industry apparel founded 2001 founder johnny earle headquarters weymouth massachusetts united states products clothing accessories number of employees 30 1 website www.johnnycupcakes.com johnny cupcakes inc. commonly known as johnny cupcakes is a clothing brand founded in 2001 by johnny earle . the clothing line uses cupcakes as the prominent design motif of its merchandise often replacing iconic symbols with cupcakes . 2 the brand s insignia is a skull and crossbones with a cupcake silhouette replacing the skull . the johnny cupcakes line includes t shirts shorts sweaters jewelry undergarments and pins . its flagship stores are located in boston massachusetts and los angeles california london s carnaby street oak bluffs massachusetts and hull massachusetts along with his online store which ships worldwide . all johnny cupcakes retail shops are furnished extensively according to a bakery theme . 3 contents 1 history 1.1 origins 1.2 growth and success 2 recognition 3 references 4 external links history edit origins edit earle says he initially started the johnny cupcakes brand dewas dewan . 3 the clothing line has its origins back in 2000 when earle worked at the newbury comics music shop in braintree massachusetts . 4 each day his co workers would coin a new nickname for him johnny appleseed johnny pancakes johnny cupcakes johnny coffeecakes etc. 5 6 in 2001 while ordering screen printed shirts for the metalcore band he played in on broken wings earle ran off a few shirts designed with the johnny cupcakes nickname . 1 almost immediately co workers and store customers noticed the cupcakes themed shirts whenever he wore them and many inquired about how to purchase them . sensing the demand earle started selling the shirts from the trunk of his car to local friends and acquaintances . 4 7 when on broken wings signed with a record label and began touring in 2002 earle stuffed his suitcase full of johnny cupcakes shirts to sell at shows and give to other musicians on the bill . this helped expose his designs to new audiences across the country and the brand began to develop a cult following . 1 the following year earle quit the band to focus full time on his fledgling business . 4 growth and success edit johnny cupcakes storefront on newbury street in boston . in 2005 earle opened the first johnny cupcakes store in his hometown of hull after working with his father to convert it from a boat garage into a retail space . 5 by this time he had decided to keep his merchandise out of chain stores and sell it exclusively through his own shops . 4 after a year of growing sales and popularity he opened another johnny cupcakes boutique on boston s chic newbury street . the grand opening of the second location drew several hundred fans and the store recorded five figure sales revenues on the first day alone . 1 7 wanting to deliver a unique customer experience earle designed his stores with a classic bakery motif . the interior decor at johnny cupcakes boutiques features antique refrigerators baking racks a 1930s dough mixer boston location a cast iron wood burning oven from the 1890s also at the boston location and even hidden vanilla scented air fresheners ; items are usually displayed on baking trays and inside glass pastry cases . 4 8 the stores prominent baking theme often confuses unfamiliar patrons who walk in thinking that they sell baked goods not clothing . 9 earle says this tends to disappoint and even anger some passersby though the shops do give out free cupcakes with purchases on occasion . 6 in 2008 a third johnny cupcakes store opened on melrose avenue in los angeles . to build the l.a. shop earle says he enlisted the help of an engineering firm that designed structures for the disneyland and universal studios theme parks to bring my crazy ideas to life . 6 similarly to the boston location the l.a. grand opening attracted hundreds of customers including some who camped out for days beforehand and saw the company s most successful single day sales figures . 10 11 on the 12th of march 2011 the london store opened with hundreds of dedicated fans from around the world queuing up and camping for more than 24 hours . the queue stretched back to regent street and wrapped around the corner . 12 on the 16th of june 2012 johnny cupcakes opened on circuit ave in the town of oak bluffs on the island of martha s vineyard massachusetts . this will primarily be a seasonal store to replace the pop up shop that happened in a number of years previous . in addition to the four retail locations johnny cupcakes continues to sell items through its online store and a company ebay vault which offers previously issued designs and exclusive items that were briefly or never available in its stores . 13 recognition edit in 2008 businessweek placed earle at the top of its best entrepreneurs 25 and under list highlighting his company s quality products imaginative promotion and insistence on self sustenance . 11 the publication also cited johnny cupcakes rising annual revenue and steadfast customer loyalty as further examples of earle s notability as a business owner . earlier on johnny cupcakes started getting noticed for its highly effective branding and brazen steps taken to make a name for itself . 7 after the company s success in boston and the greater new england area earle regularly received requests from high schools and universities to speak about entrepreneurship and running a small business . 14 the demand for earle to speak has grown so much recently that a separate lectures section was created on his company web site in late 2009 to field inquiries . 15 in 2009 johnny cupcakes was placed at 237 on the inc. 500 list of fastest growing private companies in the u.s. the magazine listed the clothing brand as having a nearly 915 % growth rate over the previous year . 16 references edit a b c d how to start a t shirt company inc. magazine july 1 2009 . retrieved 2009 03 10 . let them eat cupcakes newsweek.com september 24 2009 . retrieved 2009 02 17 . a b cupcake bakeries cater to the kid in us . usa today . october 20 2007 . retrieved 2010 02 02 . a b c d e hot new t shirts with icing on top . the boston globe . november 15 2007 . retrieved 2010 02 19 . a b johnny cupcakes . mtv news youtube . august 1 2007 . retrieved 2009 10 22 . a b c johnny cupcakes story . retrieved 2010 03 03 . a b c johnny cupcakes finds sweet success in t shirts . npr . august 19 2006 . retrieved 2009 10 22 . dead link voight rebecca 2007 05 06 . make cupcakes not war new york times may 6 2007 . the new york times . retrieved 2010 02 02 . branding tips from a master johnny cupcakes about.com january 20 2010 . retrieved 2010 02 02 . baked to perfection msnbc your business march 16 2010 . retrieved 2010 03 19 . a b 2008 s best entrepreneurs 25 and under businessweek september 2008 . retrieved 2010 02 20 . official website johnny cupcakes ebay vault . retrieved 2010 03 11 . best young entrepreneurs class of 2008 businessweek october 2009 . retrieved 2010 03 19 . johnny cupcakes lectures . retrieved 2010 03 19 . top inc. 500 5000 companies 202 251 inc. magazine september 2009 . retrieved 2009 03 20 . external links edit official website facebook page myspace twitter youtube retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title johnny cupcakes & oldid 736243826 categories clothing brands of the united statesclothing retailers of the united states2000s fashioncompanies established in 2001privately held companies based in massachusettscompanies based in massachusettshidden categories all articles with dead external linksarticles with dead external links from october 2010 navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout 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