Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabriel Freeman, Orlando Critchlow, Bernard Campbell
Hi Gabriel Freeman, Orlando Critchlow,, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Cigar Passion Clothing began in Spring 2022 when Orlando, one of three high school friends who smoked cigars, was in a lounge, thinking there was an open market for T-shirts for cigar life. He came to Gabriel because he knew he designed shirts and had a T-shirt line out called Veteran Pride. They got together at Gabriel’s apartment, sat down, and started discussing how to market this genre openly for a cigar-based T-shirt industry. It took a while to create a logo that was very different and catchy. Once they agreed on the logo Orlando began to wear the T-shirts that Gabriel designed. They started to hit the ground running by going to smoke lounges, markets, pop-up events, golf tournaments, and cigar week events. One year later in 2023 they decided to bring in a third partner. Orlando suggested Bernard because of his expertise in cigars and the cigar industry. Bernard helped to develop our marketing strategy by introducing contest giveaways and digital content videos on social media. Once the team was set they began to develop marketing strategies to expand their social media following, customer reach, and sales territory from the Greater Houston area to seeking national sales opportunities in cities such as Atlanta, Virginia, and New Orleans. In 2024, Gabriel secured an office space for his graphic design company Frestylin Concepts Design Studio where they manufacture Cigar Passion Clothing. Today they are working on partnerships with local and national golf tournaments, golfing groups, and cigar lounge smoking social group sales.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been as smooth as crinkled silk sheets on the bed. LOL! We have encountered certain pitfalls in sales. Some of the struggles we are encountering are getting continuous orders in pre-sales, securing special orders, loss in inventory control, and website traffic.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We are a T-shirt and accessory clothing line. We specialize in custom-made shirts. We are known for creating a unique line for cigar-passionate people. We are most proud of the uniqueness of our designs, which catch people’s eyes, and we receive positive compliments when they first see our designs. We customize in vinyl printing and vinyl cut printing more so than digital press printing and digital-to-film (DTF), which is printing press print. Many designers do not like the tidiness of weeding, which is pulling the vinyl from the designs to press on the shirts.
How do you define success?
We define success as having brand loyalty worldwide. When you have brand loyalty, you have a following for your brand and culture. They are waiting for the next big thing you will introduce and what they want. They love that brand and won’t wear anything else but that brand. We aspire to have that with Cigar Passion Clothing.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cre8tivedezigns.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Cigarpassion_og
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cigarpassionog
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Cigarpassion_og
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Cigarpassion_og
Image Credits
Graphic Jones for Graphic Jones Photography: Individual and group photos
Divine Voices Media: Graphic Designs
