Jonathan “Joser” Jose and Ed “Lerk” Gaza, the co-owners of Opake – a shop that sells local apparel, urban art supplies and a wide selection of skate goods – are inviting everyone to celebrate the opening of their shop’s new location on Saturday.
The grand opening will feature live entertainment, food and music 6 to 10 p.m. Jan. 12 at the ACC building in Upper Tumon
“I’m the artist, he’s the skater,” says Gaza, a graffiti artist on Guam since 1994.
“We took our love of street art and skateboarding and island lifestyle, and combined it all in one,” says Jose.
“I was actually selling high-quality paint out of my closet for years and I was like, ‘Let’s open up a store,’” Gaza adds.
The two tapped into a niche demand on Guam, and it grew from there.
A look behind the scenes
The fresh and modern 1,800-square-foot location, where shirts start at $27, boasts a new feature.
“Our print shop is combined with our storefront. Now, when people are shopping, they can see the shirts being made,” Gaza says.
“We want people to have that Opake experience, where they come in and they see real locally made clothing. Everything here is done by us – the design, the art, the screening, the vectoring, the screen printing – it’s all done in-house. We want them to buy a shirt that they know has passion in it.”
A passion the duo says many on Guam share.
