FRiNGE seeking funding for build-out

We first wrote about Greg Turner’s entrepreneurial exploits nearly two years ago. Well, a lot has changed since then.

Fringe Outfitters launched in fall 2010 as an online clothing boutique selling men’s and women’s duds. Then, in spring 2011, Turner began hosting pop-up shops in a storefront at 1177 N. High St. near the Garden Theatre. But he wanted to make the space his shop’s permanent home.

So he’s launched an Indiegogo campaign to fund the build-out. Contributions will go toward signage for the exterior, new electrical for the interior, a fresh coat of paint, a new dressing room, and the purchase of reclaimed fixtures for the space.

Perks, or rewards, for contributors include stickers, a soft launch access pass, and a T-shirt with the brand’s zebra logo.

Speaking of the brand… It recently got a makeover− starting with the name. It’s now called FRiNGE.

Additionally, the logo no longer features a zebra, though it does have stripes (to “hint” at a zebra).

“The zebra is very important to me, as it lives life on the fringe, grazing with allure in the grasslands and fighting for survival against its predator, the lion,” says Turner.

The rebrand started in June, as it was determined that FRiNGE needed to refresh its look, streamline, simplify, and get a little more sophisticated, he says.

Origo Branding Co. did the legwork.

“After interviewing five total firms, both small and large, I chose them for their user-friendliness and ability to comprehend a company’s origins, hence the name Origo,” he says. “Their ability to listen to my story, comprehend the basis of my thinking, and translate that to a brand was the most amazing experience one could ask for.”

A new FRiNGE website is also in the pipeline. The site is crucial to the brand, as about 85 percent of its sales are made online. (The other 15 percent are made at art fares, markets, and festivals.)

Turner says he’s appreciative that so many people have continued to shop the website while the space on High has been closed for renovations.

On Saturday, he will host the FRiNGE Come Up Dance Party from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Double Happiness, located at 482 S. Front St. in the Brewery District.

Attendees can suggest via photograph and tweet (to @fringedlife) what items they want FRiNGE to carry, and recommend what they want FRiNGE to feel and look like, he says.