Mt. Washington-based Calamityware sells to new owners who ‘might be Ravens fans’

PITTSBURGH — Calamityware, which started as the demented distraction of Mount Washington design professional Don Moyer and has grown into a self-sustaining giftware e-commerce business, will soon have a new owner.

The three-partner e-commerce outfit announced the impending change in ownership in its recent email to customers, noting that on July 1, Calamityware “will be changing hands” but not to expect much of a change. That means “the website will be the same, fulfillment will be the same, and you’ll still get emails a couple of times a week,” according to the email.

The sale will mark the second and likely more permanent attempt at retirement for Moyer, who discovered from some successful Kickstarter campaigns in 2013 that Calamityware might represent a bigger business opportunity than he anticipated. It will be the first retirement for his partners, Jack and Lynnette Kelley, he a graphic design professional and she an operations manager. The Kelleys, who have been ownership partners in Calamityware since before the pandemic, have played integral roles in building on Moyer’s various creative inspirations.