“For me, it’s no problem driving to Connecticut on a Sunday morning to meet some people and run a photoshoot, because I really love it,” said Sacred Heart University alumnus Thomas Remmen.
Remmen is one of the founders of Daybreake, an apparel company that focuses on Greek Life merchandise and custom designs. On Apr. 12, they hosted a photo shoot in the Frank & Marisa Martire Center for the Liberal Arts, featuring fraternity and sorority members from across the SHU campus.
“This semester at Sacred Heart, things have been taken to a whole other level. We’ve worked with almost every single fraternal and sorority organization,” said Remmen. “To see, one by one, students from all these different organizations put their name on the sign-up sheet, walk in, be excited to sit there, post pictures and join the link, I can’t explain how much that really means to me.”
To produce Greek Life merchandise for sale, a license is required, making it a unique niche that Daybreake fills for SHU.
Attributed by Thomas Remmen, ‘25
“We first got involved with Greek Life because Tom had a conversation with a friend in Delta Zeta (DZ) about the custom apparel we did for some small organizations over the summer, as well as pop up stands. From there we had a stand at a DZ event in the fall of 2024, leading to the idea of making their merchandise. After that, we knew we could do something in the industry,” said Jack Ryan, Daybreake co-founder and senior at Long Island University.
“Tom and his team were very helpful and creative when it came to working with me for designing the merch. They were patient and were flexible with adjusting our order as needed,” said junior Lauren Rauso, an Alpha Delta Phi member.
Daybreake operates as the umbrella brand for both of their companies: Daybreake, which operates as the retailer, and DBKE Originals, which handles custom designs.
“The design process is done super closely with whoever we are designing for. We start with an ask for a basic idea of what the vision is, we start mocking up some designs and we send them back-and-forth until it’s absolutely perfect for our customer,” said sophomore Kaylie Luciano, a Daybreake employee.
Daybreake works with other organizations at SHU as well, having provided the merchandise for the SHU Lemon Club, as well as being the primary supplier of apparel for the Jack Welch College of Business and Technology.
“Tom has done our T-shirts for all of our student employment positions, he makes special limited-edition swag for us to use in giveaways and prizes, and he creates our senior gifts every spring with the help of our Marketing team. It’s a great opportunity for our marketing students to get real-world experience working with a company like that,” said Cooper Rothman, director of Welch Experience at the Jack Welch College of Business and Technology.
Daybreake was founded in the spring of 2024, while Remmen was still a student at SHU. Remmen and Ryan both had the drive to simply create something, regardless of what it was.
Daybreake physically sells their merchandise at CiaoBella Boutique, located at 1551 Post Rd in Fairfield. They primarily sell on their website, daybreakeclothing.com.
Prices on their website go from around $30 to $60 on average. They also offer discounts on several items in the “Breake Room” section of their online store.
“Sky’s the limit for Daybreake. As time has gone on, the passion grows stronger through all the chaos and the systems get more efficient. I’d like to take it as far as possible,” said Ryan.
“I think we’ve only scratched the surface of what this could become,” said Remmen.
