Help a Local Biz; Show Some East York Pride

For those who haven’t met him yet, here’s Allister, owner of Fa.Real Custom Tees, and all-around awesome guy.

Fa.Real started out as one of DECA’s Pop-up Shops last winter and proprietors Allister and Tracey loved our ‘hood so much they moved their family above their store at 1900 Danforth Ave and set out to become a permanent addition to Danforth East. We here at DECA have used Fa.Real’s services for many amazing gifts (just read Catherine Porter’s post about the best baby present ever) and we’ve valued Allister and Tracey’s friendship.

Unfortunately, operating a shop without the backing of the Pop-up Shop program has been a financial challenge and Fa.Real is set to pack it in at the end of the month.

EXCEPT…

They aren’t ready to throw in the towel just yet. As a final effort to keep the store, Allister has created a line of East York T-shirts (designs are at the end of this post) and he’s hoping you’ll love them as much as you love our neighbourhood.

Here’s the pitch, in Allister’s own words:

First, I would like to thank all of you for coming into our shop and giving me the pleasure to express my creativity on your shirts. I also would like to say that it has been a real delight to meet the people in this community; you all have been outstanding to myself and my family and make us all feel great being here.

A customer one time asked me, “How long are you guys gonna be here?” and I simply replied, “We’re here as long as you guys keep us here.” And that’s the main reason I’m writing this. We are in a position where our stay at 1900 Danforth is limited to OCTOBER 31^st, 2013.

We started printing t-shirts from our basement apartment back in 2011 in our dining room. In January we heard DECA was looking for small businesses like us that were looking to try out being in a store front for a month. My wife and I jumped at the opportunity immediately and out of 70 applicants, we were in the top 3 chosen. Since May 1st, we have been operating the business without the help of the Pop-up Shop Project.

We were so committed, we even moved our family above the store when an apartment became available, and it’s been an amazing experience ever since. We’ve been increasingly busy ever since we opened up, but we have not gotten ourselves in a position where we make enough to cover all our expenses without falling short.

So I had to think, think, think, like Winnie the Pooh. Then it hit me: I wanted to provide something that I’m very proud of and something you guys have pride in as well. So I created a line of EAST YORK t-shirts to big-up the area we call home.

And for each person who purchases EAST YORK t-shirts (if my store gets to stay), I will be offering a special lifetime membership for a 20% discount on all custom t-shirt orders here at Fa.real Custom Tees. (And don’t forget that a custom t-shirt makes a great, inexpensive personal gift for family and friends at Christmas time.)

A lot of you guys already come by here often to get shirts made for yourself or for friends and family. Sometimes, you guys just stop through to say what up and to share on some jokes or have good conversation and catch some positive vibes which is something I really enjoy as well. Help us stay here by supporting our small mom and pop t-shirt shop, and we will support our new home in East York.

Allister Thomas

Contact info:

Fa.real Custom Tees
1-888-502-1112
647-718-3339 (local)

1900 Danforth Ave.

email at info@fareal.com