Some Ohio University students apply for jobs at dining halls or bookstores when on campus to earn some money, but one student decided to go another route.
Elijah Justice, a freshman studying graphic design and minoring in marketing, manages, runs and designs Lost Legends, a custom-made T-shirt line created in April 2012.
“I wanted to (name it) something that everybody could relate to,” Justice said. “I feel like everybody wants to be remembered somehow, so I established a brand to represent individuals with unique, unknown talent.”
Justice, who was voted “best-dressed” in high school, sells his merchandise online and in person to OU students. The most expensive T-shirt online costs $20, and the most expensive in person costs $18 because it doesn’t require shipping, Justice said.
After ordering his first release of 50 T-shirts, costing $500 to cover the price of the shirts and printing, Justice said he felt it was worth it to go through with the businesskf398711@ohiou.edu. But in order to get started, Justice had to save a lot more money.
“Mostly, I didn’t like what the popular fashion houses were doing, the simple designs they made, (and) they charged so much money,” he said. “I really wanted to make my own mark in the fashion industry.”
Although Justice is still new to managing his own clothing line, many of his customers enjoy and appreciate the service they receive, including Chris Constable, a freshman studying math education.
“I wear (my Lost Legends shirt) all the time,” Constable said. “My family was really impressed with it. I picked up two more; I bought one for my brother and (one for) my cousin for Christmas.”
Customers also note Lost Legends stands out among other brands and provides satisfactory customer service, said Scott Leonard, a freshman at University of Cincinnati studying electronic media.
“I was immediately impressed with the unique and innovative designs, things that I wasn’t used to seeing in other brands,” he said in an email. “The shirts were delivered extremely quickly, along with a custom sticker and a note thanking me for my purchase. I felt like I was buying into a movement, rather than just buying clothing.”
Justice said that after he thinks of a design, it becomes a detailed sketch that he has a group of close friends critique.
“What I mainly want to do is make products that people haven’t seen or are not used to,” Justice said.
In an effort to sell originally designed clothing, Lost Legends could be welcoming hats and beanies to its site, which currently only sells T-shirts, in a nod to the cold winter months, Justice said.
Justice said he hopes to expand his business not only in the state but throughout the entire country. He continues to draw in customers primarily by word of mouth and social media. Lost Legends is on Facebook (Lost Legends Clothing) and Twitter (@WearLostLegends). Its website is Lostlegendsclothing.storenvy.com.
“I look forward to seeing how this brand grows and evolves in the coming years,” Leonard said.
kf398711@ohiou.edu
