In 2017, Mark Avey and his wife Alice thought life was pretty settled. They were both working in an office, taking care of their one-year-old daughter, and looking forward to a new baby that was on the way. When Alice was preparing to go on maternity leave, the couple began brainstorming about how to make a few extra bob to survive the coming months. Mark came up with the idea of investing in a t-shirt printer and printing some cool t-shirts in their Hertfordshire garage, which Mark could then sell, “just to soften the blow.”

Two years later, Mark and Alice are now the owners of Bad Monday, the wildly successful fashion brand that is attracting hordes of fashion lovers to its edgy, eye-catching designs, many of which are based on traditional tattoo designs. Bad Monday is proving the new It Brand for lovers of music, style, art and counter-culture – and Mark and Alice’s lives have been completely transformed. The early days, though, were intense, hectic and nerve-wracking.

“I used to go to work from 8 until 5,” recalls Mark. “I’d come home, put on dinner and put our little girl to bed. Then I’d go out to the garage and print the t-shirts, and Alice would pack them up in the kitchen. After that, we’d go to bed, wake up and do it all over again. Then it got busier and busier, to the point where that was all we were doing. It was getting so popular that I had to hand in my notice in March – my wife was still on maternity leave because we’d had a baby in January. So right up until giving birth, she was packing t-shirts, and started again about a week afterwards! About a month later, we both quit our jobs.”

Given the runaway success of Bad Monday, it’s remarkable that Mark doesn’t have a background in fashion, design or marketing. It’s clear that his strengths are tenacity, determination, a strong work ethic, and an ability to spot a gap in the market. But he also has an eye for what looks cool.

“I always wanted to do my own thing,” he notes. “I always had little side projects before, nothing too serious. But I’d seen a few other brands starting up by just printing t-shirts, and I thought we could find cool designs. If you go to the high street to buy a t-shirt, what they have on offer is very limited. But now thanks to social media, we can target people’s interests. There are a lot of people who are interested in tattoo art, but you can’t just go down to the high street and get it.”

Neither Mark nor Alice are artists, but they loved the idea of collaborating with tattoo artists and showcasing their work. They started reaching out to tattoo artists over Instagram and social media to see if they’d like to have their artwork featured on Bad Monday products, or even create some custom designs.

“At the start, it was difficult to convince artists to work with us,” explains Mark. “We had no following, no brand, we were just a start-up. But now, two years down the line, it’s a lot easier to attract bigger and better artists. We love working with them – when we release a new collection, we credit the artist for it. They’ll be in the product description, we’ll include their Instagram handle. The whole brand is built on giving these artists a platform, and showcasing different styles and different types of tattoo art.”

Starting out, Mark was able to keep costs low by working from home and only printing what was ordered, instead of having to make lots of stock upfront. A year on, Bad Monday have moved out of their garage and now work in large buildings on a Hertfordshire farm. They have seven employees and an ever-expanding fanbase – as well as some impressive new equipment.

“The printer we got at the very start cost us £5,000,” says Mark. “The machine we have now cost us £250,000 – the price of a half-decent house! It still does one at a time, but it gets printing done quickly. Thinking about the price did initially feel crazy, but breaking down the demand and the cost per t-shirt, it just made sense. We’ve had to quickly learn about budgeting and investments and decisions, as well as balancing growth and keeping profit in the business.”

Mark and Alice have just bought their first house; they have finally started taking some personal wages from the business; and their children are doing brilliantly – though Mark lives in fear that his children will only be able to rebel by becoming tattoo-hating accountants! But overall, life is a never-ending series of great Mondays.

“If you had told me this time two years ago that this would be my life, I would have told you that you were crazy!” laughs Mark. “But sometimes crazy works out.”

Bad Monday, is a tattoo-inspired clothes brand that has enjoyed phenomenal success in the UK, with brilliant t-shirt designs. Here, Mark Avey – who co-founded Bad Monday with his wife Alice – tells us the story so far!

You can buy Bad Monday t-shirts online. Visit BadMonday.co.uk or check out their Instagram @badmondayapparel for more great visuals