Above, left: Lynn and Harald Husum founded Appaman — named after a little corduroy
monkey Harald got from an aunt when he was a baby — in their Brooklyn apartment.
Above, right: The photo of Maddox Jolie-Pitt that helped launch the company. Below:
The couple put daughter Kaya to work modeling last season's line.
graphic-design talents to work. They
began with an image of Che Guevara,
got a good amount of press, got it into
stores and set out for their first trade
show. "It was so scary," says Husum,
"putting up all this money. It was such
a risk."
They broke even by noon.
The couple got a rep in L.A.,
and then things really started hap-
pening. "Both of us just really loved
the game of it — we understood it,"
says Hussum, whose parents always
told her she should go into sales, and
whose self-professed high-strung per-
sonality complements her husband's
laid-back style. "I was like, `I'm so
much better at this than nursing!"
Proof? Business has not stopped
booming, thanks in no small part
to the Jolie-Pitts. In 2006, three
years after Appaman was launched,
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's son
Maddox was photographed walking to
school wearing the now-iconic bull-
dog tee the same week that Angelina
announced she was pregnant with
Brad's child — then was voted "Best-
Dressed Kid" by People magazine
wearing that tee — and the publicity
exploded. Since then, the company
gets near daily calls from
the likes of Gwyneth
Paltrow, Gwen Stefani
and Liv Tyler, all fashion
icons themselves, and
often photographed with
their children wearing
Appaman. "The timing
was perfect," says Husum.
"Babies were becoming
accessories; celebrities
were toting them all
around town."
With cool graph-
ics inspired by Harald's
childhood frolicking in
the fjords and his appre-
ciation of all manner of American pop
culture (cars, rockabilly, New York
City graffitti), Appaman's graphic tees,
cotton separates and, of course, its ape
logo, are standouts. Although it was
launched as a boy company, having
two girls of their own (Kaya is 5; Elie,
3) has opened up the world of horses
and ice cream graphics. They've also
just launched a brand-new line of lay-
ette, with mini leggings, hoodies and
dresses.
During the company's first two
grassroots years, the couple didn't take
a salary, so Husum went back to work
in homeless shelters. Once they had
some some success, "it felt natural to
give back to those places, where some-
thing like a shirt means so much," says
Husum. Appaman participates in the
New York Cares Coat Drive, match-
ing every coat donated with a new
Appaman coat (last year, they donated
400). They sponsor a concert series in a
Brooklyn park; they donate product to
the organization Baby Buggy (founded
by Jessica Seinfeld). "We try to do
as much as we can, through Harald's
family, my family. There's always an
organization close to someone."
The Appaman kid, says Harald,
is confident, relaxed, has a
sense of humor. He's got
opinions. "We get letters
from parents saying their kid
won't take his T-shirt off;
he's slept in it for four days,"
says Husum. Adds Harald,
"We started by identifying
with the parents, but it turns
out the kids like it, too."
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Look for Appaman online
and at local boutiques Bec
and Sam's (Bloomfield
FEATURING INTEGRATIVE
THERAPIES TO TREAT
F1BROMYALGIA • BACK PAIN • CHRONIC HEADACHES
Hills), Bella Belli
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.1N platintun •
OCTOBER 2009 •
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