Shelby Hickox: Tell me a little about yourself. Where are you from? What’s your
major?
Jeremy Dreyfuss: I’m from Westport, CT and I’m a CGS student going into COM. I
will be majoring in Film and Television and minoring in Advertising.
SH: Tell me a little bit about Species Apparel.
JD: Last year I started [Species Apparel] spontaneously in my dorm room. I had the
creative impulse to start something and I’ve always been into fashion and clothing.
There’s a lot of causes I’ve cared about my whole life and animal protection has been
one of them. I felt like, why can’t I do something creative that makes a difference in
some way?
SH: How did you get started?
JD: Well I was influenced by a company that makes similar clothing called APLIIQ. I
really liked their pocket detail design because I think it’s simple but creative.
They’re based in LA, and I had been really into their stuff. But APLIIQ’s shirts are
like $30 and I thought it was too expensive so I wanted to do something similar but
cheaper.
I started learning how to sew-I knew nothing about how to do that prior to last
year. I used some money that I had saved and bought a sewing machine and played
around with it for a few weeks and I don’t know how but if just broke on me and
derailed my whole process. How was I going to start something–pocketed T-shirts- if
I didn’t have a machine?
I started taking sewing lessons in Arlington, MA- I had to take two buses to get
there. There I met an instructor who was very supportive and helpful. I took
about three lessons with her and she ended up giving me a 1950s SINGER sewing
machine. I thought the older machines wouldn’t be as efficient, but I’ve made
hundreds of shirts with it- it’s heavy, made of metal.
SH: How did you go about launching Species Apparel?
JD: Last year I was in LA for a month and a half living by myself and I made it a
goal when I went out there to make strides to launch it after some time. Last May I
launched the website and started running the operation online.
The first summer was important for me because after launching it, I really made it a
goal to promote it as much as possible in my hometown of Westport. I reached out
to a lot of friends who have a similar appreciation of fashion and cool clothing.
I knew I’d have a good audience in my town-especially over the summer. My friends
go to school all over the country. When they went back to school to different places
it helped me develop a good fan base in places like UVM and Michigan and places I
could rely on and reach out to specifically. That first summer is when things really
started.
SH: Did you always have an interest in clothing design? Is clothing design something
that runs in your family?
JD: I don’t think my family influenced me or anything-my older brother has also
always been into fashion. I guess he kind of served as an inspiration for me as in
making me aware of my appearance really.
But no one really got me into it, I just sort of got into it myself and I like the
originality and how cool and bold certain companies are with fashion styles. I
appreciate companies that are on the cutting edge.
Adding the animal dimension to my brand gave a real cause for it, and made my
product original. I didn’t want to offer something that someone else offered already.
SH: What is your favorite piece that you’ve made so far?
JD: That’s a good question-I really like how over the past two months or so I’ve had
the chance to improve my products. In the past I had the standard Hanes beefy tee
that was good and held up, but nothing special because I wasn’t working with that
much money. I really have enjoyed working with the high-quality crew neck tees and
sweatshirts. They’re really good sellers.
I want to be able to offer the best product that I can-and the new crew and V-necks
are extremely comfortable and affordable so those are probably my favorites.
SH: What are some of your goals for Species Apparel?
JD: Well something important that I haven’t talked much about yet is that a portion
of every purchase goes to Wild Aid, a non-profit organization that leads campaigns
all over the place to save animals. For example, right now their campaign is to help
prevent the killing of elephants for their tusks.
So my goal is to raise as much money as possible to help their campaigns and make
more of an impact than I am right now. I want to donate as much as I can while still
improving my products and staying in business at the same. time.
SH: How much do your pieces cost?
JD: Well, Snap backs are $20
Girls Tanks are $22
Tank tops are $20
Crew Neck Sweatshirts are $39.99
Beanies are $19.99
And Mens button-down shirts are $54.99
SH: Where can readers buy your clothing?
www.speciesapparel.com
Learn more about out Species Apparel on
Facebook,
Twitter and
Instagram!
