Sunset Avenue Clothing Company, a line of products created in Butler’s RBE class, continues to sell original merchandise as well as clothes geared towards the larger Indianapolis community. Photo courtesy of the @sunsetaveclothingco Instagram page.

MEGAN LINDSEY | STAFF REPORTER | mplindsey@butler.edu 

Sunset Avenue Clothing Company showcased their newest spring line of apparel at a pop-up shop held March 18 at the Stutz building, a local Indianapolis social hub and office space. Their business grew in popularity after their start in the Lacy School of Business course Real Business Experience last semester. 

Moni Krasteva, a junior pharmacy student with an entrepreneurship concentration, is the CEO of the company. She said the inspiration behind their product was a lack of unique Butler gear. 

“We all were frustrated with the fact that we don’t really have cool Butler gear,” Krasteva said. “It’s all the same block letters [that say] ‘Butler’ or ‘Bulldogs’ from the bookstore. It’s all really expensive, which was frustrating. So [our team] agreed on the idea of a more affordable, cooler, trendier piece for Butler students.”

Among their designs, the most popular was the “Wish you were at Hinkle” hoodies. 40 units of these hoodies sold out in 48 hours. Then, at the RBE marketplace last semester, the company sold over 100 units, according to Krasteva. 

The inventory of the company comes from Your Image Works, a local company. The hoodies are screen-printed there once they receive the art from the Sunset Avenue team. There are designated pick-up times for those who purchased a piece of apparel. Local delivery is possible for an extra charge. 

Sunset Avenue Clothing Company embodies the goals of the RBE course, which is meant to give students a chance to take part in coming up with product designs, acquiring loans for these products, selling them to the public and paying back the loans. 

When planning their pop-up shop, the team was helped by Lacy School of Business Professor NaShara Mitchell. 

“[Mitchell] organized it all, we just had to do our own marketing for it, and bring our own supplies,” Krasteva said. “We had to set up, bring people there, tear down.” 

The new spring collection branches out to show appreciation of the city of Indianapolis as a whole. Krasteva was worried about this expansion as the team established themselves as a Butler brand from the start. However, she said things are going well for the team as they created a design that would appeal to the younger Indianapolis community. 

“It’s so cool to see everyone wearing the Hinkle sweatshirt around,” Krasteva said. “It would be cool to go downtown and see someone wearing [our clothes].”

Alongside Mitchell, the team is in the process of organizing a pop-up in Broad Ripple. They believe this will help their brand gain traction outside of Butler. 

Since the Sunset Avenue team was not in the RBE course this semester, Mitchell set them up in the Dugan Hall Innovation Lab during the time of the RBE marketplace on March 25. People could come and see the apparel company, even though they were not a part of the fair. 

Junior economics major Braxton Martorono visited the Sunset Avenue booth during the fair and pre-ordered a pair of their newest green sweatpants from the spring line. 

“Sunset Avenue Clothing Company has impressed me with their professionalism and also their quality of clothing,” Martorono said. 

Lauren Lukitsh, a first-year health sciences major, purchased a “Wish you were at Hinkle” hoodie last semester. 

“I really liked the simplicity of the design and how it was Butler affiliated, but still subtle,” Lukitsh said. “I was drawn to the company … from seeing people wearing them around campus.” 

Lukitsh said she really enjoys the new spring collection as well and has already placed an order for two items.

At the RBE marketplace, the team was asked many questions about their Hinkle hoodie. As for those inquiries, Krasteva said to “stay tuned.” She said that the best way to know if more “Wish you were at Hinkle” hoodies are coming is to follow the company on Instagram @sunsetaveclothingco. 

All the items of their spring collection are currently available for pre-order right now on their website.