The unique experience of iTownStore.com begins when anybody (be it team member, coach, leader, etc.) decides to start creating apparel for his or her organization. This person creates a unique, virtual “store” for the organization right on iTownStore.com. Then they can start designing any apparel they want with the online design station. There is a huge selection of apparel and promotional products to choose from for your design. Since the iTownStore is just in the starting stages, if there is a piece of apparel or design that you want that is not already available, the design team will make it for you. The online design studio is just beginning so the company is welcoming and considering any feedback from users.
The iTownStore website is very user-friendly and efficient. Creating a store and designing products are very simple, and any questions or special requests can be addressed with a simple phone call to the store. Although CustomInk.com may be the first place that people think of when they want something designed, their wallets may regret it later. The prices of apparel and other products are simply unbeatable. This Neirad reporter was able to order 25 t-shirts exactly the way I wanted them for $8 each! When I approached iTownStore with the idea for this product, I had already designed it on CustomInk.com. I was able to email the pictures of what I had designed to iTownStore, and they replicated the design almost exactly, and sold it for half the price of CustomInk.
But how could they get their prices so much lower? Kuehler and Lareau explained that the prices are low because iTownStore owns and runs the factory right in Bridgeport. Because they make their own shirts and deliver them directly to the customer, it eliminates the middleman that would increase the cost. Also, because of the location of their factory, iTownStore is able to offer free shipping and delivery on all products. Kuehler stressed that “Locally, we definitely should offer the cheapest prices.”
he actual iTownStore is located at 28 Thorndal Circle in Darien. Going into the store provides you with a rush of many different colors and interesting designs on all kinds of merchandise available, as well as familiar names from Darien and surrounding towns. In the offices they even have a huge blue surfboard with the iTownStore logo on it! This place in Darien serves as the headquarters and offices for the iTownStore. But Lareau and Kuehler explained that the next step for the iTownStore is opening actual retail stores in towns that are seen as most successful, beginning with Darien.
Neirad and the iTownStore are very excited to offer our readers a special treat from the store. Beginning as soon as you read this article, you can get a free t-shirt from the iTownStore! All you have to do is this: click on this link to start designing the personalized t-shirt in any way you want. Once you submit your order, you will receive an email from the store asking just a couple questions for some feedback on your experience using the design studio. Once you take a few minutes to answer these, the store will take your order and send you your free t-shirt! But hurry, because this great offer is available for a limited time only!
The iTownStore is great new place originating right in Darien where people can design, sell, and buy their merchandise in a hassle-free way, for prices that simply can’t be beaten. Make sure you check out the iTownStore as it continues to grow in the future.
Custom Shirt Shop Makes Big Splash
Welcome to iTownStore.com, Born and Raised in Darien
(Top: Owners Brad Lareau and Mike Kuehler)
More by Samantha Wood
Almost every sports team can be identified by the apparel they wear. Be it t-shirts, sweatshirts, sweat pants, you name it. And it’s not just the sports teams. Many clubs and other organizations have their own apparel too. Most of these clothes (for the sports teams) are organized and sold exclusively by the team’s coaches. Others are designed by the members of the team, most often for Senior Day and Homecoming celebrations. When looking for a place to design and create these shirts, many groups (including the Neirad team!) turn to the popular site CustomInk.com. But now there is a new place right here in Darien that gets the same job done, for a much lower price.
This growing company, the iTownStore, was very recently created by Darien High School graduates, Brad Lareau and Mike Kuehler. The main idea behind this store is to focus on local schools, charities, and small businesses. According to the store’s website, “iTownStore is a virtual store that is focused on sales of apparel and promotional products specifically catering to local area organizations (i.e. schools, charities, athletic leagues) and local area businesses.”
Both founders were born and raised right here in Darien. Lareau attended Mather Junior High before going to a private high school. His name may be familiar because his wife is an English teacher on the Bronze team at Middlesex Middle School, and his son Dillon is a junior here at DHS. Kuehler was in the Darien High School Class of ’86 and even played lacrosse for the Blue Wave!
Lareau and Kuehler explained that the idea for the iTownStore was born after learning about how frustrating it was whenever groups at MMS were trying to order bulk t-shirts. Specifically, they heard of the troubles that Abby Warren, another teacher at MMS, experienced with these frustrating orders where she had to track down people and collect all of the checks. The thought that started it all was, simply, “There has to be an easier way!”
wo years ago, this sparked the creation of this easy online store through which people can access the merchandise directly. They started out buying a business called Color Film, which printed CDs. With this new mission to focus on clothing, they started analyzing popular online sites such as CustomInk and Cafe Press. Their idea was that every town should have a place where people could go to get their merchandise. They spent nine months developing their basic idea, and in the spring of ’09 they presented the idea to MMS. Then in the fall of that year they launched the online store with just eight or nine organizations. One short year later, they were catering to 80 organizations, and now they have 100!
Lareau and Kuehler explained that the iTownStore certainly has a long way to go, but as of right now they are the only business of this kind on the east coast. Their business is unique from CustomInk or Cafe Press because their equipment is the newest and most high tech available. Also, they offer the option of buying in bulk (for a cheaper price) or anyone buying one or a few pieces at a bit higher price (but still very cheap).
So far, for just the town of Darien, the iTownStore has created apparel for all the elementary schools, Middlesex Middle School, and Blue Wave Pride apparel. It also has apparel for specific DHS sports teams, including girls’ ice hockey, girls’ lacrosse, girls’ and boys’ volleyball, football, girls’ track and field, rugby, and others. Outside of Darien, iTownStore provides for 26 towns in Connecticut, with a few more in New York, Minnesota, Illinois, and California.
