Meet John Pugh

Board of Directors

Contact: johnny@houseofswankclothing.com

John Pugh and his wife Jessica Robinson started the House of Swank in a tiny 2 bedroom apartment in Raleigh NC in 2011. John was playing music gigs around town with his world famous 3 string lunchbox guitar called the “Fritocaster”, and decided he needed some merch to sell. He couldn’t find anything he liked, so being the DIY type, he designed and printed 5 shirts and took them to shows. Sold them. Made 10 more. Sold them. Added some stickers and can coolers. And on and on it went.

They now have our retail space in beautiful downtown Raleigh NC, and sell in person, wholesale, custom orders, and still set up at our favorite festivals. Everything they sell is screen printed or made right here at our shop. His most popular shirt shows a simple outline of the state of North Carolina with the left half of the state represented by the word “Tomato” and the right side by “Vinegar,” an homage to how North Carolinians prefer the sauce on their barbecue.

At the heart of House of Swank is an intense love for North Carolina. Pugh grew up in Guilford County and has lived in cities from the mountains to the coast. He met his wife,Jessica, in graduate school, and spent a summer traveling North Carolina to document the area’s largest trees as part of a state project. While they share an adventurous spirit—Pugh has hiked the entire Appalachian Trail, and the couple once spent 10 weeks paddling down the Mississippi River from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico—they’re happy to call the Old North State home as they raise their sons, ages 2 and 5. “We are an incredibly diverse state,” Pugh says. “I’m totally smitten by it.”

They are proud to be visible members of their community, and have supported a number of local charities and events. These include the Helping Hand Mission, LGBT Center of Raleigh, Planned Parenthood, Coats for Kids, and many more.

They now have 2 young sons and an awesome staff. But it all started with those 5 shirts and that Fritocaster.