INKnBURN’s tagline is “distance yourself,” something that’s pretty easy to do when you’re lined up for the start of a race wearing a multicolored tech shirt emblazoned with a skull and the words “Run or Die.”
“We like people to be individuals and not blend in with everyone else. That’s really what we’re about,” said Megan Tsuyuki, the co-creator and co-owner of INKnBURN, a brand of highly stylized running apparel.
Back in 2009 Tsuyuki and her husband Robert started designing silkscreened t-shirts in an already oversaturated market. It wasn’t long before they changed their focus to performance clothing.
“One of the things we noticed very early on at the start of races was that everyone kind of had the same looking shirt on. They’re all plain,” said Tsuyuki.
Created by artists, INKnBURN’s shirts, sports bras, shorts, and arm sleeves don’t just say “check me out,” they scream it. Designs include colorful fish, waves, cherry blossoms, totems, Japanese anime–even a tribute to Gordy Ainsleigh, the first person to run the Western States Endurance Run back in 1974.
Check here for a slideshow of INKnBURN designs.
“The art is pretty much what differentiates our shirts from everyone else. There’s nothing out there like it,” said Tsuyuki.
When the Tsuyuki’s first launched INKnBURN, they zeroed in on the needs of an underserved market: the ultrarunning community.
“We looked around and thought, ‘Who is going to be the hardest person to design for? Ultrarunners of course.’ We figured if you can wear a shirt for that amount of time and still be comfortable then it will work for any distance,” said Tsuyuki.
But creating art on performance wear is tricky. Silkscreening blocks the pores of the fabric. To maintain breathability, the Tsuyuki’s went with sublimation, a process that uses a specialized ink to actually dye the fabric instead of printing on top of it. Another bonus is that the designs never fade, even after repeated washings.
“The process is expensive and it’s hard to do. It’s just not the way people have been doing apparel,” said Tsuyuki. “With apparel the idea is to do it as quickly and cheaply as possible and then mark it up. Our process is slow and time consuming and expensive.”
All INKnBURN clothing is pieced together by hand in California, making the price a little higher than your average tech wear. A short sleeve shirt runs $49.95. Arm sleeves go for $32.95.
“If we were going to make blank tech shirts from China we could make them a lot cheaper,” said Tsuyuki. But so far, fans of INKnBURN clothing have not been deterred by the cost.
“My favorite emails come from customers who say, ‘Finally a company that does something different. This is what I want. I’m tired of looking like everyone else,’” explained Tsuyuki.
Along with their running line, the Tsuyuki’s have started making shirts for kids. Right now the products are only available online, but they should be hitting specialized running stores in the near future.
“Mostly we just want to grow and take what we’re doing to the next level,” said Tsuyuki. “We have to focus on creating new designs and working with more artists. We’d like to start making clothes for other sports too, and maybe even go into fashion with it.”
Check here to visit the INKnBURN website, see more designs, or to order apparel.