Today we’d like to introduce you to Donnell Franklyn.
Donnell, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Everything started from a creative standpoint in high school. I had a graphic design class. I wanted to pursue graphic design as a major in college but I went to college on a basketball scholarship and both were too time-consuming so I was forced to change my major to Sociology. But I continued to do things in graphic design in my spare time. This went on for years and one day I came up with a name (ybOrdinary) and a logo just messing around if I were to ever do a clothing line. I sat on the name and logo for over a year before I ever did anything with it. I would just show it from time to time to people whose opinion I respected and asked what they thought of the name and the logo, not even telling them what it was for or anything.
People liked it a lot. From there I started to do research on starting a business etc…until one day a good friend told me to just do it. So I got enough courage to put together about 30 shirts and sold out. At this point, I still didn’t really know what I had or what to do next until one day someone asked: “when are you dropping some more shirts?” Now I have a demand. From that point, I started to take things more seriously and educate myself on creating the brand I have today.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
No, I can’t say its been a smooth road. It’s been a grind. A lot of trial and error. But its a learning experience. Anything you pursue it will be bumps in the road, but ultimately that’s how you learn. I just learned to fall in love with the grind of it all and have fun with it.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with ybOrdinary Clothing – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
The name of my brand is ybOrdinary Clothing. The letters “yb” is basically an acronym for the words “why be”. You put in together and you have “ybOrdinary” (why be Ordinary). It’s basically a mindset, a way of life. Not afraid to go against the norm. It’s easy for a person to be a follower, it doesn’t take much thought or effort to follow, but in order to lead you to have to be able to be confident in oneself and one’s ability, a thinker, as well as demand respect.
One of my brand mottos is “Why Fit In When You’re A Stand Out”. This is always been my way of life. I’ve always made it a point to stand out, never been afraid to stand on what I believed in and be a leader. ybOrdinary Clothing specializes in shirts, caps, hoodies, jackets, backpacks, women’s dresses, and continuing to expand. I’m most proud of the growth over the years of the brand. What sets us apart I feel is that other brands aren’t doing what we are doing. I think we are raising the bar in certain aspects.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Plans for the future are just to stay consistent. Continue to touch the people with new gear, keep setting the bar, and to continue to have fun with it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ybordinaryclothing.com/
- Email: ybordinaryco@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yb_ordinary/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ybOrdinary/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/yb_Ordinary
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