A Venice entrepreneur is making the best of an unfortunate situation, now inspiring a successful new clothing line loved by locals.
When an unknown man stole a few items from Vardagen last year, Jared Ingold said it was initially the umpteenth time the Abbot Kinney Boulevard store had been hit. Fast forward a few months and that same thief is now the star of his latest clothing line.
The ‘Wanted’ line, featuring the thief now known as ‘No-Face Freddie’, offers shoppers t-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts and headgear, turning an unfortunate situation into a positive one.
“We could, for example, file a police report and pursue the man … or we could draw the line and create many more, and we already have,” Ingold said.
He says he came up with the idea as a form of artistic expression to share what small businesses across Southern California are facing.
“After we did this, some other locals on the street tell us their stories,” Ingold said.
It’s been so successful that he’s now even getting ready to launch a game for retail customers.
“It’s called ‘petty crimes.’ You can actually steal items from our store and you can even win real prizes,” he said.
Shoppers have quickly adopted the idea, with products often flying off the shelves as they are replenished. Fernando Pullum says the creativity alone is enough to stock up.
“I think it’s very inventive to come up with something positive for something that is insanely negative,” he said.
