Daily Style Phile: Johnny Earle, The Man Behind Johnny Cupcakes

The Johnny Cupcakes Story

Earle started out a college drop out who sold original shirts out of the back of his truck.  Initially launched as a joke, Johnny was eventually able to make a solid income out of it. From a young age, Johnny had the makings of a budding entrepreneur. Starting with gag gifts and candy, he would buy them in bulk and then sell them to the other kids at school. Some of his antics almost got him kicked out of high school, but hey, everyone has to learn somehow. Once Johnny made the decision that college life wasn't for him, he began working a couple jobs; including a silk screen shop and designing pins for various businesses. Eventually, coworkers came up with a handful of nicknames for Johnny and one ended up sticking...that being Johnny Cupcakes. On a whim, he decided to print a few shirts with "Johnny Cupcakes" on the front, and the brand grew from there. After that, was when Johnny began to sell shirts out of his Toyota, at gigs for local bands, and eventually online. Once he'd done enough networking, he decided to really get the ball rolling and in 2005, he opened up his first store in Hull, Massachusetts. Since then, he's opened another store in Boston, one in LA, and most recently (in 2011), one in London. John Earle has been featured in various Businessweek articles and the like. His strong marketing and branding tactics have set the company apart from other clothing companies, and the personal interaction with his fan base truly draws in the customers. After all, you'd rather trust a friend than a stranger, wouldn't you? [Photo via]