Hidden Gems: Meet Beau Lawrence of Ace Rivington

Today we’d like to introduce you to Beau Lawrence.

Hi Beau, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m a devout denim lover and maker of all fine things Jeanswear and founder of Ace Rivintgton.  It’s been a long path getting here that really started back in June of 1997 when my best friend offered me a job to get 2% of his screen printing company (and he’d pay me $5-6.00 per hour). After reflection on this awesome opportunity, I decided not to print tee shirts…but to change majors from Architecture into Fashion Design with the goal of someday building my own brand.

My shift into fashion led me to FIDM in Los Angeles where I received a degree in Fashion Design. My first job in fashion (after a short stint producing pajamas for girls) was at Guess Jeans where I’d build my career in Mens Jeanswear and begin working with denim. My early days at Guess led me to new opportunities in Santa Barbara (where I learned you could build an apparel brand) to Seattle, and eventually back to LA where I’d return to Guess in as designer for Mens Jeanswear on a global level.

Corporate was an incredible path to build a great foundation, travel and learn lots about denim and the world. In 2013, I left Guess, going from large format perspective to much smaller format perspective with joining Neff Headwear.  Neff was an incredible place to be surrounded by amazing energy and passion for making things happen, and that time inspired me to go out on my own. In late 2013 I launched Ace Rivington on Kickstarter with a prototype for a sweatshirt and it worked. We were successfully funded raising over $60K with our launch product and that was the beginning of the brand.

It’s been an incredible and wild path over the last eight years getting me to where I sit today above our Flagship Store in Santa Barbara. Still rooted in the lessons and product understanding that have inspired my entire career, Jeanswear is the core of the Ace Rivington brand.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not one thing has been easy about building the business.  After Kickstarter, our second focus was launching a catalog that we direct mailed to 110,000 homes. That was a flop which created massive excess inventory.  From there, we made early efforts at building a wholesale business (lol, we even took a real airplane to a trade show and parked it in front of our booth). It wasn’t until we started opening our own retail stores to sell the excess catalog inventory that things really started to click.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Ace Rivington, Inc.?
Ace Rivington is a Santa Barbara based denim lifestyle brand. We make our own jeans and clothing. Our fabric comes from the most sustainably focused denim mill on the planet, Candiani Denim mill. We make our jeans using no chemicals, the least amount of water possible, and we produce them in a way that isn’t harmful to the factory workers who help make our product. Our denim comes with full tailoring and a lifetime warranty included.

The Ace Rivington experience was inspired by the service I observed my parents receiving when I was a kid in the 1980s. At Mom and Pop shops, folks cared they put in effort, and that’s how we serve people every day.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson in my Ace Rivington journey came in Spring of 2021. We had recently moved into the fourth store that we built in the brand’s history, currently our only store.  What I realized this Spring when I actually took a minute to stand back and reflect on what I’ve been doing over the last eight years is understanding that I’ve actually created something meaningful that has lasting potential. I’ve always projected a vision of goals for myself that qualify as some type of success…but I haven’t spent nearly enough time recognizing that I’m already there…and that I don’t have to continue reaching to feel like I’ve made it. Growth will continue to come, but I’ve already done something really important.

Pricing:

• 190.00 Denim (full tailoring lifetime warranty)
• 39.00 Super Soft Tees made in LA
• 89.00 Super Soft Sweatshirts made in LA

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: acerivington.com
• Instagram: acerivington
• Facebook: acerivington
• Twitter: acerivington
• Youtube: acerivington
• Yelp: acerivington

Image Credits
Zack Harris