New Vacaville online clothing retailer proving quite popular - Vacaville Reporter

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fearon DeWeese was laid off from her job, an occurrence that has become far too common for many people over the last year. However, the Vacaville native was determined to find another avenue to continue working while also spending time with her family.

You might even say she was hella determined.

DeWeese and her husband, Chris, decided that avenue should be selling shirts online that pay tribute to their Northern California heritage. Naturally, they named their business Hella Shirt Co., and they launched it last October.

“Together, we came up with a word that brought us back to our youth and days in high school and junior high when everything was hella rad and hella cool and hella dope,” Fearon said. “It just kind of grew from there.”

“Hella,” as anyone who has attended middle or high schools in Northern California over the last five decades can attest, is a slang term used as a synonym for “extremely,” e.g., “That movie was hella cool.” The word has also seen usage that has brought it beyond the boundaries of Nor. Cal, such as on No Doubt’s 2002 hit “Hella Good” or a 1998 episode of “South Park” where Eric Cartman uses the word frequently.

it is a word that Fearon and Chris know all too well. She is a 1997 graduate of Vacaville High School, and he grew up in Napa.

Chris and Fearon DeWeese are the proprietors of Vacaville online clothing retailer Hella Shirt Co. and are pictured with their 2.5-year-old daughter Ellamay. Hella Shirt Co. specializes in clothing that represents Northern California culture — including liberal use of the word “hella.” (Contributed Photo — Vanessa Williams Photography)

“Hella is one of my favorite words,” Fearon said. “It just represents where we’re from.”

It also has a personal connection, as her 2.5-year-old daughter bears the similar name Ellamay.

From 2012 to 2020, Fearon worked as an experience director for the Napa Valley Film Festival. However, once COVID-19 hit, she was unable to continue working in that capacity. Additionally, the virus also put a temporary halt to the event planning business she has operated in the last decade.

“Our event industry just disappeared,” she said. “Nobody could gather over 10 people, so any of the large events that I had been planning just kind of went away. There wasn’t really a plan in place for when it was gonna come back.”

To find another business opportunity, Fearon and Chris did some research and settled upon starting an online clothing retailer. One niche they wanted to fill was a clothing business that would provide items for tall people.

“(It’s) something my husband and I have always joked about,” she said. “I’m 6 foot, my husband’s 6 (feet), 6 (inches). It’s just hard to find clothes that fit and are comfortable and long enough. We’ve always joked about starting a clothing brand for tall people and clothes that we would love and fit us as well.”

From there, the DeWeeses came up with a brand featuring clothing types of all sizes featuring slogans that usually start with the word “hella.” The collections include T-shirts, tank tops, hoodies, beanies, long-sleeve shirts and even a maternity shirt that reads “Hella Pregnant.” The items are made and shipped out of their Vacaville home.

Understandably, Fearon said the most popular shirts have been from the “Hella Over it” collection, where customers can easily express their dissatisfaction with the pandemic or other issues.

“I think that’s where everybody’s at right now,” she said. “We’re hella over it.”

Shirts bearing Northern California insignia have also been popular, including those with the slogan “Lake Tahoe is My Happy Place.” The latter was promoted on actor Jeremy Renner’s Instagram page after Hella Shirt Co. sent a custom-made sweatshirt to Renner’s daughter.

Additionally, Fearon said the business is planning to launch a “Hecka” collection for kids as well as a “Hella Tall” line, in honor of the demographic that sparked the idea for the business in the first place. The DeWeeses also sell a sweatshirt that honors their town with the slogan “Vacaville: A Small Town with a Hella Big Heart,” with proceeds supporting Opportunity House and the warming center at the Georgie Duke Center.

It also is not just clothes that Hella Clothing sells. The business also sells koozies for people to hold their beer, seltzer, soda or sparkling water cans during a camping trip or when relaxing after a hella long day.

Fearon said Hella Clothing Co. is a brand she would like to see recognized worldwide. It has already received orders from as far away as Germany and Switzerland, and with America now having a vice president from Northern California, Fearon wants to have a global brand to represent the region. She also has been in talks with clothing stores in Roseville and other cities about selling their clothing wholesale.

“We hope to be a recognizable brand you see in stores,” she said.

Fearon also wants it to be a business her daughter can run one day. Above all, she wants to bring joy in a time that has not seen much of it.

“It’s a brand we want to keep really fun and represent the area that we were born and raised in,” she said. “It brings us back to a simpler time in our lives.”

Hella Shirt’s website is Hellashirtco.com.

More information can also be found at Facebook.com/hellashirtco and Instagram.com/hellashirtco/?hl=en.

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New Vacaville online clothing retailer proving quite popular - Vacaville Reporter
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