About twenty years ago, John Amato was watching an Ohio State football game with his brother and dad when out of the blue, a T-shirt idea struck him.
“Their head coach at the time was Jim Tressel, and he would wear a sweater vest and a tie on the sidelines at each game. And I just casually remarked, ‘Somebody should make a shirt that looks like you’re wearing a sweater vest, but it’s a T-shirt, kind of like a tuxedo T-shirt,’” Amato said. Out of this idea has since sprung a screen printing company and retail brand that does it all, from embroidering to designing custom accessories.
Today, Jupmode works on its mission of building community and local pride downtown from their workshop, office and storefront on Monroe Street.
Regional pride has been a through line in the company’s story. Jupmode produces not only Ohio-themed T-shirts but also a deep hope for uplifting the region. Jupmode has embraced the slogan “You Will Do Better in Toledo,” words once illuminated on a sign atop the Valentine Theater in 1913.
“We’ve been very deliberate about making choices that we think are in the best interest of our community, our customers and [our] employees as well,” Amato said. “And we think that will have a longstanding impact on Toledo and the region as a whole.”
One way the company makes this impact is through the Here For Good Program, in which Jupmode sells T-shirts and sweatshirts featuring Toledo organizations’ branding and designs, and then returns a portion of the proceeds back to the organizations themselves.
“It makes a very tangible impact,” Amato said. “Over the six years that we’ve done it, we’ve been able to contribute over $420,000. And so this year we hope to hit half a million.”
Beyond building connections with Toledo organizations, Jupmode also views its designs as a way to celebrate memories of Toledo’s past.
“We want people to feel the nostalgia of their childhood, of shopping for their school uniforms with their mom at Lion Store, or going to Tiedtke’s with their grandma on the weekends and coming downtown, or going to the sports arena to see a concert or a hockey game,” Amato said.
Jupmode’s vision for the city aims to look forward to its future while appreciating its past.
“[There’s] something special about Toledo and what was here,” Amato said. “It does help us understand what is possible in Toledo because we are at a point where we go, ‘Hey, there is potential that’s unfulfilled here’ … It’s part of why, as I mentioned earlier, it’s been intentional for us to locate our business in downtown Toledo. We think the growth in Toledo starts downtown.”
