December 17th, 1989
At the age of 24, It seemed like any other Saturday in Alameda for Patrick. He met up with his crew at the corner of Willow and Shoreline where they played beach volleyball all day long. As the sun rolled over the bay they would typically continue hanging out into the night, but this night was different.
At that time Patrick had just opened a beachwear shop at the local South Shore Center not too far from where they would play. These inspiring friends of his pushed his business ideas into reality. They would buy everything he made and they would spread the word about his business. The problem was he didn't have a name his brand at the time.
(Friends convince him to call Bryan about creating a logo).
Bryan knew everything about screen printing and film and happened to be a very talented artist. As Patrick showed up in his studio, Bryan would yell, "Pernicci!" using this thick Italian accent, punctuating every syllable and waving his hands and arms as if he were from the old country. This was Patrick's nickname, it was an exagerration of his lastname, Pernice. It stuck and he liked it.
As they were talking for about 20 minutes, Bryan scribbled the Pernicci logo on a sheet of paper and turned it up and said, “How about this?”. In 20 minutes and one try, Bryan nailed it. Patrick had a great eye for knowing it when he saw it and this was it and it was more than he could of imagined. To Patrick it was so beautiful it sparked all the motivation needed to launch a clothing brand. So on this day, Pernicci was launched and founded by Patrick Pernice in Alameda, California.
When I decided to go for it and start a clothing company, I did not have a name in mind. My friend Bryan Owada suggested I use my nick name Pernicci. He use to always yell it at me loud and using this thick Italian accent punctuating every syllable and waving his hands and arms as if he were from the old country. I liked it and it stuck.
He created his first line and headed to San Diego to flaunt at the Actions Sports Retail Show. That show was a complete success and the for the next ten years the Pernicci brand expanded and grew. The company started moving so fast that Patrick basically had to teach himself the business of fashion and design. Eventually, the brand expanded to a complete line of jackets, jeans, and the whole nine.