Jim Tressel’s game-day sweater vests inspired a local entrepreneur to begin a T-shirt business.

John Amato was watching an Ohio State game with his family in 2007 when he thought out loud, “Hey, somebody should make that a T-shirt, a sweater vest T-shirt.”

“Well, why don’t you do it?” his father replied.

Leah D’Emilio models John Amato’s Jim Tressel OSU sweater vest T-shirt.

“He challenged me to figure it out,” Amato said “I had a sample made. It was really a spur-of-the-moment thing.”

Amato came up with the basic design and called family friend Joe Pinciotti, of the Ulrich Pinciotti Design Group. Pinciotti took the design and finalized it on a computer.

The Tressel T-shirt is a red V-neck shirt with white sleeves sewn in, a neck portion with silk-screened tie and a silk-screened logo.

The next step was to get licensing. Amato printed the forms off The Ohio State University trademark and licensing department Web site and sent them in. The university reviews applicants once a month, Amato said.

Amato has expanded his T-shirt line to include original BGSU and UT merchandise. Once again, he came up with the ideas and turned to Pinciotti for the final artwork.

“It’s collaboration, really,” Pinciotti said.  “[Amato] says, ‘I think I want to do a shirt with UT undefeated champs 1969 and I might want to use a helmet.’ I go by his direction and create designs.”

One of the benefits of these shirts is that they are unique designs, Amato said.

“I know Toledo and Bowling Green better than any company who is making T-shirts for them. I give them something they don’t currently have,” he said.

“Kids love T-shirts and they love to support their teams. The more unique they are, the more marketable they are,” Pinciotti said.

Amato uses a 50/50 cotton blend or tri-blend to give his shirts a softer, almost weathered feel, he said. “It’s like a shirt that you’ve worn before; it fits well and it is soft.”

The T-shirts, which cost between $20 and $26, are available online at www.jupmode.com; the Student Book Exchange at BGSU; Nex Clothing Co, 1467 Secor Road, and the Barnes and Noble bookstores on UT and BGSU campuses, Amato said.

The Tressel T-shirt is available at the Buckeye Wolverine Shop, where it is the best-selling T-shirt, said manager Tim Kralovic.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 18th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Sports.
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