PLACES + THINGS: PeachClay celebrates Georgia
When Vanessa “I.V.” Boyd created her apparel and accessory company PeachClay, her goal was to throw some shine on the state of Georgia. She started by producing strictly Atlanta-focused items — emblazoned with art like the “Heartbeat ATL” logo and slogans like “Soul in the A.” Now, a little more than a year since launching the brand, she’s branched off into making T-shirts, sweatshirts, bags and more “for people who were born and raised, relocated to, or love to visit” a variety of cities across the state. But along with just reppin’ for Georgia, she also sees her company as a vehicle for positive change.
“I created PeachClay mainly as an outlet for me to express my love and appreciation for Georgia. … And as a part of that, my mission behind PeachClay is to support entrepreneurship, creativity, growth and development in Georgia — particularly those organizations that provide avenues for science, technology and the arts for youth,” said the Louisville, Georgia, native. “It’s kinda like: Here’s a for-profit company I have that expresses my love for Georgia, and I take proceeds from that to [support] other things I love about Georgia.”
An example of that support in action can be seen via her work with the local nonprofit ButterCup STEAM, where Boyd previously provided healthy snacks for the group’s girl-centric coding bootcamp. “Just being able to play a part, even in a small way, with an organization doing wonderful work like that in our community … how cool is that?”
Prior to getting PeachClay off the ground, she built a long-standing career in IT, keeping her business dreams on the back burner for almost a decade. But with encouragement from the man in her life, Paul Flenoid, business consultation from singer Tasha LaRae (who created the successful apparel line Racism Sucks), and creative support from artist Dante Yarbrough, Boyd was able to bring her vision to life with her inaugural “Soul in the A” line of tees. These days, PeachClay also sells merchandise like mugs and, to help folks wrestle with this dang coronavirus, a selection of branded face masks. Looking toward the future, her goal is to get her products on the backs and in the hands of even more people.
“The majority of our products are sold online, and they are on sale at Moods Music [in Little Five Points], but I really want to go into wholesale. I don’t when that’s exactly going to happen, but that’s definitely a long-term goal.”
More info: peachclay.com.
