How long have you been doing what you’re doing?
Well, I have been sewing for about six years.  As far as the company goes, we first thought of the idea about 2 years ago.  It wasn’t until our move to San Diego about 6 months ago, that the company really took hold.  So, i guess for about six months.

How did you start your brand?
Me and my brother became so used to having to sew, alter, and rework all of our clothes to fit us that we decided to start our own clothing company to make clothes that were environmentally friendly, affordable, and fit superbly.

How did you come up with the name Neopolitan?
I wish I could say it came to me in a dream, or something exciting like that, but my cousin, who is currently our graphic designer, just simply thought of the name and we liked it.  After an endless list of possibilities we found ourselves always coming back to ‘Neopolitan’, so we decided to go with it.

Where are you based and what do you like (or dislike) about living and working there?
We were based in Breckenridge, CO until 6 months ago when we moved our location to San Diego.  Going from a mountain town to warm city life has been a welcomed change. Its super nice to open up the garage and get right to work screen printing without worrying about things being frozen. We’re right in the middle of everything and can ride our bikes to anything we need.

What qualities set you apart from other T-Shirt making companies?
We make everything in the US in support of our dribbling economy.  All of our products are environmentally friendly, starting with the fabric, to the dye, to printing.  It is also rather affordable compared to other eco-friendly clothing companies.  We put a lot of thought into the sizing and fit of our products, and if you have tried them on, they tend to run a little longer than normal. No one wants to see your hairy belly button when you grab something off the top shelf or even itch your head.

What is your process for creating a new T-Shirt, do you screen print yourselves? Etc.
Well, well, well… lets get down and dirty into our process. Lets say we want to produce an awesome new hoody. Idea done. I get right into sewing to figure out size and fit and usually end up with like 6 new hoodies. Now its on to pattern making for each size (which is always a chore). Pattern done. I sew lots of the clothes at home, but for big orders we take a journey over to our cut and sew manufacturer, here in San Diego. We love them. Sewing done. Now we start the dye process, testing colors, trying new hues, making mistakes until we find exactly what we want. Dyeing done. We make our own wood frames for silk screening in our driveway and amongst sawdust and our cat and dog running around we burn our screens using the sun. Screens ready. Almost done. Time to print tags and if need be we print one of our super rad designs too. Hoody done!!!

Do you bring artists/designers in to collaborate on T-shirts? If so, how do you go about finding them and deciding to include them in your line?
The Neopolitan family is made of artists.  My girlfriend, Marilee Newman, is a painter, my brother, Justin Camilli, is studying printmaking, and his girlfriend, Teal Wilson, is also a printmaker.  We are definitely open to more artists, and are inviting to any with similar styles and attitudes.

What were you doing before this?
I graduated from Santa Clara University with a Civil Engineering degree.  I had no desire to sit behind a desk after four years of the same thing, so I moved myself up to Breckenridge, CO, where I worked at a snowboard shop while trying to get Neopolitan started.  After 2 years of mountain life, we move our location to SD and started for real.

Favorite Saturday morning cartoon?
Captain Planet! duh.

When are you most productive? Do you come up with your best ideas while your just hanging out or in a full-fledged business brainstorm session?
I am usually the best in the morning, as long as I can get myself out of bed.  Business brainstorm sessions drive me crazy.  Sitting in a room and trying to force creativity makes my head feel like it is going to explode.  We seem to work the best when ideas just come naturally, while eating, sleeping, talking, pooping, you know…. whenever.

Is there any direction you hope to take your line in in the next year or so? Are you planning on doing anything differently?
We hope to eventually have a collection of outerwear, legwear, and cross your fingers for some shoes.  I can’t even tell how many jackets we have accumulated over the years.  It would be amazing to be able produce them ourselves.  As far as change goes, everything will continue with the same notion of environmental consciousness and attention to detail.