What do New York City and Mountain View have in common? They have their own city-branded merchandise.
Residents, employees and tourists to the city can now find a "Mtn. View" t-shirt at the recently opened Mtn. View General Store, established by local resident Tina Ambrogi.
A Massachusetts transplant to Mountain View 17 years ago, Ambrogi told Mountain View Patch that she had been thinking about starting her own t-shirt line after she couldn't find any.
"I had been thinking about it for a long time," she said.
Currently Ambrogi has three different t-shirt styles—one of which is a long sleeve—and a hoodie in her vintage store. The prices range from $25 to $40. She uses a local, environmentally friendly printer, All Premium.
"There are so many tourists and it would be great for them to take something home," she said, "But that's unique and of great quality."
Of course, Ambrogi doesn't want to just cater to tourists. She hopes to attract local residents, especially those shopping at the Sunday, Farmers' Market. So far she's had a warm reception in the stores Old Mountain View location.
"It's been awesome," she said and added that people have offered to help her promote the store. "I was very excited when all the neighbors came. I feel like such a part of the community."
Ambrogi also hopes to engage that community further and create a space for different artists to showcase their work. She's also opened to ideas and enjoys how the community has already said they would help.
"I've like to sell postcards and calendars," she said, "and have the local residents who take pictures as a hobby to provide the photos that reflect them so that we can capture Mountain View."
"I would love it to become like an information center in Mountain View," she said.
When she moved to Mountain View, she thought about opening a diner; instead she involved with several startups and in particular worked in operations. Her working kept her very busy.
Now she's taken a leap of faith and hoping to make a living out of doing this.
"Everyone has ideas," she said. "It's going to be really fun."
What do you think? Are you interested in buying a t-shirt? What else would you like to see branded Mountain View? Tell us in comments!
Patch Notes
Where: 705a Dana St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Hours: 11 to 6 p.m.
Telephone: (650) 279-1099
Owner: Tina Ambrogi
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