How Inkredibly Punny gives Buffalo fan gear a distinct look
Shannon Alexis, Founder & Designer of Inkredibly Punny, creates original Buffalo sports and hometown apparel for local fans and supporters nationwide. This conversation explores the design choices that set the brand apart, how customers find it, and why visibility matters as much as having a distinctive product.
Distinctive designs can give customers a reason to choose and remember a brand, but they need to be visible to the people they are made for. Alexis treats marketing and customer discovery as essential alongside product design.
What’s the short story of how your business started, and what makes it genuinely different from the other options your customers have?
Inkredibly Punny started with a simple desire to provide Buffalo sports fans with something more original than the same old game-day apparel. I built the brand around my own designs, combining hometown pride with distinctive football and hockey stripe patterns, bold pink fan apparel, and Buffalo-inspired styles you won’t find in the typical sports merchandise shops. What makes us different is that the designs are original and not the same copy & paste designs as mass-market merchandise and predictable tees. Every design starts with my own creative vision, giving customers distinctive ways to represent our city and fandom without looking like everyone else in the crowd. Buffalo fan gear has a look of its own at Inkredibly Punny, and we’re here to prove it.
How did you win your first customers, and where does most of your new business come from today?
My first customers discovered Inkredibly Punny online, and I’m continuing to grow the business through organic search and social media. I’m focused on getting my original Buffalo designs in front of the fans they’re made for, and building a brand that brings a fresh perspective to Buffalo sports and hometown apparel.
What’s one decision that changed the direction of your business, and one mistake that taught you the most?
One of my biggest decisions was trusting my original designs instead of making more of the same sports apparel already flooding the market. My desire pushed me to develop signature football and hockey stripe patterns and explore less conventional styles, including a large collection of pink Buffalo fan gear. The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that having a distinctive product isn’t enough on its own. People have to discover it before they can buy it. I’ve learned to treat visibility and marketing as just as important as the designs themselves.
What has changed in your industry or in what your customers expect over the last couple of years, and how have you adapted?
Customers have more choices than ever, and generic sports merchandise is easy to find. Standing out takes more than putting a team slogan on a shirt: It takes original design and a clear point of view. I’ve responded by developing distinctive football and hockey stripe patterns, expanding into bold pink fan apparel for women, and creating Buffalo-inspired pieces that let fans express their hometown pride in their own style. Rather than chasing what’s already everywhere, I’m focused on giving Buffalo fans something they can’t get from the usual merchandise lineup.
If you were advising someone starting out in your industry today, what would you tell them to do first, and what would you tell them to ignore?
I’d tell them to figure out what makes their designs genuinely different before launching a single product. The apparel market is crowded, and simply putting a popular slogan or familiar graphic on a shirt isn’t enough to build a recognizable brand. Develop a clear point of view, create designs people can’t find everywhere else, and make it easy for the right customers to discover you. I’d tell them to ignore the pressure to copy whatever else is trending just because other sellers are doing it. Trends come and go, but a distinctive identity gives customers a reason to remember your brand instead of scrolling past it.
Thank you to Shannon Alexis and the team at Inkredibly Punny for sharing what actually worked with Leaders Perception readers.
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