Meet the Portsmouth designer making a name for himself with his side hustle

But online shopping doesn’t mean you can’t still support your local businesses and sites like Etsy, made for creatives to buy and sell their creations, make that even easier.

One such business is MORBIDxMUNDANE, set up by Joey Casey, which offers bespoke, hand-finished clothing made in the UK.

Designer Joey, from Portsmouth launched the business in May 2019 after rebranding his creative page.

He said: ‘Craving the consistency I preach in my professional life, Morbid was born. It’s a clothing line heavily influenced by tattoo culture and simplistic linework. I digitize sketches, some more intricate than others, for vinyl transfer.

‘I’ve always enjoyed creating and being hands on, so to do so in my spare time, creating garments I’m proud of, whilst generating a following is an incredible feeling.’

Joey, whose full-time job is in textile design, said he sees MORBIDxMUNDANE as his side-hustle.

He said: ‘It allows me to really put my own personal stamp on things whilst learning a lot about production and marketing along the way.’

Joey designs all his creations himself, drawing inspiration from tattoo culture and various art accounts he follows on social media.

He has also worked with several local musicians, most notably Crystal Tides and Tom Bryan, helping them to create unique merchandise.

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Every item is made to order and while Joey currently trades solely on Etsy, he plans to try out the local creative markets soon to gauge interest.

But as with many other businesses, his has not been unaffected by the pandemic and progress on building a stock to go to the markets with has slowed.

However after recently re-opening, he plans to get back into full swing.

From customers getting Joey’s designs tattooed, to HBO documentary McMillions star Frank Columbo contacting him, Joey hopes that MORBIDxMUNDANE has an exciting – and sustainable – future ahead.

Joey said: ‘I am proud to build MORBIDxMUNDANE from the ground up, with a real focus on sustainability, as well as style and comfort. There’s no compromises when it comes to the quality of what I’m putting out. I put a real value on repeat custom, as opposed to making a quick sale.’

For more go to etsy.com/uk/shop/MORBIDxMUNDANE

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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