Cleveland Clothing Company

Cleveland Clothing Co.

Cleveland Clothing Company is a purveyor of locally-themed clothing, gifts, and accessories. Partners and native Clevelanders Mike Kubinski and Jeff Rees began the company aiming to make something cool, unique, and different.

CLE Clothing Co. was founded in 2008 by two lifelong friends. One, a graphic designer, had always dreamed of starting a t-shirt company. The other, an entrepreneur, was looking for a fun new opportunity. One fateful night over some beers, chili, and burgers at one of their favorite spots, Whitey’s in Richfield, Ohio, the guys decided to put their money where their mouth was and came up with a plan. They purchased a screen printing press, some blank t-shirts, and got to work on a couple of designs. CLE Clothing was born. They started a website, used social media to get the word out and spent $50 on business cards, which they left around local businesses. Word began to spread, and the company was literally “Spreading Cleveland Pride, One T-Shirt at a Time” as the guys screened and shipped the shirts themselves. They wanted to reach more people and to escape the “digital world” and went to local festivals like Bizarre Bazaar, Waterloo Arts Fest and Taste of Tremont. Things started to gain momentum….