Co-owners Brian Peregrina and his girlfriend Amber Gaskin model
two items from their clothing line. The Fresno State students’
clothing line launched in January and is currently marketed online.
Photo courtesy of Illogic

Brian Peregrina, co-owner of the clothing company Illogic spent five years working for Central Distributing where he was a purchasing and operations manager before deciding it was not for him ”” a new direction was needed.

“I woke up one day and thought this is terrible,” Peregrina said. “It put me through school, but I wanted to do something I’m passionate about. Something I believe in.”

Peregrina originally came to Fresno State as a criminology major in 2004. In 2006 he decided to switch his major to business management.

About a year and a half ago he met his girlfriend and current business partner Amber Gaskin. Gaskin was a fashion student at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles before moving to Fresno to live with Peregrina.

The idea for the company began one weekend when Peregrina was relaxing with Gaskin.

“We were hanging out when all of a sudden she got an email on her phone and she said, ‘Oh! made a sale’,” Peregrina said.”I said, ‘What?’ and she told me she sold a pair of shorts for $60. The cost to make them was only $5, so she made a $55 profit. So I thought something was right about it and researched and felt like it was a market we could infiltrate. ”

The style for their fashion line can be described as unique as feminine with an edge.

“Growing up, I used to watch a lot of 80s movies with my Mom and listen to 80s music so it was influenced by that,” Gaskin said. “We wanted it to be femine with an edge.”

Gaskin runs the design and creative portion of the company while Peregrina runs the business side.

Peregrina, who had never tried to start a business before, created his currented company called “Illogic.”

“We analyzed the data and thought that it was something that could work, so we said, ‘let’s do it,'” Peregrina said.

Since declaring as a business major, Peregrina has taken classes in entrepreneurship, management, human resources, financing and accounting.

“The course work here gave me a very well-rounded and global education on how to go about business,” Peregrina said. “I feel I have got a pretty good understanding, and that voids have been filled.”

One person who served as a source of inspiration was Farshid Assemi. Assemi was his former boss at Central Distributing.

“He’s a huge advocate of Fresno State,” Peregrina said. “He is a true entrepreneur. The education he provided me rivaled that of Fresno State. He is a true leader and inspiration.”

Peregrina finances the company through his 401k that he cashed out after leaving Central Distributing.

They started the company with $1,500 and cover all the expenses themselves. They use their own sewing machine, fabric and supplies.

“We started off by getting a photoshoot­ of the products and putting it online,” Peregrina said. “Then we talked to some boutiques and started using guerrilla marketing. We have a Facebook, Tumblr and a Lookbook.”

The company currently sells exclusively online. They are currently marketing in the Fresno Area, but plan on relocating to Los Angeles upon Peregrina’s graduation. The company has already sold 30 items since going online in January.

Peregrina’s long-term goal is to make the company a one-of-a-kind for its customers.

“We always want to be unique. We don’t want to be a fad. We want that exlusive feel,” Peregrina said.