Today we’d like to introduce you to Ceni Lombardo.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
As parents of two autistic children on different ends of the spectrum, my husband & I wanted to create something different to help raise support and awareness for the Autistic community. We would often see Autistic apparel out there whose intent was good but did not really appeal to something we would actually want to wear as many of the imagery looked outdated, bland and like something someone’s grandmother would wear.
As fans of underground punk rock, hardcore, metal and hip-hop music for several decades, we wanted to create autistic support apparel that would appeal more towards people of this generation and also to like-minded individuals who enjoy the tattoo and underground artistic cultures. Motivated by love and fueled by the punk rock ethos, we knew the best way would be to take the DIY approach.
We began to reach out and collaborate with local tattoo, comic book and design artists and friends of different backgrounds to help to help create imagery similar to what you would you would see at underground music shows and within the subculture to help us create more excitement and awareness to continue to raise support and awareness.
As the brand began to grow, we were able to officially become an officially recognized 501c3 nonprofit organization. Since day one, our mission and goal has to been to pay it forward and donate 100% of all proceeds to several other local and national autistic organizations to help provide services and programs.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been a bit challenging at first. We had to initially fund all apparel, advertising and production costs upfront out of our own pocket as we began to establish the brand and start to create the initial demand and awareness for the gear. This put us in some compromising financial situations for a little bit, yet once we were able to start to create demand, it started to level out a bit.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We both have full-time jobs in other industries unrelated to Punks for Autism and do this all out of love. What really motivates us is to do something positive that helps others out – especially those with special needs. We are constantly motivated by seeing how being punk rock, having special needs and or being different is a good thing – nothing to be good ashamed of. Our son is on the severe side of the spectrum and seeing his nonchalant attitude in regard to how others view him is inspiring and awesome. We are most proud of our children and what we have been able to accomplish with this organization in a short time.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Do what makes you happy and what helps others make this world a better place. We are all in this journey of life together and if we continue to help each other out along the way, we can make the best of life for all to enjoy.
Pricing:
- Patches Starting at $2.99
- Tote Bags/Hats/Coffee Mugs starting at $19.99
- Kid’s Shirts starting at $19.99
- T-shirts/ Long Sleeves starting at $24.99
- Sweatshirts/Hoodies starting at $30.99
Contact Info:
- Website: www.punksforautism.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/punksforautism
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/punksforautism
