If you’re looking for an oil change from a man named Tim, you’re about to be sorely disappointed.
Brad Jensen, owner of Tim’s Garage, is a creator of clothing and designs anyone can appreciate. From vintage-inspired LSU gear to Illuminati-esque logo prints, this boutique has a t-shirt for any Baton Rouge resident.
Tim’s Garage is Jensen’s brainchild, a culmination of his projects all the way from his college career to now. The store carries all seven of his brands, and even allows Jensen to support other local businesses and stock their merchandise as well. Essentially, the store can be whatever he wants it to be.
The LSU alumnus said his interest in fashion spawned from his love of BMX. As a kid growing up in the small town of Haughton, Louisiana, he had little exposure to the world of art and design. BMX opened that door for him.
“I spent most of my time in between the races going to t-shirt vendors,” he said. “When I was in high school, I got into that. That really sparked my interest in design.”
Once it came time for college, Jensen decided to turn that interest into a career. While pursuing his degree in graphic design, he started his first t-shirt brand, Icon. He worked at a printing shop, learned to print his own shirts, and began
producing merchandise.
Though his career began in BMX, the designer slowly began to expand into more universal designs after a friend wanted a shirt, but didn’t ride bikes.
“I started thinking about my brand,” he said, “Kind of simultaneously, I learned about street art and turned my Icon t-shirt brand into an art moniker.”
In 2009, Jensen opened up an art gallery called Bricks and Bombs. He used the space to more formally display his own art, as well as feature other local artists’ work and build the community around creativity.
He began making shirts as merchandise to promote the gallery, and soon enough, the gallery became a clothing brand itself. From there, his collection of designs only grew. The gallery evolved into a retail space, and in October 2017, Jensen moved to his current location and decided to rebrand. Now, we have Tim’s Garage.
Though the name may seem bizarre, it’s actually been a long time coming. In high school, a friend of Jensen’s always showed up with unique clothing uncommon to small town Louisiana. They were hand-me-downs from a friend. Every time Jensen would ask where he got something, he got the same
response — “From Tim’s garage.”
Jensen decided then that if he ever owned a boutique, that would be the name. Now, the eccentric namesake sparks a fair dose of curiosity, but also allows the owner to make the business whatever he wants it to be.
“It’s like your garage in your house,” he said. “You find a little bit of everything in it. I thought that the theme of that would allow me to have a lot of
flexibility.”
Now, Jensen uses that flexibility to his advantage. He doesn’t just produce one type of design. Instead, his brands draw from a plethora of inspirations, especially vintage aesthetics.
“Design that was produced in the 1950’s or 60s when the printing process was a little bit more crude and the capabilities of the production were limited,” he said. “I think that has translated into my eye for design.”
In the future, the designer wants to use his involvement in the small business community to help rebuild Mid-City and encourage more people to appreciate what it’s becoming, especially students at the University.
“I want to help drive more people to this area,” he said. “It’s all about being part of a business culture that can help reshape this area that is yearning for it.”
New designs and upcoming events can be found on Tim’s Garage Instagram account, @timsgaragebr. Current stock can be found at www.timsgaragebr.com.
