We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dre Smith. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dre below.
Hi Dre, thanks for joining us today. The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?
Very interesting question. I’ve always been an artist, so I don’t remember the first dollar. However, I do remember the night when art became my passion. The story goes like this. After graduating from North Carolina A&T State University, AGGIE PRIDE, I had an difficult time finding employment that matched my unique skill set. So I ended up, taking a job at a factory to make ends meet. I worked the grave yard shift, so during the day i could create. So one day, I decided to take a drawing of a DJ, to a screen printing shop and get some t-shirts printed. This was around 1990, so Hip Hop was still fresh, new and exciting. So then, I took these t-shirts to work, to see if anyone was interested, it just happen to be pay day, I brought them out and sold out in 15 minutes. I made about 2K. Now as an artist I had always made a few bucks here and there, doing graffiti on jeans or making comic books about the girls in my life lol, but it was always a minimum amount of money. But this night was special, usually it took me 2 months to get this kind of money at that age, but in just 15 minutes. I was like wow. I’m on to something special. I’ve been printing t-shirts every since.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
FR8 pronounced “Freight” is a brand about connections, networking and inspiration. Our brand represents the connections of unique individuals coming together to represent: one train, one goal, one destiny.
Founded in 1988 by Dre Smith, FR8TEES has come a long way from its humble beginnings in the small town of Goldsboro, North Carolina. FR8TEES consist of a group of friends dedicated to fashion, unity, and culture. When we first started out on this mission, our passion to create dope t-shirts drove us to produce some thought provoking design concepts, and gave us the impetus to turn hard work and inspiration into success. FR8TEES products are created from a cultural view point and are intended to inspire dialogue. Our products cover every aspect of our culture. We now serve our valued customers around the world, and we are thrilled to be a part of the socially conscious wing of the fashion industry.
Our mission is simple: “E Pluribus Unum”
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Another great [FR8] story to share. After my first t-shirt did so well, I was ready to take on the world. I had so many ideas, running through my mind, it was overwhelming. As an artist, this is what some may call, being in the zone. I was focused and ready for the world. So I registered to be apart of the 2017 Women’s Empowerment Expo in Raleigh, NC. This was my first indoor event, so I felt confident that I had everything under control. I was cool as fan, plenty of products, well rested and ready to conquer this event. After booth setup, I surveyed the other vendors, to check products and pricing points. My products seemed to be the perfect match for this type of event, however, there’s always those butterflies of uncertainty. At this point, between performance acts and guest speakers, people started coming around to the booth’s to shop. This is when the excitement starts. My unique design approach goes like this, “see it, touch it and then you feel it”. So as I watched women come by, stop in their tracks, and stare at our products, there’s this special feeling that comes over me. It’s a feeling of accomplishment, because I’ve tapped into their consciousness. Because once you see it, then you must touch it, and once you’ve touched it, you’ve got to buy it. So at this point, there’s about 100 women waiting for me to pull products in their preferred design, size, color and style. I’m solo, overwhelmed, sweating, looking frustrated and then a women ask, if she could help to speed up the process. Now I got several women going through my boxes with me and making sales. That was awesome on every level.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is seeing the joy, delight and inspiration that our products being to our customers. Its amazing to see, when customer comes back to the events, to show us how they look in our products. Our earlier products spoke to a specific demographics. So to my surprise, it has been an amazing feeling to see our products appeal to different cultures. Receiving this type of love, from all cultures, has made our design team expand our approach.
Contact Info:
- Website: WWW.FR8TEES.COM
- Instagram: FR8TEES
- Facebook: FR8TEES
- Twitter: FR8NATION
- Youtube: FR8TEES