I’ve been painting funky fish since 2023, but I’ve been obsessed with fishing for a whole lot longer.
I blame that on my dad—a fanatical fisherman who passed along both his love of fishing and his pride in his Italian heritage. Fin-Neato is a little nod to both: fin for the fish and finito for the Italian. It seemed like the perfect name for a business I never actually planned on starting.
I spent my college years in Missoula, Montana, where I fell hard for the West. Since then, I’ve managed to discover a suspicious number of beautiful places that also happen to have really good fishing.
Then, in 2023, a spring snowstorm ruined my plans to go snowboarding. I picked up some paint instead and painted a fish. One fish turned into another, which turned into prints, stickers, apparel, markets—and eventually a few questionable non-fish animals.
Luckily, after years spent on the water, I have thousands of fish images burned into my brain and no shortage of inspiration for whatever gets painted next.
Fin-Neato is still evolving, and that's probably my favorite part.
—
From the water
to the canvas.
—
SMALL BATCH. ORIGINAL ART. MADE BY ME.
Every Fin-Neato product starts with my original artwork and a desire to make something you won’t see everywhere else. I choose the aprons, shirts, hats and other gear for both function and style, then buy in small quantities so things stay a little more unique.
I also press each design myself—shirts, aprons, hats, sling bags and whatever else I decide needs a fish on it.
No mass production. No giant inventory. Just original art, small batches and one woman making a whole lot of stuff.
That last line feels especially good for your brand because it reinforces why your inventory changes and why someone might see something at a market that isn't necessarily available online.
You could even make the final sentence a little more Fin-Neato:
Original art. Small batches. Pressed by hand. Slightly fishy.