Charlottetown: Plant a seed and watch it Groe

When 19-year-old artist Nathan Loberg spilled paint on his best friend’s jeans, it planted the seed for Groe, his custom design company. Feeling guilty, he made it up to his pal by painting on the same denim, simultaneously camouflaging the mess and transforming a humble pair of pants into a piece of wearable art. Loberg’s friend Mike Wasnidge spotted the potential in this creation and saw it as a prime business opportunity. And so Groe Custom Clothing was born.

The company (so named because of Loberg’s long held habit of spelling his -ow words with an -oe ending and because the two business partners hope to see peoples ideas and expectations of style, um, grow) only just launched but is already being sold at The Green Man Vintage and Vinyl (48 University Ave., 902-566-1361) and will be featured in a fashion show at this month’s Fringe Urban Festival in Charlottetown. Wasnidge and Loberg are both hoping that the response will be positive enough that they can work on expanding the line throughout the Maritimes. The ultimate goal of is to transform closets into art galleries, people into walking exhibitions and wardrobes into artistic expressions.

Loberg’s obviously a talented artist and the creations seem to blend the boldness of pop art with a skateboard- and graffiti-inspired look. Groe’s current line is all hoodies, T-shirts and jeans, which matches the style of the art perfectly. (Although I’m secretly or not-so-secretly hoping they venture into the realm of custom designed dresses sometime soon!)

To see examples of some of Groe’s custom pieces (or to find out how to order your own), check out their Facebook page.

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