer for the NEO Roller Derby & a Managing Editor for Buzzbin Magazine.  He’s a man of many hats, and we’re excited to have him on board.  Some of you may have seen him managing our Summit Mall kiosk over the holidays.  Nick will be sharing the duty of serving up the Bullsheet along with me, so I’m sure he’ll give you fine readers a proper introduction.

Well, this isn’t the most exciting of blog topics, but…..

Just a reminder, as we are still getting in many holiday returns/exchanges: If you have an original receipt, any unwashed/unworn merchandise purchased between December 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009 may be returned or exchanged through January 30, 2010.  Any merchandise brought back without an original receipt or after January 30th can be exchanged for merchandise or store credit.  Starting January 1, 2010, the original return/exchange policy of 14 days with an original receipt was back in effect.  Let us know if you have any questions!

We are VERY excited to announce a new partner for the holidays, BORDERS Books & Music in Fairlawn.  Thanks to the local pride & ingenuity by manager John B, he’s added Rubber City Clothing t-shirts to the variety of books, music, and merchandise available for the holiday season.

Along with their year-round great selection of local books, you’ll be able to find a section of local goods such as RCC t’s, Mr. Jingeling (from Higbee’s in Cleveland) merchandise, gear from our friends the Rubber City Roller Girls, and more!  Right now Borders has four RCC styles, but we’ll definitely replenish their stock!  Stop out & say hello to John when you pick up your shirts!

We are looking for a dynamic, energetic, and trustworthy full-time Holiday Kiosk Manager and 8 equally fun part-time sales associates to manage the Rubber City Clothing holiday kiosk at Summit Mall from December 2-28.

This soon to be famous RCC Holiday Kiosk manager and his or her staff will report directly to the owner of RCC and Made in Akron, and work with the General Managers of both companies to replenish inventory daily, and drive sales by engaging customers and keeping the RCC kiosk as attractive as the brand itself.

The RCC Holiday Kiosk Manager position requires a minimum of 5 years experience in a retail/management setting, while the part-time staff positions require 2 years of retail experience.  Compensation is commensurate with experience.  All candidates must have their own transportations and provide at least 2 credible references that will be contacted if asked to interview.

If you think you’d be a good fit to work with RCC next month, please send an email with RCC Kiosk Manager or RCC Kiosk Staff in the subject line, a letter explaining your interest in RCC and your current resume to jobs@rubbercityclothing.com.

Please do not call Rubber City Clothing or Made in Akron regarding these positions.

For those of you that are avid readers of the Bullsheet put out almost daily by Rubber City Clothing, you’ve probably been wondering where we’ve been.  Well, we have been busy.  Very, very, busy.  And here is why….

Rubber City Clothing and Made in Akron have been upgrading to join the retail bigs- we’ve got bar codes folks!  For the past week, we’ve been installing software, uploading inventory, creating sku’s, printing labels, and attaching tags for our new EffortlessE web-based POS system (bet you thought that POS stood for something else!).  This new system will not only make our jobs as managers of these fine local establishments more efficient, but will also make your checkout experience as a customer quicker and easier.

Stop in sometime soon to see the upgrade.  New shirts are coming soon!

We are so grateful to have so many loyal customers.  Some customers are so loyal, that they keep checking in every couple of weeks to see if we’ve gotten new merchandise.  And out of those who come in every couple of weeks, I know quite a few are looking for items that are out of stock.  Well, we’ve got some good news…. NEW MERCHANDISE IS COMING SOON!  And by soon, I mean just a few weeks…I really mean it.

By the beginning of October, we’ll have more sizes & colors in of some of your favorites like Survival (Where the Weak are Killed & Eaten), Route 8, Akron WITNESSED First, and more!  We’re going to reprint some of the classic colors, but we’re also open to suggestion on new colors!  Let us know any ideas you might have for some of your favorite RCC designs!