Marthasville clothing company Illumiwear started as a prank between co-founder Jamie Chailland and his family but it has grown to be so much more. 

The company, founded by Chailland and Marshall McClure, produces light up scarves, table runners, mantle covers, flags and dog collars and has continued to grow in popularity since its founding five years ago. 

“(Chailland) would go home every year for Christmas in St. Louis and wear something kooky to embarrass his parents or whoever was picking him up from the airport,” said McClure. 

When he returned home for Christmas 2019, Chailland had created a prototype that would become Illumiwear’s best-selling product. 

While Chailland’s original creation was rudimentary and held together with string lights and packing tape, the pair quickly worked to create a more refined version. 

“It’s a little tricky to get the lights to stay inside the scarf where you want them to stay and not move around, but we figured that out and from there it grew,” said McClure. 

Today their scarves, table runners, dog collars and even tote bags are growing in popularity, and their sales support an important cause in the area as well. 

Three dollars of every sale from Illumiwear’s products is donated to support the jobs program for Best Buddies Missouri, a nonprofit that supports services and resources for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

“Best Buddies in Missouri is based on the spirit that everybody deserves a buddy,” said Best Buddies Missouri State Director Tim Bommarito. “And so the programs that we operate are intended to help mostly kids, and adults with special needs be included in parts of our community.”

Bommarito said Chailland and McClure with Illumiwear reached out when they moved to Missouri full-time in 2023 and immediately wanted to be involved with the charity. 

“They came to our Champion of the Year Gala in the fall of 2023 and just kind of showed up and said ‘we’re here, we’re here to help,’” said Bommarito. “And from there they’ve just been bending over backwards about, how can they help? How can they be engaged? How can they support the mission?”

For both Chailland and McClure there was a personal connection to the nonprofit as well, as each of them have relatives with intellectual and developmental disabilities. With that connection they wanted to find a way to use their successes for good, and felt the jobs program with Missouri Best Buddies was the perfect place to start. 

“We both have IDD relatives,” said McClure. “I have two cousins that are IDD, and I understand the need for them to be self-sufficient and get jobs other than just bagging groceries. They can do so much more.”

As the company grew, so did their support for Best Buddies. 

McClure and Chailland both attended Best Buddies’ International Conference in Bloomington, Ind., and Bommarito said they supplied the roughly 40 students, parents and volunteers with custom t-shirts and light-up tote bags. 

“They made sure that all the students from Missouri had custom Best Buddies bags that lit up, and so we’re walking around campus and everybody’s getting stopped, ‘where did you get that,’ because Marshall and Jamie made it happen,” said Bommarito. 

Illumiwear continues to grow, as does their support for Best Buddies Missouri. McClure said they recently signed contracts for products with the U.S. Olympic Ski Team and have been working with the St. Louis Blues as well. 

Unfortunately, since late last year, McClure has been going it alone. 

Chailland tragically passed away on Dec. 29, and while McClure is still reeling from the loss, he has every intention of continuing his late partner’s work. 

He was especially excited they were able to work with the U.S. Ski Team, saying it was a goal for Chailland. 

“The U.S. Ski Team ordered 60 (scarves) for a nighttime ski event, which was sweet, because Jamie always wanted to see it at the Olympics, it was one of our goals,” said McClure. 

He said they are also working with organizers at the New Year’s Eve ball drop in New York and he wants to work with the University of Missouri to license some products in the future as well. 

Chailland was active in the alumni association of the university and McClure said he is working to fulfill that dream as well. 

Even in Chailland’s absence, McClure has soldiered on, producing new products and continuing his unwavering support for Best Buddies Missouri. 

“You know, Jamie, it was his idea, as I said many years ago,” said McClure. “We worked together on it, prototyping and whatnot, and I very much plan on seeing his vision fulfilled.”