The apparel company Marine Layer is expanding its [Airbnb loft project](https://www.marinelayer.com/pages/airbnb), with plans to open a new apartment and Nashville store that aims to create a unique brand experience that pays homage to the company's beachcomber vibe and e-commerce heritage.
The California-based clothier opened its third [loft above its New Orleans](https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/24201760) store in March for $200 a night. The company also offers lofts for rent in Portland, Ore., (currently being renovated) and [Chicago ($300/night)](https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/6644524). The fourth location in Nashville is scheduled to open this summer.
Mike Natenshon, co-founder of Marine Layer, said he and his partner Adam Lynch decided to offer apartments for rent above their stores as a way to sell an experience along with their super-soft T-shirts.
"It was a great way to experience the lifestyle beyond the store," said Natenshon in an interview Thursday on Cheddar.
Natenshon founded Marine Layer in 2009 as a one-man enterprise, with the mission of creating the world's softest T-shirt. He and his friend Lynch started by selling their tees out of the back of a van. Once they outgrew their '69 VW bus, they started an online-only, direct-to-consumer company e-commerce service.
Almost 10 years and two rounds of funding later, Marine Layer has set up 34 brick-and-mortar shops and raised $3.7 million, according to [Crunchbase](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/marinelayer). Natenshon said he and Lynch decided to open physical stores because they wanted to, "be wherever customers want to shop."
Marine Layer's considered approach ー e-commerce, brick-and-mortar, and AirBnB lofts ー is intended to create a unique customer experience.
"We have a human element to our brand that is very hard to replicate," said Natenshon. "Those personal touches are why we are successful in the world of Amazon."
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/marine-layer-founders-share-their-secret-to-succeeding-in-the-amazon-era).
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, June 11, 2019.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Monday, June 10, 2019.
Progressive advocacy groups across the country are ramping up pressure on federal lawmakers to open an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
Nearly a decade since the Arab Spring uprisings, social media use in the region has declined dramatically.
Facebook announced on Wednesday a comprehensive ban on white nationalism and white separatism, two ideologies that the company previously viewed as different from white supremacy, which the social network blocked in 2018.
A public petition for the British government not to go through with Brexit gained so many signatures that the Parliament website crashed on Thursday.
If someone who's already rich and in a family of millionaires goes on to become a billionaire through their own work and business acumen ー can that person really be considered "self-made"? That was the question that ricocheted across social media after Forbes, the arbiter of such matters, crowned Kylie Jenner as the youngest self-made billionaire ever. She is 21.
Starbucks is partnering with Ariana Grande on its latest coffee offering. The coffee chain and singer both posted twin cloud emoji tweets on Monday. Grande tagged @Starbucks, leading fans online to piece together that she was teasing the new "Cloud Macchiato," which Starbucks officially launched this week.
Cannabis, hemp, reefer, marijuana, dope, pot, grass ー no matter what term you choose, they all refer to the same plant: cannabis sativa. It’s a common misconception that cannabis sativa exclusively means that particular strain of weed that makes you creative and focused (as opposed to indica, which promotes relaxation)ー but it’s actually the scientific name of the single plant that yields marijuana, CBD, and hemp, among other products.
Martha Stewart is bringing her brand cache to cannabis. The lifestyle empress is partnering with Canopy Growth ($CGC), the Canadian pot grower and distributor, to help develop CBD and hemp-infused products for humans and animals, the company announced in a statement.
