Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon Galvan.
Hi Brandon, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Before my current brand, Bark!, I had a brand with some friends. After realizing that I was the only one that was really committed to making something, I decided on making a brand on my own. I wanted to make something that centers what I’m actually passionate about: dogs and streetwear! At first, I was just hand drawing designs on shirts or using printer transfer paper from Walmart but only after I met Lobo Art Studios, a local printer, that I was able to produce items that I was comfortable selling. Although I’m grateful for how much I’ve been able to do in the past 2-3 years, I’m excited to take my brand to much farther places!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I feel like no artist has had an easy road to success. Along with a lot of my peers, my brand is only one part of my life. Over the past 2-3 years, I have been in and out of college and working full time at my regular day job. Taking those things and other responsibilities that being an adult carries, it’s easy to put your art on the back burner just so you can save your mental health. So finding a balance of work and play and also just trying to define what is “work” and what is “play” to yourself has been a struggle for me.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I own my brand Bark! and make clothing and accessories! I think the brand is most known for making streetwear that centralized around dog iconography. I’m most proud of our collaboration with A Life to Live, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit no kill shelter in Baytown. I was able to design and make some shirts for them and donate the profits to their cause. I believe my art style and brand message is what sets me apart from other Houston-based brands. I love kitsch in design and I believe my humor and liveliness in my work is what separates me from the grunge aesthetic that is prominent in the streetwear scene.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I regard myself to be a very very fortunate person. Although I would say, for my brand, I don’t think anything came from luck. The people I’ve met, made positive connections, and who have helped me with my brand are only a drop in the bucket to the countless meetings, emails, phone calls, DM’s, texts, and FaceTimes that I’ve had since I started networking for Bark!. I could certainly say if I didn’t meet the people who have helped me, I would still be emailing and DM’ing people to his day and trying to figure out what I can do next.
Contact Info:
- Email: barkwithyoursoul@gmail.com
- Website: barkwithyoursoul.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/barkwithursoul
- Twitter: twitter.com/barkwithursoul
Image Credits
Photographer: @irene.fiszer
What to check out next:
Aleasha Bahr is a sales & marketing strategist known for showing introverts and ambiverts the Secret Art of Subtle Selling. She personally sold millions in revenue while discovering introverts are usually top sales people – as soon as they stop trying to act like extroverts. We’ve partnered with her to produce Introverted Entrepreneur Success Stories. Check out episode 1 below:
