Beach Bum Threads: Surf-inspired clothing store opens second location in Ogunquit
OGUNQUIT, Maine — How’s this for a fast track? Michael and Justine DiSalvo started their new brand of clothing, Beach Bum Threads, as an online business during the pandemic in 2020.
In 2022, they added brick and mortar to their enterprise, opening a Beach Bum Threads Surf Club on Beach Street in York.
And now? Based on the success of the York location, the DiSalvos have opened a second shop at 116 Perkins Cove Road in Ogunquit. That one opened on April 1.
Not a bad three years.
“We’re excited to be a part of Ogunquit,” Michael said.
The shop is filled with beach-themed goods, from soaps, signs and sunscreens to hot sauces, candies and candles. There’s jewelry, chapsticks, decals, wine glasses, and books written by Maine authors, too.
And it’s all regional. Pretty Little Detailz, a business in Wells, makes the “location signs” that adorn one of the shop’s walls. The soaps are the product of Seaside and Sunshine, a business in Massachusetts. Some of the coasters on sale are made by a Rhode Island company called – get ready to smile – Drinks on Me.
The hot sauces on one shelf are crafted by The Spicy Shark in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
“I love hot sauce,” Michael said, looking over the line of small bottles in front of him. “I have every single one of these in my fridge at home.”
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Michael pointed to tubes of hand cream on another shelf.
“These are made of seaweed pulled right from the ocean in Saco,” he said.
Michael also pointed to some jewelry on another shelf.
“These are all made of fishing lures, handmade in Maine,” he said.
Michael said he and Justine like to seek out companies that “give back” in some ways and contribute to worthy causes. The DiSalvos are supporters of the Maine chapter of The Surfrider Foundation, which focuses on the conservation of oceans and beaches.
Of course, all of this is in addition to the Beach Bum Threads tee-shirts, hoodies and hats that the DiSalvos design together. The couple comes up with ideas for images, using either photos for references or drawing “a really bad version” of what they want on a napkin, according to Michael. Then, they hand off their design to a graphic designer, who makes it all eye-catching and ready to appear on clothes.
Clothing on their rack has beach themes, as well as sayings like “Locals only,” “Ride the wave,” and “Salty, sandy, stoked.”
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How Beach Bum Threads came to be
Michael and Justine both grew up in Wells and are graduates of Wells High School’s Classes of 2012 and 2011, respectively. Michael worked at a restaurant that’s a stone’s throw from the shop he and Justine now own in Perkins Cove.
Before inspiration struck during the doldrums of the pandemic, Michael worked in sales for a tech company in Boston. Justine is a nurse.
For Michael, a lifelong surfer who has always dressed the part, the idea of starting his own beach-themed business was a natural one. He said he was getting bored with wearing corporate brands and wanted to come up with some threads of his own. He got the idea of actually launching his own brand while listening to a podcast, he said.
Michael said he and his wife are grateful for the community of York, whose support for their original shop gave them the encouragement and confidence to expand into Ogunquit.
“The locals in York supported us from the very beginning,” he said.
Currently, the Ogunquit shop is open Monday through Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Starting this holiday weekend, the shop also will be open on Saturdays and Sundays. In a few weeks, the shop will be open seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Beach Bum Threads clothing store opens new store in Ogunquit, Maine
