You can find Swan City Orlando’s entire BLM product line here. Be sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
What inspired you to create Swan City Orlando? Can you tell us more about the name?
As someone that has always had a creative side, it was Andrew’s opportunity to express not only that side but also his love for Orlando. He moved here to attend UCF in 2008 from the Space Coast and honestly was not a big fan of it until moving Downtown in 2011 with his now husband and business partner Jeff. We started meeting amazing artists and small business owners, immersing ourselves in the community, and really seeing a side of Orlando we never knew. In traveling around, Andrew realized that Orlando was missing the ability to share their love and pride with others so he got to work on how we could do that with shirts, prints, stickers and more – we have not looked back since their August 2017 launch!
As for the name…In late 2016 Andrew was doing a few name ideas and eventually landed on Swan City due to the swans at Lake Eola. Living Downtown he has always loved them and has vivid memories of swan boat rides and feeding them when he would visit Orlando. We knew going in that Lakeland had some Swan City companies but there was nothing in August 2017 in Orlando or Orange County so we started that name here locally. Since then, we have seen a lot of folks start to recognize Orlando as Swan City, which has been good and bad for us. We have had other businesses try to assume the name and infringe on our trademark of it. Thankfully most have obliged in changing names in a showing of small business support.
What do you love most about Orlando and having a small business in HD47?
Our ability to connect with our community is honestly the best part, with a close second of seeing people embrace our goods. When we put information out on our social media and get responses you better believe I am responding. We get some great comments and have met so many wonderful people through social media as well as at our pop-ups in the past. We have made new friendships from this, embedded ourselves in with other small businesses, and get such joy out of growing this brand. As for the embracing of goods – when we see someone wearing our shirts or having our sticker on their laptop/water bottle/etc we lose it. I invariably talk to them, ask for a photo to post, and thank them for their support. I feel it is important for folks to know the people behind the brand and how much it means to help us grow into what we have become today and what we will grow into as we progress forward.
What are some of your favorite products you’ve featured?
Andrew’s personal favorite has been the 8-Bit Lake Eola that we have carried since launch. It was a fun graphic made to be recognizable to locals but probably look like minecraft to others. Another great one that has turned into our best seller is our I-4 Eyesore Procrastination Level tee, which is Jeff’s favorite. We launched it in Nov 2018 but went on the news with it in June 2019, at which someone snagged a screengrab and we went viral with it with over 250 orders in a week (and a lot of copycats on the internet). That shirt speaks volumes to what we locals joke about and identify with. Another favorite would be our You Are The poster collection that details what we love in Orlando such as places, things, neighborhoods, and recently a dedicated Black Lives Matter one.
Your product line has greatly changed in recent months. Can you tell us how you’re showing up for Black Lives Matter and what responsibility you see businesses have in fighting for justice?
It has indeed changed as we blacked out all of our products on June 7th and are only highlighting our Black Lives Matter (BLM) product lines. We also announced a partnership with a local artist, Brianna Jarvis, who helped design the Orlando BLM Fountain that we have on shirts and stickers. Additionally, all proceeds of these products are 100% going to Parramore’s amazing New Image Youth Center led by Dr. Shanta Barton-Stubbs. We found it important as a community voice that has a platform to let people know where we stand, how they could stand with us, and the ways in which businesses and communities can come together to make lasting change.
As a business, we have a responsibility in fighting for justice by showing up for our community both when in need and when not. That is why we are so happy to be partnered with New Image Youth Center. We know the funds will help empower the lives of the children they serve and through that, create lasting change in their outlook. In addition to funds, we are looking at how we can partner with them to volunteer, provide insight to the children on how to run a small business of their own one day, and connect them with our community partners for more learning opportunities.
Anything else you’d like readers to know!
We want you all to know how much we love each and every one of you that have supported us and in turn lifted up the pride of our City Beautiful. Orlando has historically been known for tourism and attractions, but by helping us spread our wings since 2017, we are starting to change that. Let’s show folks the businesses they should support, the events they should go to locally, and how to really see the side of Orlando that we all know and love. We cannot thank everyone enough for the support we get – it pushes us every day to continue to do more!