Tellason

PRODUCT DESIGN

Tony Patella and Pete Searson, co-owners of Tellason Denim in San Francisco have a great story. Now in their late 40’s, Tony and Pete met back in 1990 in the apparel industry. In 2009 amidst the economic downturn, Tony and Pete wanted to start a recession proof business doing something they both loved. Tellason’s signature product was a slim straight jean made from domestically milled raw selvedge denim, and manufactured in the old Levi’s denim factory in San Francisco. Tellason soon spurred a worldwide revolution of raw selvedge denim and developed a cult following as a result.

In 2013, Tony and Pete wanted to produce a heavy-weight sweatshirt but didn’t know where to start. They wanted this sweatshirt to pay homage to the original Champion Reverse Weave fleece that was a standard issue garment in most gym classes back in the 70’s. This unapologetically stiff, ultra heavyweight fleece hadn’t been manufactured in over 20 years. Tellason asked me to develop a fleece that would do justice to this iconic piece of American history.  I spent the next 10 months working with a knitting factory in Southern California to develop what would be known as the heaviest fleece on the market.  Together we designed and produced the hoodie and crewneck sweatshirt, which they still sell today.