Sunshine States Goods Rocks 2018 Surf Expo

From being a producer on the Oprah Show to a Florida surf lifestyle entrepreneur, any task Chelsea McMillan sets her mind to becomes a success. Sunshine State Goods is an up and coming Florida surf lifestyle apparel brand.

I met Chelsea in an odd way at the 2018 January Surf Expo.  While I was sitting at one of the round tables in one of the eating areas, Chelsea was walking around the showroom floor dropping sales and marketing cards on the table.  We acknowledge each other and she went on her way to the next table. At Surf Expo, the center of all the round eating tables were used as a depository of surfing stickers, rack cards and other forms of brand advertising. Well sometime later when I was sitting at another table at a different location on the expo floor, low and behold here comes Chelsea still making her rounds. Below is the marketing piece she was placing on each table. 

We smiled and recognized the fact that we have crossed paths again.  From that point on, I decided to stop by her booth to see what Sunshine State Goods was all about. 

When I arrived at any expo booth I am always wary not to interrupt any sales discussion with potential customers. If a booth is very busy I always swing back later when the booth is less busy.  Upon arriving at the Sunshine State Goods booth there were no potential customers to contend with. 

Chelsea greeted me with a smile that said we meet again.  Meeting people at surf expo is such a blast.  At that time I dove right in and ask about the history of the brand.  She explained the company history. She said she started the business because she saw an opportunity to develop a line of Florida themed apparel.  Click HERE for a great article about Chelsea McMillan on the Erwin Shaw Street website.  Their interview of Chelsea tells the whole story.  

I have been doing graphic design since the early 1980 when Corel Draw first came on the market. During these 35 plus years I have designed hundreds of tee shirts so when I am given the opportunity write about surf lifestyle apparel, especially tee shirts, I have a sound basis for my comments.  

As Chelsea showed me different shirt styles with different designs I asked her who did her artwork.  She said she used local Florida artist.  I commented that I like the simplicity of the artwork on the Sunshine State Goods apparel.  I said that because I am not a fan of tee shirt designs with a 1,000 colors with very complex  designs.  The art work Chelsea is using clearly shows off the Sunshine State in simplistic terms.  During our short talk, Chelsea mentioned that they supported Florida with a special Hurricane Irma tee shirt design and they were a big supporter of Florida Wildlife Corridor.  According to the Florida Wildlife Corridor, "it is a statewide network of lands and water that supports wildlife and people".   

You can find Sunshine State Goods at neighborhood stores located in many of Florida beach side cities.  Click HERE for a list of their retail partners.  If you do not live close to any of these retail partners, you can order online from their website.  They also have a Facebook page, a Twitter page, a Pinterest page and an Instagram page.  From one Floridian to another, pick up your Sunshine State Goods tee shirt today.

Until next time be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors.