Parenting: Do as I Do
Product with a Purpose
As a child of the ‘70’s I was raised on syndicated sitcoms and processed foods. Luckily I also had the advantage of being raised by three generations. Like many I had my parents and grandparents, but I also had siblings that were a generation removed. When I was born my brothers were 21 & 19 and my sister was 13. I argue with my siblings to this day that such a perfect individual required 13 years of planning, preparation and focus. Their word for my existence is ‘mistake’.
Jealousy is rude, I know.
But this generational difference came with an added advantage — no filter.
While I had every opportunity to enjoy being a child with all of my friends, I also had limited exposure to a healthy amount of more mature content. From conversations about relationships to movies with violence. At times, the editors of my daily media were younger than most college students while the real gatekeepers of knowledge were to old to concern themselves with the small infractions that young parents hyperfocus on.
This meant that I knew all of the words to Sesame Street and Earth, Wind And Fire. I watched G.I. Joe and Hill Street Blues. My brain recording data before it understood where to categorize all of the information. “Pull up to my bumper, baby,” was just a song about a car, right Grace?
By the time I became a parent I made sure to that I curated their data in meaningful ways — more Stevie Wonder and less Sisqo played in our house and in our cars. ‘60 Minutes’ and ‘The Bernie Mac Show’ were background noise if they were playing video games. By the time they turned 12 they knew the words to the self-explanatory song “30 Cops or More”.
This is how children learn.
So when I watched Howard White, Ray Butts and Andre Doxey treat every week like “Bring Your Daughter to Work Day”, I copied their blueprint. I never saw where my father worked, so this was all new to me. From Beaverton to Tokyo to Beaverton to NYC they were always a fixture in the office. They were well mannered and stayed clear of whatever work was happening, but they were always part of the package. No negotiations.
As my sons entered their teenage years they became less impressionable with respect to their parent’s input. Sure, they will appreciate in 15 years, but in the moment you become an adult in Charlie Brown’s world.
So I found another vehicle: Merch.
As I transitioned from Nike to And Them, I found myself working with clients that wanted to utilize merchandise as a means to advertise and market their brand.
One such project was a promotional bag for Beats by Dre. Another Nike alumni asked me to work on a ‘gift bag’ for their popular headphones. The company needed to be creative with delivery vehicles because their influencers always needed something new to grab their attention.
I designed and developed an urban, waterproof backpack. Most backpacks come in high school bookbag, mountain climber or luxury fashion. A simple carrying device for your laptop, headphones and small jacket is difficult to find.
A year later Beats by Dre was on to something new.
But I had rights to the bag, so I asked my factory if I could do a few hundred more. I asked my middle school boys what we should put on it.
They shrugged — out of teenage apathy or lack of creativity, I will never know.
So I created a logo with their initials, grabbed a domain name and sent the specs to the factory.
“Make the logo black,” Jream finally weighed in.
On an already black bag?
The SAM is born. Named after their Uncle Sam, the bag is quiet, keeps to itself and will always take care of your stuff.
Two months later the bags arrive and we have to build an ecommerce platform — Nice Things NYC — to sell these things. Meanwhile I start working with other people to design, develop and sell their merch. So we start making T’s and hoodies and hats. Elijah likes to make a mess, so we order dozens of white hats and make use of our stainless steel sink.
Over the next five years our hobby stayed a hobby in Nice Things NYC. Along the way we pick up friends from fashion, restaurants and nonprofits. And our friends were kind enough to share pictures of the SAM in the real world.
Now, Xavier is in middle school and he doesn’t remember not having JEX|NYC with his brothers. He’s designed bags and t-shirts that he’s sold to his teachers & friends.
While this hobby matures, I started working with other factories to bring new products to market with a focus on helping under-appreciated communities — teachers, veterans, senior citizens, etc. At Nike I was more interested in working with Sam McCracken and N7 than any entertainer or athlete. It was natural for me to connect design with helping others, but I wanted to expose them to how the process worked.
So, the boys and I will introduce some of these projects with our social impact partners over the next year — beginning with a shoe designed for seniors. We will be partnering with a few nonprofit organizations and Heeling Soles to hand out hundreds of pairs of our JON in New York, North Carolina and Ohio in December 2018.
The JON, like the SAM, will be available on Nice Things NYC. While this shoe was originally intended for seniors — those siblings and parents that provide inspiration — their biggest attribute is being wide and roomy. If you or a loved one is in need of something wide and in fashion, grab a pair.
And keep an eye on our hobby as we introduce other projects that we support as part of my elaborate scheme to encourage my kids to engage in their community by simply doing what they already enjoy.
Good things.
