Finally. Hip threads for little boys.

It’s no secret that there are a ton of clothing options for little girls. Tell someone you’re expecting a little girl and you can pretty much guarantee a response about how good the shopping is. Say you’re expecting a boy and, well, running out to buy clothes isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Little girls might like clothes more than little boys do, but let’s face it, there isn’t much for the little guys once you get past the cheap stuff with iron-on characters.One clever mom set out to change that. Unable to find cool clothes for her baby son, Melissa Nash decided to do something about it. With an artistic flair, a business background and plenty of inspiration from her husband’s bike shop, surf and skate culture, and 50s Rockabilly cool, she created Knuckleheads Clothing for boys. Judging from Knuckleheads’ success over the last 15 months, Melissa wasn’t the only person interested in finding hip clothes for little boys.

Starting out in only three stores, the Knuckleheads line is now available in more than 80 stores internationally. And it’s easy to see why, the Knuckleheads line includes jeans, shirts, and hats that are more Johnny Cash and James Dean than Bob the Builder. Knuckleheads goes up to size 8 and a matching “daddy and me” line, called Knuckle Clothing, will be launched in August. Explains Melissa, “Dads have been requesting pieces in their sizes, so we did it.”

According to Melissa, current favorites include best selling Greaser jeans, “we always sell out of our Lil duke shirts, which are rockabilly inspired snap front shirts. Anything from our classic collection sells very well from our pub hats to our grease monkey coveralls.” Clever Parents also likes the Wrench Jacket and the Pretty Boy Cabana and Hula shirts and we’re looking forward to the Daddy line so all the boys in our house can be matching and stylish.

In addition to the influences above, designers Melissa likes include, “Betsey Johnson, Marc Jacobs, in women’s clothing. And for children’s clothing, I love Ashor’s room, and Paul Frank.”

The Knuckleheads line started out with just Melissa and her sewing machine and some design ideas she and her husband came up with. With the great response and growth in the company, there are now pattern makers and manufacturers in Portland, China, and Peru, but the creative element is still the same, “I design every piece, my husband also has a lot of say, he is the final decision maker in what pieces go in the line each season,” Melissa says.

Since wanting cool kids clothing and being able to design it are two very different things, Clever Parents was interested in what sort of background Melissa had before starting Knuckleheads. “I am a businesswoman more so than a designer. I actually majored in public relations with a minor in art. I think that you have to have a business background more than a design background to succeed in this business. I do design every piece, and I enjoy both the creative side and the business side of Knuckleheads. I used to sew in the beginning stages of Knuckleheads, and I can draw a bit, but I had to hire the pattern makers and manufacturers. You can have the best product around, but it will go nowhere if you don’t know how to market and sell your product.”

And how does Melissa market and sell the Knucklehead line into boutiques and other retailers? “We attend a lot of trade shows around the country like Magic in Las Vegas, and ENK in New York, we also have sales reps all over the country who show our line for us, and we spend a lot of time and money on mailings and try to get a lot of press, and we work really hard on getting free press, we try to make this a priority so that our customers know who we are!”

It’s not surprising that Melissa’s advice for others thinking of starting their own business is “My best advise would be to not give up, starting a business is hard, it is not easy and if you stick with it and give 100% you will succeed. Don’t even try if you aren’t willing to give it 110%.”

Visit Knuckleheads at www.knuckleheadsclothing.com.