Melissa Aguilar |
While most college seniors are tentatively plotting their post-graduate lives, UP senior economics major Kahlil Dumas and his best friend Nathaniel Skinner have already broken into the business industry by establishing a line of T-shirts.
Last summer, Dumas and Skinner – a student at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington – founded Darkroom Collective, a clothing company named for Skinner’s interest in photography. While their T-shirt designs are photography-inspired, they’re also influenced by classical and contemporary art.
Last summer Skinner began exploring cyanotype printing, which produces a blue-tinted image that can be transferred to any surface. The first print he made was on a t-shirt, which gave him the idea to expand his photography hobby into something bigger.
“I never really thought about going into the industry or starting my own company,” Skinner said. “But Kahlil really saw something there and encouraged me and encouraged us. He was definitely the one who pushed us forward into something that was more real.”
Dumas is no stranger to the world of entrepreneurship. His father never attended college, but he had the gumption to challenge an architect board in order to start his own firm. Dumas’ father then successfully expanded his company throughout San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles. And like his father, Dumas started his own company at the age of 19.
“I feel like that’s what you’ve got to do at 20,” Dumas said. “You’ve just got to go for it.”
Dumas and Skinner’s passion led the duo in August to the prestigious Liberty Fairs fashion trade show in Las Vegas. While they said it was overwhelming to be among some of the top names of the fashion industry, the trip was a valuable learning experience.
“We really realized where we are, where we want to be … and how to get to where we need to be, which is really wonderful,” Skinner said.
Darkroom Collective has two limited-print shirts available on its website and is expanding to include crewnecks and a summer line. Ultimately, they hope to do “cut and sew” production – the process of being engaged in T-shirt production from of raw fabric to design.
In addition to being a full-time student, Dumas also runs track and is president of the Black Student Union and Pre-Law Society. Skinner belongs to a fraternity and works part-time on top of his coursework.
Yet they both manage to work on the company a little bit each day, Skyping each other and meeting in person when they can.
“I wouldn’t be able to do it with anyone else,” Skinner said. “[Dumas] is the only one who can kind of put up with me, and I’m the only one who can really put up with him. Which is great, because we complement each other really well.”
With graduation on the horizon, both Dumas and Skinner are considering graduate school in a few years. They both hope to secure jobs while continuing to market their company.
“[I want to] see how far I can take this,” Dumas said. “I feel like we can go pretty far.”
Melissa Aguilar is a reporter for The Beacon. You can reach her at aguilarm16@up.edu.
