Online store offers Toledo clothes
Written by Kristen Rapin | | krapin@toledofreepress.comA new online store is making easier to show Toledo some love.
Brother and sister Steve and Sarah Streicher created ToledoLand Apparel as an outlet for people to showcase their Toledo pride.
“In recent history there have been larger branding efforts in Toledo,” Steve said. “We wanted to create a more grassroots branding effort. Create something that people can share what Toledo means to them individually, where they can express themselves. Simply put, we wanted and were motivated by having cool Toledo T-shirts.”
Steve Streicher
ToledoLand Apparel started Oct. 1 with the launch of the Web site http://toledolandapparel.com/.
Individuals can purchase Toledo-themed shirts from five different designs or submit Toledo-theme designs of their own. T-shirts are $15 and hoodies are $28. Individuals who create shirt designs the site accepts receive $2 for every shirt sold.
ToledoLand is modeled after Oaklandish, an apparel company that supports the local arts community in Oakland, Calif., Steve said.
“We wanted to give people a way to support Toledo, even when they don’t still live here,” he said. “A lot of people care about it still and want to see it do well. The site offers a nice, easy affordable way to contribute to what’s going on here.”
Ten percent of every item sold is donated to a local charity. The company plans on rotating what charity receives donations every four months and solicits suggestions for recipient organizations from its fans on Facebook and Twitter.
Through February, The Village Players, a local nonprofit theater, will receive donations from ToledoLand.
The Streichers grew up in Toledo, graduating from St. Francis de Sales and St. Ursula Academy. Currently, Steve lives and works in West Toledo and Sarah lives in Oakland.
“We’ve both lived other places, but we’ve always loved Toledo,” Steve said. “If you ask people we’ve known in other places, they’d say, ‘Sarah and Steve talk about Toledo all the time. I’ve never heard of Toledo, but they made me want to go there.’”
Steve said he hopes the site will eventually turn into a place that Toledoans can showcase their design talents.
