We were lucky to catch up with Blair & Brandon Dottin-Haley recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Blair & Brandon, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with the decision of whether to donate a percentage of sales to an organization or cause – we’d love to hear the backstory of how you thought through this.

We were coined “Brand Activists” by actor, producer, activist, the extraordinary Erika Alexander for the use of our apparel brand, The Blairisms, to support progressive and activist causes. We accomplish this through both elevating messages of solidarity with revolutionary movements and progressive causes and by supporting them with donation campaigns. In the summer of 2020, the year of the last Presidential election and the year we lost Civil Rights Icon John Lewis, we created the “Get In Good Trouble” collection to celebrate his life, remind us of his message, and donate the proceeds to help Stacy Abrams work in Georgia. We chose Fair Fight because of the important work being done to turn Georgia, Rep. Lewis’ home state, blue. Later that year, a mask from that collection was sought and acquired by the National Museum of African American History and Culture. We are grateful and honored to have done our part in a crucial time in American history and to have been cemented in history because of it.

Blair & Brandon, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

We started the #BLAIRISMS brand to uplift, empower and enrich people’s lives through the power of words. Our lives have been transformed by one another and we want to spread the love and encourage others with inspiration, reflection and laughter.

Professionally, we have worked in various industries from politics, education, entertainment, fashion, and tech. We got to a place where we realized that we’d spent our lives using our talents for someone else’s mission then decided that we could do the same for ourselves. So, in 2016, the Dottin-Haley Group was formed.

We are consultants, and work with a variety of clients across numerous industries to develop strategic initiatives focused on engaging communities, building capacity and advocating for the needs of traditionally marginalized individuals. Our clients and partners include the Sierra Club, Xavier University of Louisiana, Delgado Community College, Grammy-nominated recording artist Kenny Lattimore, and many more. We began this journey of entrepreneurship with the goal of using our talents to help others and since then we have done so much more than we originally anticipated.

In 2016, we followed the inspiration that Blair got from a college friend to put messages he’d been sharing on social media on t-shirts. We launched the first 6 shirts of the #BLAIRISMS collection and quickly found that they were resonating with people, beyond our close friends and family. The #BLAIRISMS grew beyond the first 6 shirts, and now includes hoodies, sweatshirts, backpacks and travel gear, shoes, loungewear, wall art, and so much more.

As Brand Activists, we’ve created several collections that we’ve used to fundraise for impactful organizations and causes that are important to our community. Similar to the #GETINGOODTROUBLE collection, when the Tennesse legislature expelled Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, we were moved to action and created a collection in support of “The Justins” and are donating proceeds to their campaigns. Some of the other caused we have supported include Black Theater United, Peer Forward, and The Noah’s Ark Reunion LGBTQ fundraising campaign.

In line with fundraising for our community, we created the #SAVAGECHATSERIES during the 2020 pandemic to create a space where we can celebrate Black people pushing our culture forward and making significant impacts in the world. A celebration of the range of Blackness, the #SAVAGECHATSERIES has, so far, welcomed over 450 #SAVAGES of the culture, which include Vanessa Williams, the first Black woman crowned Miss America, veteran White House correspondent April Ryan, star of the hit show P-Valley, Nicco Annan, actress and producer Erika Alexander, Judge Faith Jenkins and singer, Kenny Lattimore, congressional representatives Troy Carter, Stacey Plaskett and Yvette Clarke, Mayor of New Orleans, Latoya Cantrell and fashion icon Ty Hunter. The award-winning series was our gift to the culture, and was launched to bring our people together during a time when the world wanted us to believe that our lives didn’t have value.

Since then, we have created even more programming, both virtual and in-person, to uplift and celebrate one another. We produced an epic holiday special called #BLAXCELLENCE, hosted a discussion on the legacy of Dr. King and created a campaign with the Sierra Club to raise awareness of environmental racism and climate justice issues.

We continue to push boundaries and work to create opportunities for our community. If anyone wants to join the #BLAIRISMS movement, they should be sure to follow us on instagram, it’s a whole party over there! Support our brand buy shopping at theblairisms.com. There is something for literally EVERYONE.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

We met online in 2009 and when we met, there was no intention to start a business. We barely had any idea that we would start dating seriously, get married, and plan to spend the rest of our lives together. Our journey is a testament to the blessings that come when you open yourself up to the possibilities and opportunities that unfold in front of you.

The idea to start a business came in 2016, after our consulting and freelancing work began to pick up. Blair and I were both working full-time but knew that we had something more that we could offer, and that offering needed to be protected. A company was formed in 2016 so that we had a vehicle to do business with friends who were asking us for help with various projects. The concept of being an entrepreneur wasn’t something either of us envisioned for our lives when we met. As we continued to work for, and be let go by other companies after spending years working in service of their mission, we decided that instead of giving our talents in someone else’s name, we should do it for ourselves.

In 2017, Blair had the idea to start a clothing line after getting the idea from a college friend of his. When he decided that this suggestion was a directive and not just a compliment, he enlisted Brandon to design the first collection of #BLAIRISMS t-shirts. From the first 6 t-shirts spawned a brand that now uplifts and outfits a movement. #BLAIRISMS have been worn by fashion icons Ty Hunter, Claire Sulmers of FashionBombDaily and many more.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I wish we could account for some magic formula for building our audience but the truth is it happens organically when you’ve found the audience for your message and are consistently, authentically engaged with them. Our advice is first, find your audience, your tribe, your community. Who are the people most interested in your message? That’s your target! Start by reaching out to, engaging, and following people on social media who are connected to your messaging. Then engage them with authenticity and consistency! Make sure you like comments, repost when you’re reposted, stay active and engaged with your audience and they will stay with you and more people will come! Also, number of followers is not as important as engaged followers!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/TheBlairisms
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.blairisms/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The.Blairisms
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin/in/blaird1
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theblairisms60/featured
• Other: TheBlairisms.com

Image Credits
Kollin Benson Gerald Villavasso