Student Entrepreneurs Make Splash with Clothing Company

By: Tim Hanrahan
Posted In: Campus News

NEWPORT R.I. – It started as an art project gone wrong in their freshman year of college at Salve Regina University, but today Salve students Matt Maynard and Ben Aalvik have made their clothing line, SP Anchor, into a burgeoning local business.

Aalvik and Maynard started making designs for fun, but later realized they could turn their hobby into a successful enterprise.

SP Anchor, has become a widely popular clothing choice for students at Salve Regina University and has generated an unexpected amount of business for the two entrepreneurs. Their products can be easily identified by the letters S and P followed by a picture of an anchor.

“We started off with just stencils and spray painted the shirts,” Maynard said.”Then we eventually bought a screen press.”

After they each invested $300, Aalvik and Maynard launched SP Anchor, which was originally known as Epic Clothing, and started selling their products to their friends. After the company started to grow and gained more exposure, Aalvik and Maynard started purchasing their materials from Trendy Blanks, a wholesaling company that uses fabric produced in the United States.

SP Anchor sells a variety of clothing ranging from t-shirts, hooded sweat shirts and a new tote bag for women. Aalvik and Maynard stated that they are constantly coming up with new ideas for products.

After gaining popularity on the college campus, the name SP Anchor, which is pronounced as “spanker,” has raised a few eyebrows at Salve Regina University. Aalvik and Maynard were banned from using the university to sell their product after a sale hosted in September 2009 in Salve Regina University’s mansion, Wakehurst. University officials feel that the name SP Anchor is inappropriate, does not go along with the school’s mission and that the university was not a shopping mall.

“The name SP Anchor isn’t meant to be sexual,” Aalvik said. He explained that word actually is an antiquated nautical term for a fore and aft sail on the mast on a certain type of ship and that they wanted to make the company feel closer to the sea faring roots of Rhode Island.

Aalvik also stated that he is trying to start an entrepreneurial club in order to help students get interested in starting their own businesses.

However, the majority of their business is done through their website, spanchorapparel.com, where customers can order products, purchase gift certificates and view photos. Also, social networking sites, such as Facebook, have been instrumental in their marketing strategy where the company announces promotions and informs their customers about new products.

Even though SP Anchor is a for-profit company, Aalvik and Maynard are currently working on a sale that will donate all the proceeds to charity.

“We’re trying to do a non-profit right now to raise money for diabetes,” Maynard said. The non-profit sale will utilize the Caduceus medical symbol in place of the signature anchor.

On Saturday November 21, 2009, SP Anchor will be featured in a fashion show at Providence College. Aalvik and Maynard are also attempting to organize a holiday sale at an unspecified location.

When asked whether or not they will continue running the company after they graduate from Salve Regina University, they enthusiastically stated that they wanted SP Anchor to grow, but they were going to take it one year at a time.