Johnny Cupcakes

Founded in 2001, Johnny Earle started out by selling quirky cupcake-themed t-shirts inspired by his nickname, Johnny Cupcakes, from the trunk of his beat up '89 Toyota Camry. Creating a cult-like following, Earle continued to develop the brand by personally selling t-shirts out of his suitcase while on tour with his band. What started out as a hobby, grew into a global clothing & accessories brand based on word-of-mouth & curiosity. Today, Johnny Cupcakes boasts a robust eCommerce site, traveling pop up shops, & retail stores that offer a unique "t-shirt bakery" experience with t-shirts displayed on baking trays in vintage ovens & industrial refrigerators. Earle has woven the cupcake bakery theme into every aspect of his business & regularly intrigues, delights & bewilders customers & tricks hungry people with his unexpected products, fake bakeries, & brand experiences. Thousands have the brands logo tattooed on them, while hundreds camp out for releases. All Johnny Cupcakes designs are exclusive & most are printed just once, making the product collectible. Putting its signature JC spin on pop-culture, the brand has also partnered with Nickelodeon, Warner Bros., Hello Kitty to create limited-edition apparel. Despite many offers from investors & national retailers, Johnny Cupcakes remains independent with a staff made up of family & friends. Features include BusinessWeek, NPR, MTV, CNN, Wall St Journal, INC, Entrepreneur, NY Times, WIRED, WWD, LA Times & as a case study in numerous text books.