We caught up with the brilliant and insightful DORSEY COTTMAN a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi DORSEY, 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?
My first sale off my product was a friend from school. I started teaching myself how to do graphic design and wanted to design my own products. HOME was one of the first logos I came up with and was an instant hit. I advertised it a few times and then a friend from school ended up being my first sale. From there, everyone on campus wanted to wear my product. Even after I graduated.
DORSEY, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I started HOME during the summer of 2016, which was motivated from my knowledge of self. During the fall of 2015, leading up to that time, I began to notice a slight repeat in history where African Americans were publicly facing police brutality along with prejudice in the justice system. I was still attending my alma mater Shippensburg University and was heavily involved on campus with our Black Student Union. All my life I taught myself how to do graphics and was recently producing clothes with a friend of mine. So, when making the logo, I really wanted to stand out but still do something for our culture. When coming home from a protest one night at school, everything clicked. Initially HOME was the first design as just merch from my graphic design business (BMVisuals LLC). However, I began to see the rise and effect that it had in my community and eventually, I decided to make it a subsidiary brand of its own. HOME was started for us to unify all of our people (regardless of background) and represent all aspects of our culture through fashion. The type of apparel I aimed to produce is Urban/Underground streetwear. So, when you wear our collection, not only are you comfortable, but you feel Black, Proud, and Dope! Outside of the clothes, I am very passionate about graphic design, and work with a variety of artists and collaborate with other brands as well.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
I feel as though society should really give additional credit to the artists. Often when work is being displayed, its for others to help bring their vision to life through visuals. However, the creative genuineness and time is overlooked because even though it may attract the audience, it matches the message as well which KEEPS the audience. This is portrayed dominantly in music, film, media, architecture, and other industries as well.
Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)
I think NFTs are the future and will eventually become more relevant as time advance. Everytime I hear or see NFT, it reminds me how much we are advancing with technology. The fact that its a “Metaverse” that affects reality out here is crazy. Currently our generation know or hear about it, but really don’t know how deep it can get with NFTs. For those who don’t know, just like stocks, trading, and real estate, you need money in order to play properly. But if done right with the patience, it can generate for you in the right ways. One day, I plan to design my own collection of NFTs to mint. I’m excited to see how far it will go!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bmvisualsllc.com/
- Instagram: @h0me16 \ @_bmvisuals_