Out There Apparel business in Oceanside overcomes Covid-19 obstacles

Forty minutes on hold and the phone clicks. Welcome to the world of doing business during  Covid-19.

Creating a product for a growing brand when most of the national economy is shut down and supply chains aren’t moving seemed nearly impossible. With brick and mortar stores temporarily closed, it meant prototyping our new designs on leftover scrap materials or fabrics with only the small hope of getting somewhat close to our rendering in mind. Three to five business days turned into two to three weeks for shipping, and the cost of everything was substantially higher.

“Just when it when seemed like nothing else couldn’t go wrong, something else did,” said Anthony Capellupo, the college-age Oceanside resident who founded the Out There Apparel company.  “You just have to keep the wheels turning.”

But nonetheless, through the trials and travails of missing items, delayed packages, unreturned emails, many failed attempts and talking more to a voicemail than an actual person, staying the course to deliver products so you can take the endless days wherever you go remained the only option.

After three months of pushing forward and one crazy journey, enter our new canvas beach bags and a growing accessory line. Sourced from a small town in North Carolina and not from a country or continent on the other side of the Atlantic or Pacific oceans, the canvas is printed with a fully sustainable, non-toxic dye and uses less water than the average textile production process.

“For me, going American was the only option,” Capellupo said. “I felt it was very important for Out There to do its part in helping support American businesses at a time when the business climate continues to remain uncertain. The canvas is then shipped north to New York, where the bag is fully assembled on Long Island — the place Out There calls its home. Featuring cotton rope handles and a strong, yet soft canvas, the tote bag is perfect for the beach or boat and will be available in two sizes.”

Capellupo said that in a world filled with restlessness and what some dub void of hope, he hopes for Out There to provide an escape for many “where the endless days, untraveled roads, open horizons and salt on our skin becomes part of our roots deep in our soul. So much, that even after one day out there, it becomes a lifestyle where you’re simply restless anywhere else. It’s a place of unspoken connections where real people from all different places share one lifestyle. “

“I founded the brand a year ago to not only share a lifestyle but for others to discover it for themselves,” he continued. To check out the latest from Out There, its new tote bag and more, visit outthereapparel.com. “Go far. Be free. Get Out there.”

Courtesy Out There Apparel; compiled by Mike Smollins.