Grafletics

Sometimes you have a vision that goes beyond a job title. With a motivated, independent spirit and a burning desire to express your creativity. You hold tight to the willingness to forge your own path in the face of uncertainty. The trick is in trusting that the dots will eventually connect. Being a small business owner isn’t easy, but at the end of the day you can claim ownership over your work and that is worth fighting for. Rick Gilbert is the founder and creative visionary behind the retro-modern inspired Portland, Oregon lifestyle brand, Grafletics. Grafletics was born in Rick’s garage in NW Portland in 2013 and has grown into a statewide brand with a flagship retail location in the quaint SE Portland neighborhood of Sellwood-Eastmoreland. Rick’s passion for creating Grafletics is rooted to his craft as an apparel Graphic Designer, love of sports and his home in Portland, Oregon. In 2010 he relocated to Portland from Baltimore, Maryland. To make friends and meet new people he played basketball and lots of it. He estimates it took over jumps shots and two pulled groins for the name Grafletics to emerge. Rick first sold Grafletics at a local retailer in the Old Town district of Portland. He quickly realized its business potential after selling out of every style multiple times over. For the next 3-years he would continue to build the business as a side hustle selling at local street fairs and developing wholesale arrangements throughout the state. During this period he also built a full clientele roster making product graphics for brands in the athletic and outdoor industry. From street fairs, outdoor markets, pop-up shops to launching a Grafletics flagship in Bend, Oregon, Rick has taken his grassroots approach to brand building and created a unique expression that blends sports, the outdoors, nostalgia and local sentiment. Rick believes in the universal truth that apparel can be a common thread that connects us all.