Local Business Is Part Screen-Printing Lab, Part Retail Storefront

A company specializing in local pride had best make their T-shirts locally. And True Jersey, already in place for years at a Belmar storefront, decided to open up shop on Hooper Avenue as part production site and part retail shop.

"This is a screen printing lab with a little retail store up front," said Peter Perea, one of the founding members behind the store and the mantra. The store will be opening shortly to those who want to pick up their local-based shirts and stickers.

Perea spoke recently about what the new store will offer the public:

"We have a whole bunch of designs that we work on. Some of them belong to us and some of them belong to local artists. Everything we do is pretty local; we don't have any big names from far away coming to print with us. The mid room will be the printing press with a small office in the back. Up front will be the retail area… all of the things we design and print are online for the most part."

Perea is referring to the True Jersey Supply Company Website which sells shirts and hoodies. If you're looking for New Jersey-themed merchandise then look no further. The website has links for Men's, Women's and Children clothing along with accessories and stickers. The site also has a link to their Facebook page and an advertisement to their Belmar store.

But True Jersey wanted to have a physical store location where people can come in and see the items. They listened to suggestions from fans who wanted to come in and browse on location. An idea was hatched.

"There aren’t any small retail places anymore," said Perea. "They have some on the boardwalk that do heat transfers (shirts)." Perea made mention that True Jersey Shirts are screen printed and will be ink screen printed at the Hooper Avenue location. Ink printing for the most part lasts longer then heat transfer shirts.

"We want to fill up the front part of the store with cool stuff; stuff like you used to have in cities and towns. Toms River really doesn’t have anything like that now. We haven’t seen any other stores that carry stuff you can't get anywhere else. It's nice to be able to offer something which is local and inspired in some way by this community." said Perea.

One of the driving forces behind opening a store in Toms River is the freedom to work in an environment worth working in. Perea spoke about working jobs in the past where a boss reaps the rewards while the worker does most of the work. A different approach will be used at the True Jersey Store.

Each member who works at the store will be paid for the work they put into the business. Besides a basic project manager the workers will be paid for the work they do on a certain project. Mutual agreement on compensation and dividing of the work will be decided by all the members of the store. It’s a sense of "getting back what you put in" said Perea. The success of the store will ultimately be in the hands of those who work at it. Everyone who chips in their time will "invest" in the store's prosperity.

With no official launch of the storefront Perea hopes he can open very soon.