Emulsion Apparel quietly opened its first ever retail shop in downtown Mystic on a recent rainy day, and already the clothing brand is creating noise for its unique shop and business location.
“It was terrible weather,” co-owner Chris Fiftal said adding that the few people who stopped by kept saying that the store’s location off of West Main Street at 3 Pearl Street means the store is destined for failure.
Terrible weather and pessimists aside, Fiftal and his business partner Dave DiAngellis are already embedding themselves in the Mystic community.
“We’re going to try to do something that is different,” Fiftal said. “We hope to being some new life and a youthful brand into Mystic, as I feel it's missing a creative group of individuals such as ourselves.”
Fiftal will be at tonight's at the screen-printing t-shirts and giving visitors a preview of the brand which Fiftal says is geared toward the skateboard lifestyle and do-it-yourself culture.
“We want to be as involved with the local skate parks and artist communities as possible,” Fiftal said.
Fiftal and DiAngellis both 25 began Emulsion Apparel three years ago in Boston, Mass. The two College of Massachusetts Art graduates then opened their first manufacturing facility in Newport, R.I., in 2011, and are now giving a retail shop a try.
“I grew up in Mystic and wanted to do something here,” Fiftal said.
The shop sells unique graphic tee shirts, sweatshirts and apparel of all sorts and their digital direct to garment printer gives them the ability to create a custom t-shirt for anyone in less than five minutes.
The Mystic shop is a pop-location open on weekends until Memorial Day and then every day after for four months. Fiftal said if it goes well they hope to make the store permanent.
For the next few months they have given themselves a strict budget to make the place successful even building almost everything in the store themselves.
“We hope to make this a destination store for someone looking for something unique from Mystic focused on an interactive shopping experience,” Fiftal said.
