Now that we have settled into 2010, it feels like a good time to let everyone know what we have been up to at hoodiepoeple.com.  Here is a quick background to get you caught up, we launched hoodiepeople.com in Nov 2008, our team has grown to four (+3 contractors), there are 44 great brands from all different style categories on the site.  hp is based the San Francisco Bay Area and have a small office in Petaluma and a photo studio in Pt. Richmond.  Since day one all the people you see on hoodiepeople.com modeling hoodies are friends and FoF, and the team grew up together in Marin County and later worked together in software sales, where the idea for the biz was born.

The company is 100% independently owned, we started with less than $5,000 of inventory and five brands and have only taken a few small investments from friends and family.  In 2010 we are going to be out raising some money for the company and hopefully will be able to tap into the new SBA loan programs and connect with a great angel investor.  While 2009 was an extremely challenging year for any business and especially rough on retail, we were small enough to weather the slim months (Feb-July) and aggressive enough to keep building our selection of brands and styles, and firmly establish the website in key search results on google to really blow out the 4th quarter and end the year with great growth.  Overall 2009 was an amazing first year for the company and we are extremely excited about really crushing it in 2010 and beyond.

Tomorrow we are heading the the huge Magic Apparel trade show in Las Vegas, which will be the 4th time we have gone.  This year marks a big change as we are mainly meeting with current brands to do our big fall buy. We will def be walking the floor to scout out fresh new brands, but in years past our main mission was to get out and meet lots of new brands.  Fall 2010 will be our biggest ever with major new brands, new categories, and an amazing exclusive launch Hitting the trade shows is a great way to see the whole macro industry and all the cool niches in one place.

I’ll be doing a few more of these posts to look at a few of the main areas of the business, what we are up to, and how we do it at hp.  Let me know in the comments or email me at hasan@hoodiepeople.com if you have any questions, ideas, or suggestions.

Tags: company news, hoodie company, hoodie people update, hoodiepeople, hoodiepeople.com, startup, startup company

Tags: doin it in the park 09, hoodiepeople, party, people, san francisco, sf

Big news from hoodiepeople HQ, we are very excited to announce the addition of Aaron “Dub” Dolores to the team in the new custom tailored role of Director of Promotions.  Aaron has been a strong supporter of hoodiepeople since the very early days and now joins the team to manage the promotional side of the business.  Aaron brings a wealth of energy, connections, and passion to the table and will be a key factor in the continued growth and evolution of our startup.  Coming off two huge grassroots events that exceeded everyone’s expectations (Block Obama Party 2009 and My Two Hands Summer Groove Session) it will be very exciting to see what he can pull off next.

Taking a little trip back to early October 2008 we did a big photo shoot in SF right before we launched the site, Aaron was there as one of the original hp models. Big shots out to Laura, Dakota, Shake, and Shawn who also rocked the first shoot. So moving forward look out for a bigger hoodiepeople presence at local clubs, concerts, and most cool events, as well as some exclusive hoodiepeople parties coming up. We are hoping to build a huge online and offline base of hoodie people worldwide but it def all starts in the Bay, and Aaron will be the go to guy to get things rollin.

If you have an event or cool idea to share or just want to say hello hit him up at: adolores (AT) hoodiepeople . com

Tags: aaron dolores, hoodiepeople, startup, team

My Own Two Hands presents the “Summer Groove Session.”

“Concert and Party to benefit SF Non-Profit “Opportunity Impact” feat. Hot Pockets (of the Bayonics) and DJ Aebl Dee”
Friday, July 10 at 9:30pm
Where: The 330 Ritch Nightclub

check out all the details on facebook

hoodiepeople.com is involved in a number of ways, first off hp co-founder Aaron Weinberg is an active member of the My Two hands team so he’s been workin hard over the past few months getting this setup. We also signed on as a sponsor and will be giving away a few fresh hoodies at the benefit as part of the Raffle, and we will have a small booth with some of our newest and freshest hoodies for sale, with 15% of all proceeds going directly the supporting Oppertuntiy Impact.

This is all going to a great casue, and is going to be really fun. come out and hang with us!

