We've always tried to instill a sense of entrepreneurship in our children and teach them to work hard.  Salt Gear was formed to help our daughter earn some money while in school and teach her a little about business.  Our family enjoys art, history, nature, fishing and watersports so we decided to incorporate each of those elements into our business.  

 

Scott started by  talking to Jon Hatch of Hatch Gallery, a very colorful and unique art gallery in Placida.  Jon suggested that Scott speak to Patti Middleton about screen printing and her artwork.  Jon is cordial and helpful and his gallery is a 'must see' in Placida.  

 

Patti is a watercolor artist whose specialty is Florida wildlife and she is well known in Boca Grande.  Her brilliant, realistic paintings of Florida fish and birds can be found all over the southeastern United States.  She is a wonderful resource regarding local history and art.  

 

It took about 1 1/2 years to collect designs from Patti, get the logo just right, research shirt manufacturers and learn the dye sublimation process.  We will add screen printing in the future, but found the sublimation process to be superior especially on shirts offering UPF protection.  Each shirt is dyed individually and the results are beautiful.  Along the way, we found artists Dieter Lau, Don Thompson and Thomas Krause.  We are always looking for new art to add to our designs.  

 

If you find yourself visiting our area, we recommend a visit to the Historic Placida fishing village.  Every Saturday morning there is an art show.  Make sure you stop to see Hatch Gallery.  To really get a feel for old Florida walk up to the Fish Market and look to the left at the sunken shrimp boat pictured above.