Take two Art Institute of Pittsburgh graduates, three Youngstown natives, and a Cleveland State University graduate—mix in a great idea for an urban clothing company. What do you get?
Rusty Waters Apparel.
The clothing line was born out of a brainstorming session between Adam Chizmar and Kate Butler of the Art Institute and Dominic Gatti of Cleveland State University.
“The name Rusty Waters Apparel is a play on the name Rust Belt mixed with a little bit of homage to blues musician, Muddy Waters,” Gatti said.
Rusty Waters Apparel is the voice of the Rust Belt. It represents the significant waterways in North East Ohio and Western Pennsylvania stretching from Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland to the Mahoning and Shenango Rivers in Youngstown to the Golden Triangle in Pittsburgh.
“We wanted to tie together the region through alternative t-shirts,” Gatti said.
For example, there is an I (Heart) Pittsburgh shirt, unique to the Rusty Waters brand. There is also available the popular green and black Suburbia shirt that takes Mr. Yuck to a whole new level.
You can find these shirts at the PTC’s 15 Minutes Gallery in the Pittsburgh Technology Council offices. Price per shirt is $20 at the Gallery.
Hey this is pretty cool. I hope this idea does well, because it is a unique start-up story.