{"id":9516,"date":"2012-08-22T21:02:54","date_gmt":"2012-08-22T21:02:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dropcents.com\/blog\/?p=9516"},"modified":"2012-08-22T21:29:43","modified_gmt":"2012-08-22T21:29:43","slug":"own-zone-apparel-brand-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dropcents.com\/blog\/own-zone-apparel-brand-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Own Zone Apparel Brand Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

OWN ZONE APPAREL<\/p>\n

\"20120822-160807.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What label,brand, or company are you with? And what is your title.<\/strong>
\nI am the primary owner and C.E.O. of Own Zone Apparel<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

What kind of products do you guys specialize in?<\/strong>
\nWe specialize in high-quality urban wear with a positive, up-lifting
\nmessage in tow.<\/p>\n

How did you get into this business?<\/strong>
\nI honestly dived right in. I decided being an entrepreneur was my
\ndestiny, it just took some time to decide on fashion. Once I did, I
\nput together a very talented team and we developed an idea we felt
\npassionate about. We haven’t looked back since.<\/p>\n

When you were a little kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?<\/strong>
\nFamous.<\/p>\n

As a clothing brand where do you get your inspiration for designs?<\/strong>
\n What kind of thought process goes into your collection?<\/strong>
\nWe’ve taken note of some of our superiors in the industry, certainly.
\nBut my team of artists…they draw inspiration from the lives we lead.
\nWe are all under 22 years of age, and we truly live in our own zone.<\/p>\n

How do you fell about “Brand Jacking” where a brand mimics the<\/strong>
\n designs of another brand?<\/strong>
\nHonestly, there are so many brands out there in today’s landscape
\nthat some brands may be unknowingly infringing upon other brand ideas.
\nBut ultimately, “brand jacking” in the literal sense just isn’t cool.
\nWe want to achieve success the right way. Stealing from somebody else
\nto achieve success isn’t really winning in the long term. Success from
\nyour own true work trumps all other forms.<\/p>\n

How did you come up with the name for your brand? What does it mean<\/strong>
\n or stand for?<\/strong>
\nWe developed “Own Zone Apparel<\/em>” rather quickly. During one of our
\nvery first brainstorm sessions, we came across it. It brings about
\nfunny memories because we had previously spit out about 20 other ideas
\nwith much less appeal than Own Zone Apparel, only to find that those
\nnames were already in use. When we came to find that Own Zone was
\nuntrademarked, we jumped all over it. The trademarking process began
\nthe next day, and so did our dream.<\/p>\n

Own Zone Apparel’s message ultimately has to do with rising above the
\ncomplacent mediocrity that has become so acceptable in American
\nsociety, and really reach up and beyond. Own Zone can also refer to a
\nstate of mind too. This state of mind is one that allows you to remain
\nstrong when the doubters start to grow louder. We’ve certainly had our
\nshare of doubters along the way. If there weren’t doubters, or dare I
\nsay “haters” though, wouldn’t that mean something was wrong?<\/h2>\n

With the explosion of social media, what do you guys do to build<\/strong>
\n brand exposure? What social network is most important to your brand?<\/strong>
\nWe really try to reach out to people all of the country with our
\nsocial media that maybe we wouldn’t have been able to reach if we were
\ndoing this 10 years ago. It’s a very special opportunity, leveraging
\nsocial media to grow your business. We all came up in high school and
\ncollege with social media, so using it effectively is almost second
\nnature. We value Facebook the most, because ultimately I feel we’ve
\nbeen making our biggest impact there. Our next objective is to really
\namp up our Instagram usage as it grows in popularity.<\/p>\n

What is one style from the past that you wish was still popular?<\/strong>
\nCrew-neck sweatshirts. I think we are going to try and revive it with
\nour fall\/winter 2012 line.<\/p>\n

What is a current trend that you cannot stand?<\/strong>
\nMy friends are going to hate me when I say this…camo shorts.<\/p>\n

Snapback or Fitted? Why?<\/strong>
\nSnapback FTW. I enjoy the semi-retro look that is coming back around,
\nand the fitted hats don’t fit me particularly well.<\/p>\n

