It's said that one of the keys to success with any business is "location, location, location." Tempe artist Scott Allison is certainly a believer in that credo, considering its one of the reasons why he moved Artizen Apparel to its new digs near Seventh Street and Forrest Avenue.
The 39-year-old's eco-friendly custom clothing printing shop and boutique, which was previously tucked next to College Dropouts a couple blocks northeast, is now in a much closer to Arizona State University near the ChuckBox and Tattooed Planet.
"Before the move, I was in a location where you had to climb a flight of stairs to get to the place, so it was hard getting much foot traffic," Allison says of the shop, which will celebrate its grand reopening tonight with a huge art party.
The artist and designer -- who has been creating "earth-friendly" casual clothing like hoodies, t-shirts, and, hats using mostly organic fabrics and water-based ink since 2009 -- says he hopes walk-in business will increase, especially since classes are now back in session at ASU. He's also believes the location will be more accessible to visual art aficionados who turn out for Tempe's Final Friday art walk, the latest edition of which takes place tonight.
Its one of the reasons why he's devoted separate space for retail at Artizen Apparel's new digs, where almost half of the 900-square-foot shop will be devoted solely to selling clothing printed with his elegant and intricate hand-drawn designs that often incorporate trees and complex-looking elements from nature.
"It's a bit smaller than my old place, but I think the benefits outweigh the disadvantages," Allison says. "I wanted to get more into retail end and my store is now separate from my workshop. It's more conducive to doing retail and hopefully more accessible to foot traffic."
While Allison has changed up Artizen's focus, he's kept the shop's funky retro décor, such as using repurposed antiques like typewriters, vintage cameras, or the fan blades from an old air conditioning unit as decoration.
Just don't be surprised if you also see him hard at work on some new design if you stop by for a visit.
"I have separate spaces for my four-color press and a small office, but sometimes I have a habit of spilling out into all the available space while working," Allison says. "So there might occasionally be a mess. I'll have everything cleaned up for the party, though."
Besides clean digs, he says the grand reopening will feature a group exhibition featuring his creations, the mixed-media acrylic work of Jason Sindle, and the work of other artists. Local VJ Liquid Reality will also screen a multimedia mix of music videos, film clips, sound bites from movies, and other interesting bits of audio and video.
"I'm not certain exactly what will he'll in the mix, but he definitely keeps it artsy," Allison says.
Artizen Apparel's grand reopening and art party takes place at 7:30 p.m. tonight. Admission is free.
