Aug. 10--A slumped stock market, strapped housing industry, faltering banks and an economy that generally was headed down the tube didn't stop Sam Holt from opening a specialty clothing store in New Haven last November.

The 2008 graphic design graduate of IPFW focuses more on doing the designs for clothing and other things than actually operating a traditional clothing store. If a person wants a logo, letterhead, business cards, banners, posters, catalogs, postcards or a cool design for a skateboard, he can do it.

"The state of the economy was the farthest thing from my mind when I decided to open Fatty Naked (behind Gina's RaZor Sharp Designs, between Summit and Middle streets in downtown New Haven).

"I've been working as a bartender at neighboring Rack & Helen's Bar for nearly five years, and it was clear to me that people were still pretty free with their money. I picked this business because it's something I really enjoy, and besides, I needed something that would get me out of bed before noon."

Holt estimated that his friends have accounted for 98 percent of his sales and added that Fatty Naked T-shirts are starting to appear in New Haven.

Next up? Holt wants to see more business from Fort Wayne. Hours are 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

"I get a lot of requests for UFC and MMA fight shirts and am getting more and more motorcycle shirt jobs," he said.

"I'm trying to break into other genres like the tattoo culture, skateboard and high fashion as well. Presently I create the design, scan it into the computer where I can give it a variety of special effects, and purchase the shirts from Mark Fore Sales or S&J Printing, who apply it to the shirts. I do my own dyeing, bleaching and cutting of the shirts and will make whatever a customer wants."

Instead of answering the inevitable question about where the name Fatty Naked came from, Holt hands customers a printed 11-by-17-inch card that explains the whole story in a nutshell.

It goes back to when his dad would return home on hot summer days from his carpentry job without a shirt on. A little neighbor girl called him "fatty naked." He has never been fat, nor was he naked, but the girl seemed to get a kick out of it and the name stuck.

"I decided to use it because it's definitely different and is an attention-getter. People laugh when they see the name, ask what it's all about and then they ask what kind of designs I do," Holt said.

The New Haven native says "Art has always been a passion of mine, so I decided to try that at IPFW and went into graphic design because it encompasses just about every aspect of art. Now I'm a jack of all trades and master of some."

Since November, Holt has done freelance designs for area businesses and individuals including Rack & Helen's, Whispering Creek Golf Club and Eagle Contracting.

He says "This is just the beginning for Fatty Naked, and the wheels are turning for much bigger and better things to come, hopefully in the near future.

"I'd like to have a bigger shop where I could do silk-screen printing on site. My goal is to be different than the rest by offering my customers customizable, one-of-a-kind T-shirts."

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