By Christopher Roshell
Brandon Jones, a young man from a small town in Alabama, turned a difficult experience in his life into something positive a clothing brand. He has seen both the good and bad that the world has to offer and has found a way to express his journey through his art. Jones attends McPherson College in Kansas, pursuing his dreams in both football and education. Along the way, he has faced challenges that have made him feel helpless due to being in college away from home. Jones put a lot of passion into his clothes. He said that “I want people to feel the lord in my clothing designs.” With the meaning and messages behind the Burning Lotus you will be able to understand why Jones said that.
The Birth of the Burning Lotus
Burning Lotus was created while Jones was dating a woman who loved flowers. However, he didn’t want the brand to be about her, so he changed the type of flower and had it burning. The burning Louts Jones said signifies rebirth and renewal. He said, “At the time I was trying to focus on myself and try to figure out what I wanted to do with my life from that point forward and didn’t want to go backwards.” To be born again as a knew fresh mind and path. This message is so powerful because in the age of social media people every day are getting fed this fast and quick life without showing reality. This gives people a lost mindset that they never see coming until it’s too late. With the shirt Jones what’s to show young teens and young adults that its ok to take a step back and restart fresh.
Challenges of a clothing brand
As a college student, a football player at McPherson college, an entrepreneur trying to find a path in what he wants to do in life. Jones said it’s hard-to-find ways to make time for the brand but there are ways around. Jones knows the challenges that come with making a clothing brand and knows that only a small number of clothing brands fail in the first two years to be more accurate over 95 percent of starting up clothing brands fail. Research from kozanteks says that the reason they fail is due to low capital, lack of quality, and not enough marketing research. So, Jones knows he has to stand out in an industry full of sharks waiting. His idea to stand out from regular clothing brands is a little different than what you hear from people who first start. His idea is to embroider and crochet a lot of artwork for his shirts. With the chrysanthemum burning on the shirt this not only brings people to the shirt more with its different design but also has a great message behind the shirt. Doing this will help him stand out and find his market and target audience in a big industry like clothing brands.
Taking Advantage of your opportunity
Over his three years at McPherson Brandon has appreciated the opportunity that has helped and aligned him with what he is trying to accomplish for his clothing brand. He is in his third year working towards a bachelor’s in graphic design and in doing so this has got him into classes and with creative people who have helped and pushed him forward to his dreams and goals. From graphic design, to photography, then web design. Each class has an important role for a clothing brand. Brandon gives a big appreciation to the teacher who taught him web design professor Killian. “With web design you have to be perfect when making a website. One wrong word or a number added can mess up the whole page and it does not work for website” He also wants to make sure that the website is easy to manage. So, there is a lot that goes into it before you can just put your clothes on the market. Brandon said, “in order for me to have a brand I need to put it on a website, and I never knew how to code until last semester.”
Rebirth and Renewal
Brandon Jones is a great example of how if you keep going one step at a time you can still fight for a dream. He has faced true battles and has found a way to make his warrior scars into a story that can be seen and worn on a shirt. Brandon Jones is not just a son, a football player, a college student or an entrepreneur. He is someone with a story that a lot of people could hear for extra motivation and push in the morning.
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