2021 Year in Review

January

To kick off 2021, we cheered on NOVUS partner and kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs Harrison Butker throughout January as he and his team defeated the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Divisional Round and beat the Buffalo Bills in the NFL Conference Championships to put them on the road to Super Bowl LV. We also hired intern Bailey Cummings as a full-time graphic designer and social media manager, adding another player to the NOVUS Clothing Company roster.

February

In February, we saw new partnerships emerge and begin to grow. We announced the news that we would be sponsoring and hosting the Onorato & Bagnardi sports talk podcast on-site at our headquarters in Albany once a month and partnered with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal to outfit their missionaries and supporters in custom apparel. Along with these new relationships, we designed the NOVUS Premium Collection, offering premium hoodies, joggers, beanies, and hats on a limited online storefront. We also cheered on Harrison Butker and the Chiefs as they competed in Super Bowl LV against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Although the game didn’t have the outcome we were all hoping for, we were able to celebrate that Butker carried the team by scoring the only points for the Chiefs. He’s always taking it to the heights!

March

We continued rolling out partnerships in March with MLB Construction Services and Capital District Sport and Fitness. From creating their custom gear to doing photo and video shoots with them, we had the privilege of fostering great friendships with the teams at MLB and CDSF and are proud to carry their business over into 2022. Shoutout to two great accounts!

April

We didn’t hit the breaks in April. We partnered with the Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA), designing and producing custom gear for all employees across the capital region and held a photo and video shoot to advertise the pop-up shop. Oh, and we can’t forget celebrating Easter as a team and with family!

May

In May, we took advantage of the beautiful spring weather with a lakeside concert from the band RELIC, celebrated our girl Dagmara Wozniak securing her spot on Team USA in the Tokyo Olympics (making her a three time Olympian), and our custom face masks were featured at Le Moyne College’s 2021 graduation.

June

We started our summer off right by adding photo and video intern Daniel Moreno to the team! A Liberty University film student, Daniel brought great skills and a fresh perspective to the office and we’re so thankful for the professional and personal relationships that grew from his internship. June also brought us a big chip from our NOVUS-sponsored Tri-Village Little League team, the Crown Claimers. They claimed their crown in the championship and we were able to cheer from the sidelines! We rounded out the month with a trip to the Big Apple for a photoshoot with MLB pitcher Trevor Williams after designing custom apparel for his non-profit Project 34. We also caught a game at Citi Field and were a danger to all the hot dogs in the stadium.

July

In July, we added another graphic designer to the mix and hired Ben Favreau! Ben studied graphic design in college, is a former baseball player, and he definitely runs on Dunkin. We also partnered with the Troy Albany Hockey Association and outfitted all of the teams in their organization in custom gear. Our partnerships didn’t end on the ice though; we partnered with the Big G Classic, an Albany-based basketball tournament that’s profits support local businesses and the non-profit Hicks Strong. Our design team created unique basketball uniforms for each team to rock on the court for a great cause. On top of the awesome new partnerships, we worked with our partner in the NFL, Harrison Butker, to launch his third line of custom apparel for the Butker by NOVUS brand.

August

We made some new friends in August after the NCAA announced new NIL (name, image, and likeness) rules. With these new rules, we created the Hometown Crown initiative to help college and professional athletes connect and give back to the communities they grew up in! We signed Syracuse University men’s basketball player Joe Girard III as our first NOVUS Athlete and later signed Dayton University women’s basketball player Jenna Giacone and University of Rhode Island women’s basketball player Dolly Cairns. Joe even hosted his Shooting Stars basketball clinic in Glens Falls for young basketball players in his hometown!

September

Team NOVUS entered the fall season swinging! We held the CAT 11 Volleyball Tournament, hosting 16 teams and raising over $10,000 for the American Cancer Society. We also partnered with nootropics drink company DrinkAlchemy to provide their team with awesome custom gear, designed and produced custom baseball jerseys for the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame inductees, and we hit the green and outfitted the Stand Up To Parkinson’s Golf Tournament with one of our new products, the custom wind jacket!

October

In October, we brought on new NOVUS Athletes, signing RPI hockey player Ture Linden and University of Florida volleyball player Thayer Hall. We also partnered with Double H Ranch, a camp that provides specialized programs and year-round services for children and families dealing with life-threatening illnesses, designing and gearing them up in custom apparel. NOVUS account manager Sean Finan visited his high school (one of our loyal clients) in New Jersey for his former teammate and Minnesota Timberwolves player Karl-Anthony Towns Hall of Fame induction and we had the privilege of designing his Hall of Fame jersey. Our biggest crown claiming moment in October was getting our official collegiate license with the University of Maine and creating custom apparel for their campus stores. You can read more about that partnership here!

November

In November, we added three new athletes to the NOVUS Athlete roster: Clemson University basketball player PJ Hall, University at Albany football player Joey Carino, and professional baseball player Garrett Whitley. New things were in the works in November as well, leading to exciting things for December.

December

The NOVUS team crushed the holiday rush and fulfilled over 1,700 orders with gear going to 47 out of the 50 states in the country throughout the month of December. The crew celebrated Christmas with their families and had some much-deserved, relaxing time off to reflect on everything accomplished this year. We also hired two new team members, building out our business going into 2022. Stay tuned to meet them!

We’re so thankful for all of the new relationships, projects, and experiences we had in 2021 and can’t wait to see what 2022 has in store for us at NOVUS! While this list doesn’t cover all of the amazing things we accomplished this past year, it’s a glimpse at what we’ve done and are sure to do in the new year! We wouldn’t be where we are today without all of the incredible support we get from customers, friends, and family. We wish everyone a Happy New Year and look forward to the crown claiming moments to come!