Two Island teenagers have gone with the flow to find success both in business and fundraising.
Cody Cudmore and Ben MacDonald, both 18, were sitting in a living room when they came up with the idea of starting their own line of clothing.
They came up with the brand name Flow and, well, just went with it.
There is nothing fancy or elaborate about the design - just the word Flow. Perhaps that is the appeal.
“Simple sells, I guess,’’ said Cudmore, who is planning to take business at UPEI.
The students started wearing t-shirts of their creation to school. One was sold, than another. The buzz and interest quickly spread.
A website — www.islandflowclothing.com — widened the potential customer base. The clothes, including t-shirts, hoodies and sweat pants, have been shipped to Quebec, Ontario, Buffalo, Alberta and Boston.
In total, the young entrepreneurs have sold about 4,000 items of clothing in the past eight months.
Earlier this year, Cudmore and MacDonald decided to share some of their modest wealth.
They came up with a design for a special run of t-shirts to sell during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.
All of the t-shirts had the Flow logo intertwined with a pink ribbon on the front of the garment. On he sleeve was written ‘Proud supporter - Canadian Cancer Society.’
All proceeds from the sale of those t-shirts went directly to the Cancer Society.
This week, the pair dropped off a cheque for $785.
“It’s definitely good to give back,’’ said MacDonald.
He says everyone is touched in some way by cancer. His grandmother, for one, had breast cancer.
Lori Barker, executive director of the Canadian Cancer Society P.E.I. division, says she is pleased in general when the community steps forward to raise money for cancer research.
However, she finds cases like these business boys going out of their way to chip in for a good cause “particularly wonderful’’.
Cudmore says he is pleasantly surprised that the little venture has taken off. He is thrilled when he comes across people wearing the Flow clothing.
“It puts a smile on my face,’’ he said.
The business partners also hope to continue on the philanthropy side. If the business is still in business when October rolls around next year, they plan to once again raise funds for breast cancer research.
