In 2006 my girlfriend and I relocated to Boston MA. My first sighting was of a line around the block for a place that seemed pretty self explanatory…Johnny Cupcakes. I figured by the time I parked the car got in the horrendous line and stumbled in to the bake shop there would be no cupcakes left. So I made a mental note and said next time I will go in there. Those cupcakes must be amazing! What is Johnny putting in them to have a line around a massive city block anyway? I was hell bent to taste his magic cupcakes.

So, a few weeks later I walked in and sure enough it looked like a bake shop with display cases and a mixer in the corner and refrigerators. The smell of vanilla wafted through the air. When I looked closely I noticed that the cases where filled with decadent t-shirt designs? My inner foodie was crushed but the kid in me was awakened! I was like “this is Awesome! Genius!”

I love his marketing. I told the guy behind the counter that I had come in for a cupcake and he said that happens a lot around here. He said that Johnny actually does give cupcakes away at some events. He said Johnny’s story was pretty funny…as a comic I leaned in to hear a good joke. He told me that Johnny was in a band and that he started to make shirts and he ended up selling more shirts then CDs. His name “Johnny” is real but the “cupcakes” came from a co-worker calling him different names like pancakes and cupcakes, so cupcakes just stuck! He sold out of shirts and went to Vegas to try and launch his brand. In Vegas he realized that he saw more value in being a small brand with a loyal cult following.

He stayed true to his vision and the belief that customers are friends. He creates limited editions of one-of-a-kind T-shirt art—yes really—but with a hat tipped to the 80’s combined with current pop culture trends. His shirts are numbered and have secret messages written on them hidden like a special treat. Think sample caps but better. With movie nights and limited-edition-only shirts for those movies like Karate Kid and Ghost Busters. Shirts with a Johnny Cupcakes twist and remade in his brand image. One of his most popular shirts you might have seen reads “ Make cupcakes not war!” His shirts they became highly collectable. Collectable Clothing, yes! If you watch Rachel Zoe then you have seen people pay ungodly amounts for vintage couture dresses. Johnny didn’t overcharge but once it’s gone it is gone. This is why e-bay has become a hub for his couture shirts. Some of those shirts I own proudly! Just how desirable are they? Well, once when I flew from Boston to Long beach my Johnny Cupcakes E.T blue cupcake shirt was stolen out of my bag along with a Marc Jacobs blazer. And even though my Marc Jacobs blazer was custom tailored and I paid over five hundreds dollars—I still was more upset that my JOHNNY CUPCAKES shirt was taken!

You have to experience Johnny for your self—a straight edge 20 something with a now multi-million dollar brand. “ His designs are so good Billabong actually ripped off one of his designs— thank God for lawyers and a loyal following that brought it to his attention. Johnny has stores in Boston, Los Angeles and London. What makes his brand so special is that he makes it personal and actually enjoys meeting his fans. He started this brand as a joke and like a great joke it keeps paying off! Check out his blog and website at Johnny cupcakes.com. It will be the sweetest thing you ever wear!