Today we’d like to introduce you to Jarrod Tetley.
Jarrod, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I first started Unbranched Apparel after my grandma passed away in April of 2016. I was a sophomore at Austin College and I was in my dorm room upset and had nothing to do. I decided I would go to Walmart basically to pass the time, and while I was walking around Walmart i saw some blank hats for a couple dollars and I had an idea. I grabbed some sharpies and 3 or 4 hats started drawing on them. I drew a palm tree, now our logo, on one of them and I liked how it looked. so then I started cutting out those iron-on patches that are for patching jeans and making them into palm trees and ironing them onto these Walmart hats. My friend and now business partner TJ really liked them and asked what he could do to help. So I started making hats in my room while he went out and sold them to students. It really evolved from there and during that summer we invested in a heat press and embroidery machine and began expanding the business. My friends Anthony, TJ, and Dvante are an intricate part and its great to have a solid support base to help run Unbranched Apparel. Now I work out of my home in Houston and have a great workshop to be creative and run my business. I work all day in there thinking of new ways to expand.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It’s definitely been hard some months when you don’t sell much and other months you might sell out your whole inventory. Owning a business is very much and winding road with highs and lows but to be successful you have to push through. We also try to listen to our customers and innovate and design products that they want. We have a ton of support from our customers and they’re the reason I work hard to try and make things they want. It’s also hard being a student and business owner at the same time, cause there isn’t much downtime but that keeps me focused. Having to learn how to run a business basically from scratch is a great experience but its also very challenging to grow.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Unbranched Apparel – what should we know?
We are an Apparel company and mainly specialize in hats and tops such as shirts and hoodies. The hats are definitely our big item because we have a lot of different styles and colors and that’s how we started the business so its kind of iconic to us. I’m really proud of how the business started from scratch in a dorm room by a few college kids, and I think that really sets us apart from a lot of brands nowadays. It’s awesome that we built such a large support base, customers that really care about the brand, and how we can listen to our customers and provide something that they’ll really love to wear, not just another hat or shirt. My biggest sense of pride is seeing people I’m not familiar with or that I didn’t directly sell them something on social media wearing our apparel, that’s a big deal to me, to know that people really love what we’re creating. Every piece we make I have a hand in creating and that gives me a lot of pride in our products and makes me focus on every detail.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My parents are definitely a big part of me being able to continue my business because as a college kid with not a lot of money, it’s hard to expand, and they definitely helped me with that. They were also always there to bring me up with I was upset about not selling enough for a month or people not liking the new stuff we release. My best friends TJ, Anthony, Colin, and Dvante are also a huge part of the business, and without them, I wouldn’t be able to chase my dream and grow this business. We all have our strengths and weaknesses but together we make a really great team. and Finally its really all the customers and people who support the business. It’s really an overwhelming support base we have. When I get messages or alerts on social media of people wanting to get something new or spread the word about the brand, it’s the best feeling in the world. People really care about the brand and that’s what’s most special to me, and why I wake up early and stay up late working to create new things for those people.
Pricing:
- All Hats are 15$
- T shirts range from 22-25$
- Hoodies range from 30-45$
Contact Info:
- Address: 418 22nd Street Galveston Texas 77550
- Website: Unbranchedapparel.com
- Phone: 4095391099
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @Unbranchedapparel
- Twitter: @UnbranchedApp
Image Credit:
Jacob Carroll
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