In 2007, Micah Belamarich and Julian Goldstein co-founded Only NY, an independent clothing and lifestyle brand that is a love letter to New York City. Since launching, the brand opened a flagship store on the Lower East Side and has become a premier partner for the City, designing products for the Department of Parks & Recreation, the Department of Sanitation and the MTA.
Their most recent collaboration, the Founded By NYC “Welcome to” collection, is with none other than NYC Tourism + Conventions.
Read on to learn more about Only NY's founding, inspiration and latest capsule collection with NYC Tourism.
How was Only NY started?
Micah Belamarich: I started Only NY when I was 22 while going to FIT [the Fashion Institute of Technology] for graphic design and still living at home in my family’s apartment on the Upper West Side.
I grew up around art and illustration, so starting at a very young age, I was drawing. I also had a lot of creative ambition and would give myself personal creative projects. Growing up in NYC, I was exposed to skateboarding, graffiti and street culture. It was very influential and drove a lot of my interests. Between the ages of 18 and 20, I was feeling lost, getting arrested for graffiti, but then discovered the world of graphic design and branding. I knew I had to grow up and knew I wanted to try to make something of myself and my talents, so Only NY was my answer. In my mind, it was kind of perfect because the brand was like a tag name, and it could function as an umbrella for all my creative energy—all while building something larger than myself.
I had no prior business experience. I dedicated myself to learning business through books, websites and friends. I was very fortunate to have the support of my family, and I partnered with my two closest friends, who helped get things off the ground. I had no money, but I had a lot of drive, dedication and ambition. We started with a sticker and around $2,500 to fund a line of five T-shirts. The rest is history.
Julian Goldstein
Julian Goldstein: To us, it was a way to fill the gap of creating art legally onto apparel versus illegally through graffiti.
My background was in retail and photography. My grandfather, father and aunt all had different clothing stores, from Sheepshead Bay to the Upper West Side, from the 1950s to 1990s. I was raised in the trade and thank my family for exposing me to it all at such a young age.
Tell us a bit about your creative process. How do you translate the inspiration you get from NYC into a physical product?
MB: Since the start of Only NY, the city streets and its inhabitants have been the driving source of inspiration. From old signage to vintage articles of clothing spotted on fellow New Yorkers, we are always looking at our surroundings. Historically, we’ve looked for graphic inspiration, but, more recently, with the expansion of our product offering, we are looking at the City in a new way. We’re taking in the shapes, sounds and objects of the City.
A lot of my design process starts with sketching in my notebooks, whether it be illustrative doodles or typography. It is then brought on to a computer and further designed and mocked up in a digital form. From there, it gets physically sampled and produced.
JG: Growing up in a city like New York, there’s inspiration around every corner, and having lived here for over 40 years, we’ve seen a lot. Our creative process usually starts with specific New York themes—food, sports, art, old New York—and then we do our best to research them and bring them to life in new, creative ways.
What are some of your best-selling products and why do you think they’re so popular?
MB: Over our 19-year span we’ve had a lot of bestsellers. Historically, our graphic T-shirts are our best-selling category. With how fast trends are moving these days, it’s interesting, as well as challenging, to keep up with ever-changing trends. Our NYC Parks logo tee has been a bestseller since it launched 10 years ago, as well as our City of New York T-shirts.
More recently, with the launch of our home products, the pen holder, wastebasket and MTA lamp have been wildly popular. I think these items are so popular because they reach a large audience and represent a connection people have with NYC and its institutions.
Tell us about some of the collaborations Only NY has worked on. What’s been the most memorable and why?
MB: Our ongoing collaboration with the City of New York is top of the list for us. For me, it really integrates the brand with the City itself and is the pinnacle of validation we could receive as a brand. It was beyond my wildest dreams to get the opportunity, and to become the premier apparel brand representing and supporting the City and its departments is really special.
Our ongoing collaboration with the Metropolitan Transit Authority is another really special one. We’ve done some other really fun collaborations that include Brooklyn Brewery, New Museum, New York City Football Club and Google—a two-week sponsored pop-up at Grand Central Terminal.
JG: We’ve been very fortunate to work with some big names and institutions in New York, like the Brooklyn Museum, New York Magazine, WNYC Radio and, most recently, the Beastie Boys. I wouldn’t say I have a favorite, but, as a true New Yorker, I always look forward to our ongoing collaborations with the departments that run the City: the Parks Department, Sanitation Department and MTA.
Talk to us about the capsule collection you're working on in collaboration with NYC Tourism + Conventions. What was the inspiration and the creative process for the collection?
MB: The Founded By NYC “Welcome to” collection is based around the idea of visiting or coming home to New York City and is represented by each borough. We felt this was a great way to tie into NYC Tourism and its mission. We wanted to create something unique in our signature visual language and that tied the two entities together. I used ink and paint to create the original drawings and then brought them into iPad. I tried to represent each borough in a familiar but new way.
JG: New York City is home to so many people but also attracts visitors from all over the world. Each borough has something to offer and welcomes anyone who’d like to visit.
What’s your favorite piece from the capsule and why?
MB: My favorite piece is the T-shirt because it captures all the boroughs and individual artwork onto one item. I also like that it has a really vintage, gift shop vibe.
JG: As someone who has lived in almost every borough at one time or another, and who is now living in Queens, I have to say the “Welcome to Queens” graphic with the iconic Unisphere. Every borough has a landmark that represents their neighborhood, and for me this is it.
When looking at the graphics, I think of antique and vintage travel posters from around the world. Since you can travel the world within the five boroughs, it feels very fitting that these graphics don’t only cater to true New Yorkers but any tourist as well.
Belamarich and Goldstein
What advice do you have for New Yorkers who want to start a small business?
MB: Immerse yourself in the market you are interested in. Do as much research as possible. Understand what’s working for others and why. If you are new to business, gain as much knowledge as you can about business structure, accounting, margins, finance, management and marketing. Be willing to take risks but be responsible in your efforts. Try to focus on something you are passionate and confident about because nothing about business is easy.
JG: Find people you can trust and rely on, as it can be a difficult road to go down on your own. We are very fortunate to have been in business for just about 20 years now; we couldn’t have done it without an incredible team and collaborative environment.
For more information and to purchase items from the Only NY x NYC Tourism collection, visit OnlyNY.com.
