Today we’d like to introduce you to Kendall Lawson
Hi Kendall, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was an entrepreneurship major at High Point University. During my senior year we had to create our own business and present it for our final grade. That’s when Three Scooops Fashion House was born. We originally were called Three Scooops Clothing but have recently pivoted to a more fitting name for all that we do.
We have three brands that we aspired from the start; Ralph Lauren for the quality and timelessness, Billionaire Boys Club for the color palette, and Johnny Cupcakes for the branding aesthetic. These brands all played a huge role in our teenage years during the 2004-2009 and really shaped the direction of our brand. In terms of other influence; Young Dro, Kanye, Pharrell, and Tupac each have played a huge role in our childhood and we take aspects from each of them to implement into our brand.
We started off purchasing blanks and embellishing them with our logos but that quickly got boring and uninspiring. I’m not a very good graphic designer and have never really been into graphic tees. I had used all the blanks and knew that wasn’t what I had always dreamed to do. I always wanted to design my own items by choosing fabrics, textiles, and trimmings but the idea of getting custom items was so daunting that I didn’t believe it was possible for me.
I did end up finding a wholesale supplier that was making some of the very items I wanted to make! I signed up for the wholesale account, got approved and dropped a few items. That was really cool because it did fill a gap that was missing and it also set me apart from the competition. But… a few things weren’t good about that. Number one, I was still on their timeline and couldn’t progress because I had to wait until they came out with something I liked. Number two, is they did a complete rebranding and no longer made items that I was interested in. So after much back and forth, I couldn’t resist anymore and something had to give!
A friend challenged me to work with a manufacturer and after that conversation I had to ask myself… what am I willing to lose? So I found a manufacturer, we chatted until I felt comfortable and at that time I had $100 I could spare. So I showed them the item I wanted and negotiated $50 upfront and $50 once delivered… from there we really started to become the brand we wanted to be
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No haha the road is oh so bumpy honestly. There are miscommunications, rush orders, deadlines missed, self esteem issues, HUGE LEARNING CURVES, lack of funds, lack of resources, manufacturing errors, the list goes on and on and on but through it all it really just lets you know what’s for you and what’s not for you.
With each annoyance, it has to be used as a teaching moment to avoid the same mistakes happening. As things grow and more experiences are obtained things get better but just know there are always ups and downs. Be patient with yourself, be accountable with yourself, and always always always do the right thing…even when you have to take a loss do the right thing. You being known as a respectable and honest business person goes a longer way than a couple of bucks
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The true meaning of Three Scooop’s Fashion House is self respect, taking our power back, & controlling the narrative we want the world to see. We just do it in an Exclusive Americana Premium way. From a community standpoint we educate, provide opportunities, and create structural belief and communal growth through fashion, business, finances etc.
This is much deeper than timeless quality garments. We are here to help create a more efficient Black American fashion supply chain industry that gives us control of our own narrative.
Our manufacturing services are fueled by durability, creativity, and most importantly experience!
We offer manufacturing services for businesses, brands, and individuals, wholesale and custom made items.
We also run a non profit where we teach high school and college students how to sew for free. The name of the program is called Sew N Grow
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success is about what you can provide to others in my opinion. I’ve had high paying jobs, I’ve been on fantastic vacations, I’ve gotten the education, athletic/academic scholarships, I’ve learned to control finances and invest properly but honestly… none of that has filled my void.
I want to live off of my business(es) and be able to provide opportunities and access to others. That’s when I know I’m truly living in my purpose. This individualistic view we have in the United States is unhealthy for communal growth and keeps us from working in numbers which is truly going to get us the liberation we want. Only a few winning and hoarding does nothing for the betterment of my people and culture.
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