Southern University has always been part of my life.
Five of my siblings graduated from Southern, along with aunts, uncles, cousins, and other members of my family. I grew up surrounded by that pride, history, and tradition, so creating products connected to Southern feels personal to me. It is not just a school logo. It represents family, memories, community, and generations of people who are proud of where they came from.
I have also always been an artist. My career has taken me through art education, design, packaging, product development, and retail, and over the years I have worked on thousands of products for major retailers and private-label brands. I learned how products are developed from the first idea all the way through production, packaging, and the final item a customer sees on the shelf.
When I reached a point in my career where things felt uncertain, I decided to use that experience in a different way. I wanted to take my background in retail and design and combine it with something that actually meant something to me.
That is how this business began.
One of the biggest reasons I wanted to do this was because I kept seeing gaps in the HBCU market. Some schools have plenty of merchandise available, while others have very little. And even when you can find the school you are looking for, the size range is often limited.
As someone who understands what it is like to shop for extended sizes, I wanted plus-size and tall customers to be part of the plan from the beginning, not treated like an afterthought. I want people to be able to find something they genuinely like and feel good wearing, whether they need an XL, 3XL, 4XL, or a tall size.
I also want to create more options for HBCUs that are often underrepresented in the retail marketplace. These schools have incredible histories, loyal alumni, strong family traditions, and generations of school pride. They deserve thoughtful, well-designed products too.
I went through the official collegiate licensing and approval process because I wanted to build this the right way. I believe the schools, their trademarks, and the communities behind them deserve that level of respect.
For me, this business brings together a lot of different parts of my life: art, design, retail, family, HBCU culture, and the experience of knowing what it feels like when the market does not always make room for you.
It started with Southern University, but the bigger goal is to create beautiful, well-made products for more HBCUs and for more people who deserve to see themselves included.