Tags: 330 Ritch Nightclub, concert, hoodiepeople, my own two hands, oppertunity impact, summer groove session

we used the very cool animoto service to create the video in less then 10 minutes.  the photos are taken directly from our flickr photostream, then animoto mixes it all up to match the music and whalla….way cool video.

see something you love: shop these fresh hoodies and many more at hoodiepeople.com

Tags: animoto, animoto.com, fall 2008 hoodies, hoodiepeople, hoodies, music vidoe, slideshow, video

For all our peeps that know us it will come as little surprise that we would seek out and and stock some dope rasta inspired hoodies.  Way before we launched hoodiepeople.com you could find us getting down at all the fresh reggae shows from Reggae on the River to 19th Broadway.

Today’s new hoodie drop has less to do with music we like to jam to and everything to do with exceptionally fresh hoodies.  DubWise is a small designer based in the heart of New Orleans that elevates the hoodie genre with super clear rasta inspired designs, exceptional attention to detail, and well fitting cuts.

The Mens Lion Hoodie in Olive = F R E S H

Black Pinstrip Hoodie = Fresh Fresh Fresh

We are extremely proud to join the DubWise fam and bring these amazing hoodies to hoodiepeople around the world. Big thanks to the DubWise crew and Romy for modeling the hoods.

Tags: dubwise, hoodiepeople, hoodies, hoody, loin of judah, rasta

Check out a choice selection of fresh hoodie pics from the hoodiepeople flickr group.  As usual the quality, creativity, and diversity of these images is absolutely amazing and we are so super honored to be a part of the photo fun.

check out the full hoodiepeople photostream over on flickr, and be sure to join the group if your diggin the hoodie pics.

all photos are the exclusive property of the artists, click any image to see more from each of the amazing hoodie people.

Tags: flickr, group, hoodie people, hoodie photos, hoodiepeople, hoodies, people in hoodie

The legend of Zoo York continues with the freshest holiday hoodie drop we have seen to this year.  Zoo York is steppin up and burning it down with these latest releases.  Three totally different, totally unique styles, with the classic touches and “Unbreakable” construction that have made Zoo York a top choice for hoodie people.

Houndstooth Strip (my fav for sure)

The Quilted Money Maker

Intarsia Snow Hoodie

I did a bit of searching and could not find any of these hoodies at other retailers so we may be the first to drop these fresh hoodies. The holidays are here get your fresh Zoo York hoodies today.

Tags: exclusive release, holiday 2008, hoodiepeople, hoodies, hoody, tj butler, zoo york, zoo york hoodies

Over at the hoodiepeople photo group on flickr we reached a special milestone in the progression of the community.  Earlier today the 100th person joined the group and the 300th hoodie pic was posted.

Its quite remarkable to look back at the unique contributions from all different people that have shared their hoodie pics.

Enjoy a brief look back from the very first pic to today.  Special thanks to everyone who has posted their photos and a warm welcome to everyone that has recently joined.

Picture #1, posted by .jenna

we used this image as a placeholder on the hoodiepeople.com home page for ages before we launched

a personal fav

my wifes fav

this was the first image in the slideshow when we launch (sept. 24, 2008)

from the first photo shoot, Laura Kudritzki (see pic) was the photographer and modeled a few hoodies

the 300th pic

rock on hoodie people, rock on.

Tags: community, flickr, flickr photo group, hoodie, hoodiepeople, hoodies, people

The beat rolls on at hoodiepeople.com, and today the we are rockin the house harder than ever before. We are very excited to announce the official arrival of Alpine Stars on hoodiepeople.com. We have had our eyes on this legendary brand from the very early stages and have worked closely with the Astars team to make it happen.

Check Out a few of the fresh new hoodie styles, click the pic to view more details.

The After Dark Hoodie

Spelled Out Hoodie

Freight Train Hoodie

Alpine Stars celebrated its 45th year of business in 2008 and hoodiepeople.com is proud to join the team. Big thanks to Bryan Wiertzema at Alpine Stars and Brady Thomas and John Toews for rocking the hoodies. Respect.

Tags: alpine stars, astars, hoodie, hoodiepeople, hoody, motocross, new hoodies, people