Low tops or High Tops? Why?<\/strong>
\nLow tops for the versatility they offer. And not everyone looks right
\nin high tops…just saying.<\/p>\n

What are your thoughts on todays street wear scene?<\/strong>
\nToo much quantity, not enough quality.<\/p>\n

What do you see for the future of this industry?<\/strong>
\nI see a convergence of styles. More of today’s popular cultures are
\ncoming into contact, meshing, and developing continuous relationships.
\nPretty soon, I suspect that you won’t be able to identify the
\nattributes of someone based on the street wear they have on. This will
\nbe due to a much wider variety of people than ever before wearing it,
\nin my humble opinion.<\/p>\n

What is one of the best things about being in this industry?<\/strong>
\nIt makes every day meaningful. Before this all began, I can’t say I
\nfelt the same way. I wake up every day excited to start thinking about
\nand acting on behalf of Own Zone Apparel<\/span>.<\/p>\n

\"20120822-160108.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

What is one of the worst things about this industry?<\/strong>
\nI think the retailers’ allegiance to the top brands is something I
\ndislike. Truth is, sometimes some of the industry leaders come out
\nwith stuff that just isn’t very creative or eye-catching, and lately
\nit seems that they are doing it in bunches. There are lots of
\nlesser-known brands out there who deserve to shine.<\/p>\n

How would you quickly describe your past 5 years in one short<\/strong>
\n sentence?<\/strong>
\nThe tale of two men.<\/p>\n

How long is your average work day<\/strong>?
\nincluding all of the commuting involved in my day to day activities,
\naround three-five hours.<\/p>\n

How many core members\/employees are on your team?<\/strong>
\nWe have 4 official members including myself, and a developing team of
\nrepresentatives. The official staff includes two artists, Nick Creten
\nand Sherman Boyd, and our IT officer Jonathan Matson. As I mentioned
\npreviously, we are all under 23 years of age.<\/p>\n

What sneakers did you rock as a kid?<\/strong>
\nI liked skateboarding shoes a lot. I still do like them now, but I
\nprefer a slimmer shoe so I don’t wear them.<\/p>\n

What brand names were you rocking back in the day?<\/strong>
\nElement, Billabong, Hurley…lots of brands sold at Pacific Sunwear.<\/p>\n

In your opinion, what other brands are on the come-up in this<\/strong>
\n industry?<\/strong>
\nI’ve got to show love to a brand based out of Lawrence, KS called “E
\nthe Real Clothing.” I really like their stuff, and I have a lot of
\nrespect for the grind they went through to establish themselves in the
\narea like we are attempting to do.<\/p>\n

I also really like Tree House Clothing for their bold entry into the
\nscene. It takes some nerve to invest money behind something so
\npolarizing…but its that type of calculated risk that can make being
\na decision-maker in this industry fun.<\/p>\n

If you had to give up your brand today and go work for a fast food<\/strong>
\n joint, which fast food joint would it be?<\/strong>
\nChipotle. I’d eat a double steak burrito bowl with guacamole every
\nlunch break.<\/p>\n

What was your first job?<\/strong>
\nI washed dishes at a large restaurant.<\/p>\n

What will we see coming from your brand in the future?<\/strong>
\nDepth and substance. It’s nice to know that everyone loves the
\nClassic T-shirt and the 4S Tank tops..but we haven’t even started
\ndoing what we truly want to do. We want our products in itself, and
\nnot just the people or events it’s associated with, to speak to the
\npositive message we at Own Zone Apparel are all about.<\/h3>\n

What trends will be big in 2013 \/ 2014?
\nYou’re guess is as good as mine. We stay in our own lane. Or should I
\nsay, our OWN ZONE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OWN ZONE APPAREL   What label,brand, or company are you with? And what is your title. I am the primary owner and C.E.O. of Own Zone Apparel. What kind of products do you guys specialize in? We specialize in high-quality urban wear with a positive, up-lifting message in tow. How did you get into this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1882,8,1791,214,1880],"tags":[1948,867,1947,800],"class_list":["post-9516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-brands-2","category-fashion","category-featured","category-interviews","category-street-wear-brands","tag-classic-clothing","tag-new","tag-own-zone-apparel","tag-streetwear","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t