
The customer will be the creator at the soon-to-open interactive Chillers Clothing store at 4667 Cass St. in Pacific Beach. Owner Eric Blumenthal hopes to captivate new customers with his unique approach to T-shirt design and sales. Blumenthal started Chillers Clothing out of his La Jolla home four years ago. It was originally a wholesale T-shirt company. Blumenthal’s concept was to collect artwork from local and international artists and print them on T-shirts. “I think the true art comes out when you let the artists just do what they do,” said Blumenthal about his laid-back approach. He said he would only produce 1,000 shirts of the same design. Each T-shirt was numbered on the left sleeve and boasted the Chillers limited edition tag. Blumenthal said this would ensure that each shirt was a unique piece of art. The concept worked. The shirts have been selling online and at trade shows since the inception of his company. Blumenthal is now opening the first Chillers Clothing storefront and it will be in Pacific Beach. The shopper will choose the style and color of the T-shirt. Next, the customer will pick from one of the select designs available and have it printed on the T-shirt as he or she watches. “They are their own designer,” Blumenthal said. The available designs for T-shirts will only be displayed for a month or two at a time, making each design and T-shirt combination uncommon on local streets. “Feeling comfortable is our No. 1 thing,” Blumenthal said. The T-shirts are 100 percent soft cotton. “We use water-based eco-friendly prints,” Blumenthal said. It’s not a chemical, he emphasized. Drying the fabric draws the water out and allows the ink to be absorbed into the fabric. The fabric lasts through thousands of washes, Blumenthal said. Construction on the new shop is almost complete. It will be a modern store with a lounge area in which shoppers can relax while their shirts are being printed, Blumenthal added. He plans to open the store in mid-June once construction is complete. In addition to the rare T-shirts, Chillers Clothing will sell bikinis, sandals and purses. For more information, call (858) 274-3112, or visit www.chillersclothing.com








