Here at Elon, certain things are deemed “Elon famous,” and a little shop on Williamson Avenue falls into this category. All That JAS sells darling lines like Lilly Pulitzer and kate spade, but specializes in Greek-related merchandise.
Name: Michaelle Graybeal
Role: Owner
CollegeFashionista: What led you to start this business?
Michaelle Graybeal: We were in the cheerleading business for 25 years, and then started our own business. A few of the girls who worked for me happened to be Elon students and were looking for sorority items. Back then, there was really no place to buy sorority and fraternity stuff. With a little research, we attended a show that featured Greek vendors. We came back, bought a machine to cut letters and taught ourselves how to make letter shirts. We’ve been in three different locations: we moved to the house behind the Elon post office, and when the opportunity arose, we moved to our current location. The business has evolved over the years. We do a lot of gifts, including customization. Just about everything is custom that we produce. It’s pretty crazy! We go home tired everyday!
CF: Did you start the letter shirt trend?
MG: Stitched letter shirts have been around for forever. They were popular when I was in college. But back then, they didn’t have patterns, just the classic polytwill. I do think we were the first to start the Lilly trend. We kind of brought that to the forefront.
CF: Have you noticed any growth in Greek Life?
MG: Well [at Elon] it grows constantly. They’ve added two sororities in the past six years. Then, of course, we sell to not just Elon, but to just about all of the other NC Universities as well. Greek life is very popular! So we’ve continued to grow as Greek Life grows.
CF: How do you experience the most growth in your business?
MG: I think it just takes one person of buying something from us and then spreading the love. Students at Elon have friends at other schools. We definitely use social media to reach out to people. I am also part of an association of other Greek stores called University Spirit. We share our ideas, finds, and vendors. The Greek market is a very niche market, so having other friends out there helps us to stay connected and on top of the trends.
CF: What changes (if any) do you foresee in the Greek apparel market?
MG: It changes all the time. Spirit football jerseys have been popular for two years. You just kind of look at the trends and at the market. It used to be trends started from California, but it seems we are seeing more trends from the South.
Learn More: Order your next letter shirt at www.allthatjas.com.
