We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Renauld Shelton. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Renauld below.
Renauld, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, let’s imagine that you were advising someone who wanted to start something similar to you and they asked you what you would do differently in the startup-process knowing what you know now. How would you respond?
Funny this question came about, because I’m currently rebranding. I would focus on planning the entire year out. This is budgeting for manufacturing, operations, marketing and advertising costs for the entire year. These are expenses that I wasn’t ready for when I started in 2013. Just dove right into this business and figured things out on the fly. Have to understand every aspect of the business and where the funds are going in order to reach the growth potential you intend on having.
Renauld, 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?
Upon graduating from Simpson College, with a B.A. in Graphic Design, I struggled to find work. I didn’t earn this degree for nothing and wanting to use this knowledge. Always had a knack for my appearance and how I dressed, so I began utilizing my talent and resources to work with my uncle’s apparel line, Ashay. After a year or two of working with him and his partners, I started my own brand, Material Opulence. This is a lifestyle brand, selling confidence and being a source of motivation and inspiration for our consumers. It’s a unisex brand for both men and women. Our products have included graphic tees, hoodies, sweatsuits, track suits, jackets, biker short sets, trucker hats, bucket hats, beanies and more. It all started with a passion, turned into a business. There is a formula for everything, the difficult part, is figuring out what that formula is that makes your business sustainable. It takes a great deal of discipline to continue moving forward, finding ways to grow, when you don’t always see profits. I always refer to my why and that’s what keeps me going. The craft, is my love for creativity and applying it to the designs and vision I have for brand. Being an artist does it for me.
An extension of my artistry is dabbling into the world of acting nearly 5 years ago. Never acted a day in my life, but being a fan of films, series and sitcoms, I asked myself, what if I tried it? The first opportunity to audition came about in in the summer of 2019, however nothing had come of it. Then I recalled a friend mentioning he was making a film. I just wanted to be part of the process in any capacity, as a way of getting into that industry. So, in January of 2020, I noticed a social media post he made about open auditions and I went for it. Surprisingly, I was offered the role after some improved scenarios. From that point on, I’ve taken the craft and art form very seriously. A host of music videos, short films, stage plays and commercials have come there after. Looking to continue growing with this and implementing Material Opulence into this industry by supply the brand as a wardrobe for actors and whatnot.
Of course, I’ve run into problems with Material Opulence and as an actor. Finding your target audience when selling a product, how to market the product and finding different sales channels. It’s all rapidly changing as trends change and the way consumers shop. As an actor, I found myself losing out on more lucrative opportunities because I was independent. Eventually, I was able to get representation with Moxie Talent Agency after talking with other actors within my network. What sets Material Opulence apart, is the name itself and the style of clothes we put out. What’s sets me apart as an actor, is the passion and intensity I put behind my auditions. Folks remember those things.
I’m most proud of my willingness to take risks and the fortitude to bring them into fruition. No longer a dream, but the work being put in to make them real. I want those who our following my story and business to know that they can do anything they want to do, just have to put in the work and have a little luck along the way.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
I’ve always used funds from my day job to fund my business, per the bootstrapping method. This is what I’ve been doing since in was started. 3 years ago, Material Opulence was fortunate to receive a $5,000 grant, which proved to help be our biggest year to date in online sales and in total the entire year. Those funds haven’t been exhausted, rather reinvested back into the business. I still continue to fund the business out of my own pocket.
Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.
I have the ability to screen printed and heat press products, however that’s another business entirely within itself. What we’ve done is bought quality blank garments and redecorated them to our own liking and sell to the consumer. That’s been our process these last 10 years. However, for the last 8 months, we’ve been in talks with manufacturers to completely cut and sew our original products from scratch. It’s a process of contacting manufacturers, mostly overseas, sending them your designs and explaining in detail what you want. There are several that I’m in talks with at the moment and looking forward to our new products being released real soon. I’ve learned that I can get my products done entirely at a lower cost and the minimum order quantity isn’t overwhelming.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.materialopulence.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/materialopulence
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaterialOpulence/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/material-opulence
- Twitter: https://www.x.com/MO_Opulence
Image Credits
Images by: Edwin Taliferro, Keyana Saffold, Michah Thompson & View House (Tyla)
Models: Tephani Rose, Jacquelyn Yvonne, Thomas Smith