Tarentum couple sell vegan-inspired apparel from their home
Dan and Deborah Angeloni considered themselves outsiders in the fashion industry until a misfit donned one of their designs.
Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein, original guitarist for the punk rock group the Misfits, regularly wears a T-shirt featuring a cow’s head below the word Meatless, a vegan-inspired play on the band’s logo. The shirt was designed by the Angelonis, who live in Tarentum.
In September 2018, a photo of the guitarist wearing the shirt went viral, and business picked up. He wore it again a year later and sales again increased.
“Every time he wears it we notice an increase in followers and sales,” Dan Angeloni says.
The Angelonis run Goods and Evil out of their Tarentum home. They’re inspired by pop culture and their own dietary lifestyle.
About 70% of their merchandise is geared toward vegans.
The wearable wares are available online, at Arkham Gift Shoppe in Allison Park and at festivals throughout the country.
“When we first became vegan, we noticed there were no vegan shirts that reflected our interests and style,” Deborah Angeloni, a Freeport Area High School graduate, says. “No one was making things we wanted to wear.”
Upon graduating from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, the Angelonis moved to Kansas City and Denver. They returned to Pittsburgh in 2002 and launched Think Hard Design, a design and marketing business. Think Hard has created brochures, websites, packaging and graphics for companies such as Giant Eagle.
“We met before art school,” says Dan Angeloni. “I was studying architectural drafting, and Deborah was on a track for something in the medical field. Deborah convinced me to go to art school after seeing how much I loved the illustration side of architecture. She joined me soon after.”
While based in Western Pennsylvania, the couple continued visiting friends in Los Angeles to stock up on cool T-shirts, the cornerstone of their collective wardrobe.
After taking a screen printing class in Pittsburgh, they realized they could make their own brand of apparel. Goods and Evil was born.
Thanks to their in-house printing press, ideas can go from paper to 100% cotton in a matter of days. They also sell hoodies, ball caps, beanies, decals and posters.
One design concept reads “Dawn of the Veg,” with a head of lettuce in the foreground and forks in the background.
“The Dawn of the Veg is a recent design and mashes two thing up we love: horror and a vegan lifestyle, while sending an underlying message that a plant-based lifestyle is on the horizon,” Dan Angeloni says.
The Angelonis thought about opening a brick-and-mortar store, but feel they can reach more people — particularly vegans — by hitting the road.
Their next stop is at The Block Northway Dec. 14.
Kristy Locklin is a Tribune-Review contributing writer.
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