CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — A Charlottetown entrepreneur has come up with a way for Islanders to support their favourite business, musician or artist without having to leave their homes.
Coltin Handrahan, who owns and operates Golden Custom Clothing, said he and his staff wanted to find a way to lend some support to those who have had to shut down due to the coronavirus (COVID-19 strain) pandemic.
Golden Custom Clothing is offering to create a free web store for any small business, artist or musician, design a custom-fundraising T-shirt that features their logo or design and sell it online for $25 each, $10 of which goes straight back to the business or artist to help cover any expenses they’re dealing with.
“It’s such a challenging time right now for a lot of small businesses, artists and creatives in our community across Prince Edward Island,’’ Handrahan said.
“Many have had to close their doors and cancel events, (and) you can imagine the impact on musicians as all tour dates are now cancelled.’’
Golden Custom Clothing is a screen printing and merchandising company based in Charlottetown. Handrahan and some friends in high school launched it eight years ago as a small retail clothing line. By the time he graduated to college, the business began printing custom clothing orders for sports teams and schools.
“This initiative is one of the ways we hope return the favour. There’s a lot of people really struggling right now and trying to cover the necessary expenses in the coming weeks and months.’’
- Coltin Handrahan
Now, the business does work for small businesses, schools and brands across the province, taking people’s ideas from concept to cotton. To cite one example, Handrahan and his team prints custom merchandise for Receiver Coffee and the P.E.I. Brewing Company.
Handrahan said the idea to support those affected by the pandemic is a way to pay back all the support his business has received the past few years.
“This initiative is one of the ways we hope return the favour,’’ he said.
“There’s a lot of people really struggling right now and trying to cover the necessary expenses in the coming weeks and months.’’
Handrahan said the idea was to brainstorm a way to help businesses that were closed, for example, while also dealing with the challenge that many Islanders are hunkered down at home.
“There is no cost whatsoever (to the business or artist). We handle all the setup, printing ... and ship it to the customers via UPS. The idea is to allow customers to support them without leaving their homes.’’
Click here to learn more about this fundraising initiative.
