Today we’d like to introduce you to Adonis Alexander.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started as an Advertising Design student at Barbara Jordan High School for Careers which is now strictly a career center. After graduating from high school, my love for creating brands became not just something that I did, but a part of who I am and I would create many make-believe brands simply for fun. One of those was an expansion NFL team before the Texans came to be, and I called them the Houston Hurricanes. I also created my own freelance graphic design company called Adonis Art’s. But it wasn’t until around 2015 that my vision for Diverscity Clothing Co. came to light. I’ve always been a person that creates what he needs or wants to see rather than searching for it. For the longest time, I had been looking for a clothing brand that really represented the best of what Houston has to offer as a city, and previously all I could see was either very bland or very urban. I wanted to create something that was more of in the middle that everyone would be drawn to.
When you look at New York, Chicago, and LA, they all have signature apparel and shirts that really represent their city in an international way. For example, you can put the New York skyline on a shirt, and instantly it becomes a fashion statement. Or you can have a shirt simply say “Cali” in a nice beach-inspired script text, and it can be seen worn all over the world. Houston being the 4th largest city in America with so much to offer culturally, and artistically, etc. I felt there was no reason why it shouldn’t have its own T-Shirt staples that allowed it to have a “seat at the table” with those cities, that would draw the admiration of both locals and eventually nationally. When thinking of Houston’s best characteristic to highlight that would allow it to stand out in its own right, it was a no-brainer that this was Houston’s cultural “diversity”. I added the letter “c” after the “s” in diversity, and “Diverscity” Clothing Co. was born, allowing you to either call it “Diverscity” or “Divers-City’, highlighting Houston’s status as the most ethnically diverse city in America! I created a clothing brand that is both stylish, and classic, but also secretly educational being able to incorporate fun facts and history that are a delight to discover by those that are willing to dig a little deeper. Coined as the “Brand For All”, Diverscity Clothing Co. was started in Houston but made to expand to other cities that are also diverse. The name is meant to reflect that no matter how far it grows, it was grown from the most diverse city. The city that took the lead in sharing with the rest of the world what it has already known for some time. The fact that we are all different, which is great because we are all unique. Without diversity, the world would be boring.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I actually started the company in January 2016 while I was still working a full-time job at MD Anderson Cancer Center. I spent most of 2016 just getting my designs together, but not really putting everything out there just yet until I felt comfortable with the amount of designs I had. It wasn’t until December of 2016 that I did my first pop up at the All Access Art Show where I actually had items for sale in person. But then about 1 month later one of the biggest obstacles occurred. I was laid off from MD Anderson after 14 years of employment. It literally was the only full-time job I ever had as I started working there right out of high school and never left. I received about four months of severance pay for my tenure there, so I had an opportunity to really see what my business was capable of, but at the same time, it was a very scary situation to know I was strictly on my own to support myself from my new business, and there was no longer a safety net if I made mistakes.
Please tell us more about what you do, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
Right now, I run my company by myself, and I have 1 official Brand Ambassador. So, I’m involved in all operations from top to bottom, including all pop-up events, social media management, website design, marketing, and whatever else needs to be done. Much of that I had to learn because my background is actually graphic design and music. I’m a trumpet player and music is actually my number one skill, and I apply what I know about music to the designs. I also have experience in sign making and laser engraving, I’m known for my creativity and ability to think outside the box. All the designs are going to be unique and not something that you normally come across. I even incorporate fun facts about our city into the designs that may not be noticed at first but are very subliminal. The shirt blanks themselves are all hand-picked before printing to make sure they are the softest and highest quality shirts you will ever feel. What I’m proud about as a company has been how the brand has been received by the city! It has been featured on Great Day Houston, KPRC2, ACB13 Live at 5, and other news outlets. It has been worn by Mayor Sylvester Turner, local comedian Chinedu Ogu, and local band Blaze x Black. What I’m most proud of however is the places my customers have worn their shirts outside of the country! Diverscity shirts have been worn in the Swiss Alps of Switzerland, Amsterdam, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mexico City, the Batu Caves of Malaysia, and even the International Space Station!
What were you like growing up?
I grew up in the South Park neighborhood of South East Houston and I was a learner who really always loved information and learning new things especially when it came to learning about other cultures. I love maps, and anytime I had a map in front of me, I would just study it for hours because I enjoyed always knowing physical locations and how to navigate other cities. I was also very creative at a young age even though at the time I didn’t realize it. I’m the middle child of three. I have two sisters and I am the only male. Growing up, I was the guy that everyone viewed as a person that was always going to say and do the right thing. I was pretty much what would be considered a “nerd” in the truest sense before it was actually cool to be one. Both of my parents worked full-time jobs, and if you could imagine everyone pitched in when it came to taking care of things. For example, I’ve been doing my own laundry since I was eight years old. I and my sisters all learned our way around the kitchen at an early age, and we all had jobs of our own by the age of 16.
In our home, we focused a lot on our conduct as my family is Jehovah’s Witnesses. If you brought home a “P” in conduct on your report card, that was always worse than bringing home a failing grade. The thought was, you can have a hard time learning or being good at something, but there was never any excuse for how you conducted yourself. Sure enough, when my conduct was good, the grades were good as well. It’s amazing how those things went hand in hand. We watched TV moderately, but if my mom felt that we had watched too much TV, she would cut it off and would tell me to read something. So, I would go to the bookshelf, and my books of choice was always the Encyclopedia Britannica, and I would read them all, from astronomy to the animals of the ocean, to the dinosaurs and their scientific names and backgrounds. I really appreciated those things, our faith, and how I was raised because I feel that it really prepared me to be successful in life. I consider myself a rare form of millennial hybrid. I grew up during the time where we still used landlines and there wasn’t any caller ID when social media didn’t exist yet, Sears was still a formidable one-stop-shop, and going outside to play was considered our entertainment. But I also was there for the first iPhone, when Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram first actually became a thing and the start of the retail apocalypse. I feel like I got to experience both the old school and the new school way of doing things, and I’m able to use that to my advantage. Along with the fact that I’m born and raised in Houston, and there isn’t as many of us as there used to be, who better to create something like Diverscity Clothing Co. to represent our city?
Pricing:
- T-Shirts $28
- Pillows $35
- Sweatshirts $45
- Bean Bags $115
- Wall Art $80
- Mugs $12
- Back Packs $50
Contact Info:
- Address: 5175 Westheimer Rd. Houston, Texas 77056 (2nd floor near Saks 5th Avenue in between True Religion and B8ta)
- Website: https://www.diverscityclothingco.com/
- Email: diverscityclothingco@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diverscityclothingco/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diverscityclothingco/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheBrandForAll
Image Credit:
Matthew Kelly, Jamail Hemphill, Emily Jaschke
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