Aquidneck Island is known for its autonomy. This is our island, creating an “us” and a “them.” That is, “us” being islanders and “them” being the land-lovers across the bridge.

Newporters are known to be especially proud of their “island-ness," and in case you can’t contain your island pride, Kevin Boughton II and Lori Ossick have created a way for locals to tell the world.  

ouR Island, Their Idea

Boughton and Ossick's line ouR Island Apparel celebrates what it means to be an Aquidneck Islander with a line of t-shirts, sweatshirts and accessories.

“I wanted to do something that was bigger than me,” Boughton said.

Boughton, a Middletown High School and International Yacht Restoration School graduate, created the company over a year ago and has watched it grow into a recognizable brand across the island. He and Ossick both collaborate on the designs. 

The pair keeps the process simple and overhead expenses low. They began working from home in 2011 by screen-printing their clothing and designing from their computers.

The company has evolved from originally using a hobby press to design the t-shirts to a more efficient screen-printer and an increasing amount of designs.

“When I was in high school, I never saw myself doing any thing like,” Boughton said. “I didn’t even think of it as a business at first.” 

Creating an Identity

What started off as just a hobby selling to friends and family has grown into seeing ouR Island gear in storefronts like Cabbage Rose and on college students. The brand has become profitable, Boughton said, with help from large orders from URI and custom designs.

“The first six months were really slow,” Boughton said, attributing the slow sales to the budding business’ evolving reputation and tight wallets after the Christmas season.

Boughton said their designs set ouR Island apartment from the mass of tourist t-shirts because they have a greater connection to the local community. While he said that “ouR Island” was originally referring to Newport, the design can be open to interpretation.

The same goes for their original design, which was meant to be an abstracted starfish. They have heard that it could be seen as a windmill or sun, which is part of the fun of it, Boughton and Ossick said.

Once the St. Patrick’s Day buzz began, their iRIsh design took off. Since then, sales have been steadily picking up, he said.

Looking Ahead

Boughton said he hopes to see a nonprofit effort for ouR Island in the future, like a scholarship or a little league sponsorship.

The brand has moved far beyond its original design and continues to turn out new creations for proud locals.

“You just have to appreciate Rhode Island,” Boughton said. “I know I do.”