Mission Statement

Local Ink is an apparel design house committed to producing striking garments of high quality that showcase bold artwork from an ever growing assembly of guest designers. In this effort we aim to produce garments that empower their wearer and instill a feeling of strength.

Owner

Mark Ohlson, the creative mind behind Local Ink, was born and raised in a cow barn outside of Montpelier, Vt. He snowboarded his way through college and by 2001 had a degree in foreign language from the University of Vermont and two years experience working with clothing and outerwear for Rossignol. He relocated to Portland, Maine where he has spent the past six years working in retail clothing and restaurant management. In 2007 he established Local Ink LLC to improve the lives of more people than he could fit at his bar.

The Story

When I, Mark Ohlson, came up with the concept for Local Ink I had just spent a week plugged into my ipod listening to the same twelve tracks. The album I had purchased the week before had become my daily soundtrack. The music inspired me to feel better. I was appreciating this phenomenon when I took my earphones off and turned to my sister and said, “I want to do that!” I explained to her that if my day were a 4 on a scale from 1 to 10 normally, this new music made my day become a 6. If it was a 7, it became a 9. She nodded. I repeated myself, “I want to do that. I want to make the lives of people I don’t know a little better each day no matter what they’re doing.” Casually, my sister responded in monotone, “Make bras. My favorite bra makes my day 20% better. The way it looks, feels and supports me. I wear it when I’ve got important meetings or events. Ask around. All girls do that.” But I didn’t have to ask around. I knew that she was right. While I don’t have the same connection to underwear that she does, I have clothes that puff me up. Power ties and worn-in hand me downs. An old belt belonging to my father and some designer items that I knew allowed me to get away with things I would not be able to otherwise. I had clothes that made me feel the same confidence, strength and joy as the music had. What was it that made these clothes so special? What makes a garment more than just a garment? It took a year just to answer that question and another year to figure out how I was going to make it happen. Now Local Ink and the success of our designers and customers stand on these four pillars. Look. Fit. Relationship. Exclusivity.

Look. Except for a soldier on the front line, nobody is excited to have a shirt that makes him or her blend in. The power tie may be classic and simple, but it is also bold. It gets attention. When your clothes say, “I’m unique and daring. I can be this way because I’m confident I look good.” It’s hard to feel differently.

1. Local Ink promotes and contracts local, professional, visual artists as guest designers to create bold, original imagery that is striking, unique and colorful. We wanted the best possible artistic talent to be creating the colors and designing the lines you wear. Why? Because you’re an individual, and your clothes should reflect that.(/p>

Fit. I remember an old girlfriend buying shoes for a wedding. She had fallen in love with a pair of black heels though they were tight and uncomfortable. She bought them and proudly wore them to the wedding. While they looked great on her, they were removed during the service, under the table during dinner and jettisoned early at the reception to dance. After the wedding the heels were placed back in their box and lost in a closet forever. Because even beautiful sits on the shelf when it doesn’t feel good.

2. Local Ink works with established textile makers who use softer cottons for suburb hand feel, a range of high quality fabrics for texture diversity, gender specific line charts for personalized comfort and fashion forward tailoring. Why? Because looking great should feel great.

Relationship. I grew up in New England where the most common color of baseball cap is, and has been for decades, navy blue. We’re not clad in blue for blue’s sake but because all of these hats have a red B on them that tells the world of our connection to a baseball team that until 2004 was cursed to lose. Red Sox hats are often allowed at dinner tables and they start conversations with strangers. They are allowed to get dirty and they have personal meaning the day they are purchased. Ask anybody you see with a well-worn red sox hat if you can buy it for $20 and you’ll get an insulted glance and a quick and simple no. They have a relationship with that hat and it’s monogamous.

3. Local Ink wants you to have a relationship with your wearable art. Your garment will come with a personal letter from us. It will also have a photo and bio of your artist and a short commentary on their line. Why? Because we want you to have a healthy relationship with your garment and feel like you’re a part of something bigger.

Exclusivity. There is not an infinite number of anything. So everything is limited edition. Hanes white tees are limited edition if you consider consumer demand a limiting factor. So then why in a world of haut fashion and couture gowns do we see repeat outfits at the Oscars and Grammys? Because people want a one-of-a-kind outfit that everybody’s heard of. But if everybody’s heard of it, than undoubtedly, they’ve made more than one. So how do you obtain exclusivity and notoriety in an article of clothing? You treat it like the art that it is.

4. Local Ink burns the artist’s signature and run number (i.e. 27 of 100) into every artist-designed piece we sell. Your exclusivity is tangible. There is physicality to your distinction and you can show it off. Why? Because we want you to know that you’re one of a kind and so is your new cotton armor.

Local Ink is committed to:

Promoting artists and their artwork
Producing high quality clothing that is bold and unique
Improving the morale of our wearers