Open In Newtonville: Project Repat Does T-Shirt Quilts

NEWTON, MA — Ever save those favorite old t-shirts with the idea that one day you could turn it into something useful? Maybe a pillowcase - or hey: You could make a quilt with them. One day. You're not alone. But you might also not be alone in not having the time to put in the hours it can take to sew and back and create such a quilt. Enter Project Repat, which opened recently in Newtonville after some six years as an online-only shop.

You can bring your old t-shirts to the store, cut them to the size you want them with their tools, consult with an employee have your t-shirt scraps recycled and then hand over your cloth memory of that Beastie Boys concert or the 5K where you actually ran and the company will turn around a custom made t-shirt quilt for between $75 for a small lap quilt and $300 for a king size one.

"For six years we've had a pretty successful online business. But we're a very custom product and we're handling people's very precious memories," said co-owner and Newton North graduate Ross Lohr.

Lohr and fellow owner Nathan Rothstein hoped by opening a storefront way to reach folks who might not be so comfortable with shipping their precious memories off in a box via the internet and wanted a more personalized experience.

"We're trying to experiment and see if there's a market there for that," said Lohr. He said he also wanted to implant the shop in a spot in a space where graduating seniors might benefit. "It's the perfect graduation gift," he said.

The move seems to be following an eCommerce trend. Although traditional retail hasn't been doing particularly well, those companies who work mostly online or in eCommerce are testing out these experiential shops.

"We kind of fit right into that trend right now," said Lohr.

A number of former customers have stopped by and there have been newbies popping over since the shop opened a couple weeks ago, according to the store's manager.

"Everyone's got t-shirts," said Erin Kizer. And the shirts that come through the shop often have stories to go along with them. One young woman who'd been going to summer camp for years came in with a pile of old camp shirts, another woman came in with 20 years' worth of Earth Day t-shirts.

"It's fun to hear the stories," said Kizer.

Rothstein and Lohr, stumbled upon the idea.

In 2011 Lohr who was living in Nairobi at the time, was watching as piles of clothing donations from the United States made their way into the African city’s markets. He wanted to create an way for Kenyans to capitalize off the wares, and thought about having them make bags from the T-shirt fabric and then “repatriate” them back to America.

But it didn't really stick. Instead, people would see the t-shirts in a new form and ask the same question: Can you make an affordable quilt out of my own old T-shirts? So the new businessmen adjusted their focus.

The duo partnered with manufacturing facilities in Fall River and North Carolina to mass-produce T-shirt quilts. They set up shop online and focused on helping keep factory jobs in the U.S. while up-cycling and keeping shirts out of the landfill.

And it worked this time.

So far this year the company has finished 1,500 quilts already which works out to processing more than 116,500 t-shirts.

Project Repat opened its first storefront at 298 Walnut St. in Newtonville on January 26. The co-owners signed a year lease.

"If it it does work we'd like to expand and duplicate it around the country," said Lohr.

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Photos by Jenna Fisher/Patch