Rowboat Creative

Lucas Guariglia and his partner Joe Zangrilli met while pursuing careers in the music industry. While touring full-time, they started to notice that the band’s main source of income had shifted from record sales to touring and merchandising. The band was outsourcing the merchandise until one Christmas, Lucas and Joe happened to receive the same beginner’s screen printing kit and began making their own merchandise out of their basement. Twelve years later and Rowboat Creative is one of the fastest growing companies in the apparel/merchandising industry. Having made a career pivot himself, Lucas is most proud of how Rowboat Creative helps others make pivots—not only the brands they work with, but the people they hire. Rowboat has worked with the city of Chicago to create an internship program for kids from all different backgrounds/paths, especially for those who “have had a preconceived notion of only working at a steel mill their whole life.” Lucas wants Rowboat Creative to continue to be a springboard to his employees’ next goals.