Today we’d like to introduce you to Chad Reynolds
Hi Chad, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Grew up in Utah County. Number 9 of ten kids. My Dad was a saxophone playing jazz musician. I was a dancer at a young age. I was heavily involved in the music scene with bands from an early age of 13 and played hundreds of shows with many bands. Music and the “Scene” always had its crossover with fashion. My Mom and Grandma were both amazing seamstresses. My grandma had her own dress store out in Duchesne UT that ended up burning down at one point. Although I have seven sisters none of them picked up sewing but I did at one point in high school when I wanted to take my jeans in to make them skinnier. I was always keen on fashion as I played a lot of shows and loved to wear things I loved on stage. I worked for a couple clothing companies and learned a lot from one about style, presentation, marketing, and did some modeling but from the latter I got hands on with production starting in everything from the shipping and inventory management to printing and most excitedly at one point was the sewing. I got to research industrial machines and order a bunch for them to make certain items in house which I then managed a team sewing and helped create some product designs for them. I took things into my own hands wanting to start my own business, set my own rules. I started about 5 years ago with labeling shirts and jobs like that for a friend that owned a screen printing business and made some custom patchwork shirts for bands. Eventually the business officially and legally became Phantom Loop Co. in the beginning on 2020 and started with making masks for covid and turned into a multi directional project. We do printing, make custom garments for people, stitch thousands and thousands of patches, labels etc… on hats, garments, and any textile you can think of and we more recently have been getting really into the pattern making, product development, CUT and SEW process making actual products from start to finish in house. I love my community and art and I’ve learned alot about business and how to actually make things I am passionate support my life. I definitely don’t make alot of money but I do what I love and I get to be around people I love.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
How do I make money playing music? How do I make money making clothes?
Business is just hard. It requires discipline. Being the owner and person most responsible for all things, I have to take care of myself. I had a decade worth of drug addiction that started at an early age and being sober and more dealing with the patterns and habits that were developed through years of addiction are difficult. Either separating friends and business or making the two one thing has been important. So many things.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I had to quit my job and with basically one machine and a place to do it I needed to start making money right away to take care of myself. Asking for help is essential. Buying equipment and or telling people you can do a job you have never done but with confidence that you will be able to figure it out…
Contact Info:
- Website: https://phantomloopcompany.com
- Instagram: @phantomloopcompany
- Facebook: @phantomloopcompany
