Arkansas Man Creates Offbeat Cartoon Casual Clothing Line
Press Release
October 15, 2008 Contact: Alexa Ferotina
For Immediate Release 501-588-1966 info@londonstimes.us
OffbeatCartoon Designer Fashion Wear Newest Hot Trend
Cartoonist e-tailer Rick London (www.ricklondonwear.com) sits calmly in his studio office in Hot Springs Ar. He has just invented his own line of offbeat cartoon casual fashion clothing, possibly the world’s first.
He says, “Anyone who gets into a business like this thinking ‘egad, glamour, women, millions of dollars and a private jet, really needs to re-think it,” he laughs.
Most of his day is spent either on the phone or computer with his creative and marketing team to create new cartoon designer fashion products such as hoodies, spaghetti strap tops, sweatshirts and tees, and other clothing items for men, women, and children, each featuring one of his 8500 offbeat Londons Times Cartoons. He also creates mousepads, tote bags, coasters, cutting boards and more.
He smiles as he types away on what he says “is a very important email” and adds, “you know how important the cartooning and fashion industry can be, especially in such a unique merge”.
London’s story is an Internet legend in that he started it with nothing but a beat up used clone 386 computer, a phone line, $300, a book called “Internet For Dummies”(he had no knowledge of the Internet), and a stray dog named “Thor” back in 1997 in an abandoned rural Mississippi warehouse.
Nobody would rent to him, he says, because he was in his mid 40’s, couldn’t draw very well (he has a staff of top illustrators who render his concepts in the same way Yves St. Laurent did with fashion), and he says, “Frankly I believe people thought I had a few marbles loose when I told them I was going to go into the cartoon business. Little did I, (or anyone else know) at the time, it would turn into the largest single panel cartoon site on the Internet, a fashion line, my own private label coffee with cartoon mugs and coasters, publishing rights, licensing rights, and open doors to exciting and interesting people I would have otherwise never met”.
London’s main cartoon site, Londons Times Cartoons (www.londonstimes.us) started with twelve cartoons and anywhere from two to ten visitors per day. Now it attracts around 4000 visitors per hour and has had 7.8 million+ hits since 2005.
He has also opened a cartoon gift and collectible store, Londons Times Superstore (www.LTSuperstore.com) which showcases 65.000+ items bearing the Londons Times Cartoons images, from key chains to Christmas ornaments to desk and wall clocks to baseball caps. He has also opened several niche stores such as Just Funny Aprons (www.justfunnyaprons.com) , Just Funny Hoodies (www.justfunnyhoodies.com), and (believe it or not) Prozac Wear www.prozacwear.com.
London says, “I battled depression a long time. I think laughing at oneself is the best medicine. No, I don’t think it is a replacement for traditional medical treatment, but it surely helped me along the way until I was able to pull out of it. I know many other writers and artists struggle with the same awful disease. Laughter truly helps keep one positive, dealing with any medical issue, not just depression.”
London says, “To me, it is one of those ‘Only In America” stories. I don’t believe all this could have happened anywhere else. Of course I worked very hard to help make it turn into such a business but anyone who has been in business for any length of time also knows how important other people’s efforts are to make it such a phenomenon. I had and have the opportunity now to work with the best illustrators in the world, and I do. I have access to the best distributors, I went back to college at age forty seven, I’m now fifty-three, and all sorts of exciting things are happening.
He adds, “I am super-excited that our group created ‘cartoon designer fashion’ and that the market has accepted it and seems to love it. There’s great irony to it all. I guess my life really didn’t get started , or had a lot of false-starts over the years until this project took a life of its own. It feels good to have a modicum of control over my life’s goals. I get to make decisions, create clothing designs and my own cartoons, create jobs, and other things I’ve always wanted to do. If I can do it, surely anyone can with persistence and a little bit of talent.
