Students create 'Rock'N' T-shirts

From door-to-door sales to a rock star's closet, IU sophomores Parker Newman and Justin Shiffman, along with Newman's twin brother Adam, have created their own mini-empire in versatile, unique T-shirts. \nMarketing directly to individual stores and online, what was once a Bloomington-only venture has reached as far as retailers in Japan and the backs of celebrities like Ryan Seacrest, Terri Hatcher, John Stamos and Billy Corgan.\nBut their designs haven't always been donned by a celebrity's back. \n"Freshman year while living in the dorms, we decided to print up a shirt similar to the Jack Daniel's logo and sell them door-to-door," Newman said. "Greetings on Kirkwood also sold them. We saw the void in what we considered cool T-shirts, so we started making designs."\nIn the beginning, the trio still was not thinking about the rock and roll company it was about to become. \n"We originally were going to do a screen printing business in which we would do custom orders for greek life, sports and clubs," Adam Shiffman said. "The idea eventually shifted to us making our own shirts and pitching them to different stores. We are all very passionate about music, so we decided to make that theme our focus." \nRock'N Clothing was born with the mission to bring quality, unique clothing to the masses. \nThe vision, according to the company's Web site, is that "no longer will people be forced to fit into the concrete mold set forth by existing clothing companies, but rather have an outlet to express their unique appreciation for the fine visual and auditory arts." \nBut getting their product into stores took some determination.\n"We made about 100 calls a week to various stores across the country and sent out press packets constantly," Parker said.\nThe three have been mentored along the way by two top clothing companies, Tyler Speed in New York and Grn Apple Tree in Los Angeles.\nJustin Shiffman said he believes stores accepted their designs for many reasons. \n"By offering stores a good product at a good price with a good pitch, stores bought our shirts," he said. "Some liked it that we were students, others that we acted like we really know what we are doing. We also tried to not take no as an answer."\nTheir persistence paid off. Rock'N Clothing designs are available in three stores in the U.S. and one in Japan. Currently fashion-conscious people can buy the shirts at Estreet Denim Co. in Highland Park, Ill., Citizen in San Francisco and Nishizawa in Japan, Adam said. In Bloomington, Rock'N Clothing designs are available at Metro Wear, located at 234 N. Morton St. \nRock'N Clothing is currently working on expansions on two fronts -- their own online store and further retail expansion. \n"We are going to different trade shows trying to get into more stores and magazines," Adam said. \nBut the trio's biggest effort is devoted to getting its Internet store ready for customers. "Our priority is now online," Shiffman said. \nTo learn more about Rock'N Clothing or to contact the owners, visit www.rocknclothing.com.\n-- Contact staff writer Brittany Ausmus at bausmus@indiana.edu.