Multeepurpose: Three The Eco-Way
Triple Threat: Ruriko Yamada, left, and Jeff Toolan opened a fashion boutique, cafe and digital printing center at Multeepurpose Concept Store Cafe in Los Angeles
Jeff Toolan and Ruriko Yamada dreamed of showing the world their organic T-shirt brand Multeepurpose in a boutique setting. But they also wanted to hedge their bets during a tough economy. During the Aug. 8 grand opening of Multeepurpose Concept Store in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo neighborhood, they also opened an organic café and T-shirt digital-printing/technology center on the site of their 4,000-square-foot store.
Toolan and Yamada are gambling the public will multi-task at their store. They will buy a cup of organic coffee, shop for organic fashions and use the store's technology center to print designs on T-shirts.
Multeepurpose’s digital-printing center is as organic as the store’s T-shirts, Toolan said. The center’s Brother GT-541 garment-printing machine only uses water-based inks, which are said to be more environmentally friendly than other inks used for digital printing.
The Multeepurpose concept store also offers organic fashion brands such as Los Angeles-based Livity and Revel Seven, an organic denim line headquartered in Park City, Utah. Price points for Multeepurpose T-shirts range from $32 to $40. The denim line can go as high as $200. Multeepurpose Concept Store Café is located at 269 S. San Pedro St. For more information, visit multeepurpose.com.
