5 things you should know about 704 Shop

Being a native Charlottean I love anything that promotes this city.

704 is the original area code for Charlotte (I know some of you are 980ers) and 704 has always meant something special to me. I have paid Alltel, Nextel and AT&T numerous dollars over the years to keep my 704 area code. I refuse to be a 980 girl.

So of course I had to learn more about 704 Shop.

I recently had the chance to meet up with Jerri Shephard and his business partner Scott Wooten at Sycamore Brewery and I got to hear all about the Charlotte apparel company over some tasty brews.

5 things you should know about 704 Shop:

(1) There are 3 owners: Scott, Jerri and Chris Moxley. They met in college at UNC Charlotte.

(2) They don’t have any background in retail, design or the fashion industry. Their goal is to fill a void that they feel exists in Charlotte: there should be a brand that represents this city.

They have basically educated themselves on everything from how to design the graphics to how to get their logo trademarked. You have got to love their ambition.

(3) Their logo is an ambigram, which means it looks the same upside down. (I’ll wait while you turn your phone/computer/tablet upside down.)

(4) The shirts and hats are only made from high-quality material. They aren’t cutting any corners with cheap T-shirts that will shrink in the wash or inks that will crack or fade.

It’s important to them to provide customers with a quality product.

(5) Two of the fellas are North Carolina fans and the third is a Duke fan (unless the Blue Devils are playing Charlotte). But all three are fans of the Panthers and Hornets.

Learn more and shop at 704shop.com.

This story was originally published August 18, 2015 at 12:00 AM.