Interview:Chris Avantaggio of LiveMe with Giveaway

LiveME is an apparel company located in Portland, Maine, whose designs are inspired by the state of Maine and the activities we enjoy participating in. Before there was LiveME, LoveME, BikeME, FarmME, SailME, RunME, SkiME, SurfME, HikeME, FishME, RideME, RockME, BoneME (for the dogs) and the newest FeedME, there was BeerME, the logo inspired by the Maine Brewers Festival, I asked Chris Avantaggio, Founder and Creative Director of LiveME about his company:

 

BeerME was the first design and since 2010 I haven’t been to a Brewfest in Maine without seeing someone wearing either a shirt or hat, did you ever think it would be so popular?

I really had no idea it would take off like it did—it’s awesome to see the support for it out there. The design is a good fit with our state’s appreciation for craft beer—and since we started in 2009, I think more than 10 new breweries have popped up.

 

Chris’s Friends in the Original BeerMe Blaze Orange T’s at the Maine Brewers Festival (Photo Courtesty of LiveMe)

Blaze Orange, the T-shirt color that started BeerME is not available for sale, have you reserved it for your Brewfest Crew or will we see it as a color option soon?

Blaze Orange is kind of a limited color, it was and still is the original all our friends wear at the festival, but it’s also a color we re-print and offer in the shop once in a while. We’ll be printing some more this fall …

 

You did just release a new Blaze Orange FeedME T-shirt; can you tell me about that?

The FeedME t-shirt is a design we put together for the folks at Good Shepherd Food Bank to raise awareness of (September) Hunger Action Month. It was only meant to be a staff t-shirt but it was met with such enthusiasm through social media that we’re now offering it as a limited edition item with 20% of the proceeds going back to the Good Sheperd Food Bank to assist them with hunger relief across the state. By purchasing a FeedME tee or tote bag, you’re helping to Feed a Mainer in need.

FeedMe T and Tote benefitting the Good Shephard Food Bank of Maine (Photo Courtesty of LiveMe)

 

What made you decide to change the company from BeerME to LiveME?

After I started putting together some more designs for the site, like LoveME, SailME and SurfME, it became clear to me that the company wasn’t just about beer in Maine, it was about life in Maine and all the awesome activities that we love to partake in. LiveME felt like the name that could encompass the brand message and carry all of the designs.

 

You don’t just do T-shirts and hats, What other products do you produce?

On top of the t-shirts and hats we also carry a lot of accessories such as tote bags, glassware, bottle openers, koozies, ultimate discs, stickers and pins.

 

Anything new and exciting heading our way?

LiveME will be vending the Maine Brewer’s Festival for their 20th Anniversary in November. It also marks our 5th anniversary, so it’s exciting to have an official spot at the festival the brand began at. We’ll be offering some limited edition products for this event and we also have a new design for the Maine Sportsman coming later this fall.

 

Customized botle openers for a wedding (Photo Courtesy of LiveMe)

I’ve seen you post about custom orders, do you do a lot of them and are they mostly for weddings?

Most of our custom orders are done for weddings. Products like tote bags, koozies, credit card bottle openers and our signature Camp Mugs are all popular items for wedding parties. We’ve also done some fun custom work for Baxter Brewing, Sunday River and Maine Running Company.

I’m a big fan of LiveME products, I have shirts, hats, glassware, hell I even have a BeerME Frisbee, they are a fun company and maybe most importantly a local Maine company. Because I’m such a fan and because they sent me some goodies, I’m going to give away three BeerMe products to three lucky readers. The prizes are a hat, a shirt and a pint glass, to enter to win all you have to do is comment below on this blog post and tell me:

What your favorite Brewfest is or if you haven’t been to one, what brewfest would you like to attend?

I’ll be selecting 3 winners at random on Thursday, September 19th at 7pm, I will post the names of the winner on this blog post and on my facebook page.

Cheers!

Chaddah

My wife and Son rocking their LiveMe gear.

Chad Lothian

About Chad Lothian

Chad Lothian lives in Old Town, Maine. He is a craft beer enthusiast and homebrewer. Chad has travelled to brewpubs, breweries and brewfests all over New England.