Los Angeles, CA - Elissa Nash began designing clothes for her son four years ago because, she said, no one offered “cool” clothing for little boys. Her ideas have led to a business that in a big way is filling that hip niche.

How hip? Try hip enough for rock stars and celebrities. How successful? A new corporate showroom just opened in Los Angeles and sales are expected to hit $1 million in 2008.

Nash, 32, and husband Trent, 33, own Vancouver-based Knuckleheads, a family-run clothing company that started out of a garage and now distributes to 600 stores internationally.

Knuckleheads clothing is in Beverly Hills boutiques, trendy shops such as Felix & Lilys of London and is sold as far away as the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia.

A son of tabloid target Britney Spears has been photographed in Knuckleheads gear, as has the son of popular singers Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale. A store owner in Louisiana called Nash to tell her Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie bought all Knuckleheads duds for their children during a recent visit.

Nash said Knuckleheads caught on because there simply wasn’t anything like it on the market.

“Everything was just kind of boring or too girly looking,” she said.

Nash began designing clothes with one simple question in mind: “Would my husband wear this?” Knuckleheads clothing is part pro skater and part mechanic, mixed with elements of rockabilly flare and punk rock attitude.

“We try to keep that vintage nostalgia,” she said.

The couple’s son Otto, now 3, was the first to sport the new styles. Nash sold a few of her homemade outfits on eBay and decided to approach some children’s stores about carrying her creations. Not Too Shabby in Vancouver was the first to sell the clothes.

“As far as baby boy clothes, the industry is really challenged in having anything different or unique,” said Reshell Douglas, owner of Not Too Shabby. “Melissa really hit the nail on the head.”

Nash made pitches to more stores. She and Trent initially funded the business on profits from a home sale and assistance from family.

They got the Knuckleheads name out by hiring sales representatives, advertising in industry publications and attending trade shows. The hope was that their unique offerings would interest potential customers. Prices for Knuckleheads clothing can range from $10-$20 for T-shirts to $40-$50 for pants to $60 for jackets.

Shannon Comsky started a trendy children’s shop on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, Calif., last year and wanted clothes that weren’t “the typical striped T-shirts and jeans.” She added Knuckleheads clothing to the other 60 clothing lines in her shop.

“They’re one of my top brands in the store,” Comsky said of sales.
For a list of stores and more information on Knuckleheads Clothing please visit their website at www.knuckleheadsclothing.com

Filed under: Fashion