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Ephraim Cub
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Behind the Cub
Ephraim Cub was a clothing company that I started with some friends for a Utah State University entrepreneurship contest. After the competition, I took the business over and ran with it for another year and a half. The company focused on producing pocket t-shirts with graphic art on each pocket.
Location: Logan, Utah
Founded: March, 2016
Founders: Christian Halling, Jace Smellie, Spencer Jolley, Colton Thompson
Funded through: $100 Startup competition, personal funds
Sales channels: Online, direct to consumer
Market: Active leisure
Values: Style, affordability, quality
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Logo
Old Ephraim was the last wild Grizzly bear to live in Utah. He was 10 feet tall and weighed 1,100 lbs. He was killed in 1923 up Logan Canyon after he had slain hundreds of sheep in the area. His skull now resides at the Smithsonian.
I wanted to name my company after this behemoth because of his local fame. Being such a legend, the idea of him having a cub offered an extension of his mystery to the business. His spirit would live on through my products.
Burr, Dale M. Old Ephraim. 1979
The bear head logo was one of the first logos I ever created. Making it was also my introduction to Adobe Illustrator, which I have been privileged to use non-stop since then.
I have habit of doodling in my sketchbook while working on projects. One sketch that kept recurring at the formation of Ephraim Cub was the bear head shown to the left. The graphic became popular, so I chose to utilize it as the logo.
My first introduction to working with vendors in China was when I searched out woven damask labels for the shirts. With this project, I was able to produce a file, source a factory, negotiate prices, give quality feedback, and receive the final goods. Thankfully, this exchange
concluded successfully.
1.75 cm 5 cm fold line
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Artwork in progress
Graphic design process
Select an animal to work with. Search the internet for a commercial-use, high- resolution photo with chosen animal in a flattering pose. Use Photoshop to crop the photo to fit within the frame of the future pocket. Use an online program to turn the photo into an art style that popped for that animal. Change the colors of the stylized photo in Photoshop to achieve the desired result. Take the final image into illustrator and add the pocket outline for application. Add the logo, which can be seen inside the pocket once it is attached to the shirt
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Pocket designs
Printed on polyester, jersey-knit fabric. Polyester was selected over other materials because color bonds to it best using sublimation printing.
There was concern on whether the pocket would wash and shrink differently than the shirt, considering both were made of different materials.
After extensive testing, it was found that the differences were nominal, and production commenced.
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Assembly
The Pocket Construction Process
Digital pocket designs are assembled into a large template file. File is sent to the fabric printer
Printer produces custom fabric and ships it. Fabric arrives. Tricot interfacing is ironed to the back of fabric to provide structure. Pockets are cut and separated into individual pieces. Folds are ironed along pocket outlines to create the final shape. Logo label is attached to the bottom right corner of each pocket. A line is stitched along the top of each pocket to keep the top fold in place. Pocket is pinned in the correct position on the shirt. Pocket is finally sewn onto the shirt
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Shirts
When selecting t-shirts to put pockets onto, I strove towards the most comfortable experience possible. Because of this, I chose to use a cotton-polyester blend with ring-spun long grains. This created a thin, stretchy fabric that was durable with a soft feel. I also chose a form-fitting size selection to flatter the image of the person wearing each shirt. My goal was to produce a product that the customer would love for all of its attributes, not just the design and color.
