Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tabatha Lumley. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Tabatha, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

At Dajior Clothing Brand, our core mission is to inspire go-getters to remain relentless and determined while pursuing their goals regardless of the obstacles they face.

When coming up with our mission, my son Dajior and I wanted to be sure it reflected our truth, told our story and inspired others to grow through their pain like we had to do when we launched the brand in 2018. Back then, we both faced one of the biggest obstacles of our lives as Dajior’s father received a 4.5 year prison sentence. Left to deal with the absence of his dad at just four years old, Dajior came up with the idea to launch a clothing brand that could keep him fresh, focused and motivated. He wanted to have something that could help him remain relentless and determined even in the midst of the pain he experienced. Our brand is growing and we hope to inspire fellow go-getters like ourselves.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am Tabatha Lumley and my 12-year-old son Dajior and I are the co-founders of Dajior Clothing Brand. As a dual entrepreneur, I also serve as the founder and CEO of Pantheon Transportation, a regional medical transportation company that provides patients and healthcare consumers who have difficulties with transportation to and from medical appointments.

Growing up in Kingston, Jamaica, I witnessed first hand how hard my father worked to take care of our family, and it was during my childhood that I vowed to create a better life for myself and those around me. Once I migrated to the states and got the opportunity, I attended SUNY Buffalo and earned a Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice. I then went on to obtain my Master’s in Social Work from the University of Buffalo and in 2019, I launched Pantheon Transportation after noticing a lack of reliable transportation services in my community. Today, we provide more than 700 rides each month.

When Dajior and I launched Dajior Clothing Brand in 2018 when he was just six years old, his dad had just received a 4.5 year prison sentence. Left to deal with the absence of a man who he shared an unbreakable bond with, Dajior began to develop coping mechanisms that I’d never seen before like the constant grinding of his teeth for hours. At school, he started to have behavioral challenges and was suspended so much that I sometimes couldn’t work a full day because of the constant phone calls from school. To figure out why Dajior couldn’t focus and always felt the need to fight, I took him to Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) and enrolled him in counseling. At his first appointment, the therapist asked him to tell him one thing that he would like to put his energy into that would help him deal with his dad’s incarceration. He said it had to be meaningful and fun so he could focus on it and enjoy it. When he sat down to think about it, he said, “A clothing line because I love to dress nicely at school.” Once I heard him say that, the rest was history.

As soon as we got home, I immediately sat him down and called a friend to design a few logos that he might like. Once he chose his favorite logo and official colors, we printed t-shirts and embarked on a new journey and life together.

Today, Dajior Clothing Brand is a celebrity-endorsed, luxury streetwear brand that provides high-quality pieces to men, women and children worldwide. Our garments are created with exclusivity in mind, even down to our toddler clothing, which is designed to be stringless as a safety precaution.

Our mission is to inspire go-getters to remain relentless and determined while pursuing their goals regardless of the obstacles they face. Dajior and I are extremely passionate about our creation, and he is passionate about wanting children with incarcerated parents to know that having an absent parent is traumatic, but finding passion in something you love can help keep you focused.

Seeing the growth of my son today makes me so proud and I am honestly amazed at how he took his pain and turned it into power.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

Dajior Clothing Brand’s garments are sold exclusively on our website, dajior.com. Having our own site allows us to build credibility, retain maximum profit, establish personalized connections with our customers, tell our story in our own way, and be as creative as we want to be. Having an exclusive site also shows our customers that we are fully invested in our brand.

While we love the freedom that comes with having our own site, we will say that a few cons include the fact that it costs more, we have less traffic than Etsy for example, and switching platforms is a little challenging.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Very early on in my and Dajior’s journey, I had to unlearn the belief that support will always come from family and close friends. For so long, we expected a flood of support from those closest to us, but over time, we learned that family and friends aren’t obligated to support because they weren’t given our vision. We have the vision, so we have to make a name for ourselves and grow our brand into the empire that we believe it can be. It’s nobody’s job to believe in us. We must believe in ourselves and work smarter to make others believers.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.dajior.com
• Instagram: Dajiorclothing
• Facebook: Dajiorclothing
• Linkedin: Tabatha Lumley

Image Credits
Ahmeek and Jahmeek Lee Michael Lumley Shaniqua fair Dajior Lee