We were fortunate to speak with Jerime and Victoria Winters, founders of Winters Industries, a company dedicated to designing merchandise for the Divine Nine—historically Black fraternities and sororities. Winters Industries has established itself as a trusted source of quality apparel and accessories that honor the heritage and values of these organizations. They share insight on how they built their success, their reality show, and more.
How does Winters Industries differentiate itself from other retail and custom printing companies in the market, particularly regarding the Divine 9 Greek items?
Jerime: I would say we differentiate ourselves by being able to provide unique items to the market, something totally different from what our competition may have. A lot of people, when they come up to our booth and see everything that we have, agree. We just try to expand our product catalog, and that keeps us from running into some of the same pieces that everybody else has, so things won’t look the same.
Can you walk us through the process of creating custom products from concept to final delivery for events like trade shows and conventions?
Jerime: Well, I’m going to let you in on a trade secret that I probably shouldn’t. One of the things that I always tell people when they design something is never design something that you personally aren’t fond of, or the audience isn’t fond of. Oftentimes, you try reinventing the wheel, and you go so far away from the pack that you’re pulling yourself outside of the circle that nobody will fool with it. It’s okay to be different, but you need to be different in a way that still communicates with your buyer. So if it’s something that I’m not interested in per se or I don’t think is fly, I’m not going to put a fraternity or sorority logo on it. The garment that we make has to be nice enough that you would want to wear it without it, and the fact that the fraternity or sorority logo is on it is a bonus.
That’s amazing. How has the demand for custom work like airbrushing, screen printing, and sublimation evolved over the years, and what trends do you foresee in the industry?
Jerime: When it comes to airbrushing, that’s my specialty. I’ve been airbrushing for over 20 years, and when it comes to the D9 space in particular, everybody loves a custom product. Everybody wants to have their chapter or their line name or the unique things that make their chapter different to be displayed on their garments. So airbrushing for me was the perfect marriage, and it takes them back to the old school, and a lot of people appreciate that, young and new. It’s funny because older folks are like, oh, this takes me back to my undergrad years, and younger folks are like, oh, I’m going to kill them with this the whole time. There’s not anything new under the sun.
It’s just new for you guys because you haven’t seen it offered at the level and at the scale that we offer it. As far as the other products like sublimation and screen print, you know, we try to push the limit with the artwork itself. Typically, you’re going to see one to two color designs, and they’re done at a basic level where we put more thought into the actual design just to give it a different layer and a different look altogether. When you start talking about sublimation, it will go as far as you push it.
What are some challenges you face when you’re vending at large-scale events?
Victoria: A few challenges would be inventory for sure. Sometimes when we go to the event, depending on the scale of the event, we may have too many items. You know, we may come with too much product, and, you know, the foot traffic may not be as high as we would like it, or it may be on the opposite side where we don’t have enough product, so inventory sometimes is challenging when it comes down to just showing up. Another challenge would probably be like booth space, you know, things of that nature. Sometimes that can get a little tricky with dealing with other vendors and things like that, so that’s a little challenging every now and then too.
Jerime: Yes, and when it comes down to the booth space and dealing with other vendors, you know, that’s one of the things you’re going to deal with. It’s the nature of the business, and you can learn more about that if you watch Episode 1, which is the pilot episode of our show, Ventures, where we actually experience that firsthand. So, as a viewer, you can see firsthand what that experience is like dealing with other vendors as it pertains to space. To piggyback off of what Victoria was saying about inventory when you go to a national convention, this is the opportunity that you’re going to get every two years to get in front of as many of those members as possible. So, you want to be able to display all of your products.
Here’s the issue with that. All the events take place in the summer. So, if all of the national events take place in June and July, the customer isn’t looking to spend $200, $300 on this coat or this jogging suit or something like that, but we bring it anyway because you have to introduce it to them just to put it on and on. Inception. They have to see that you have these products, and some people are so excited that they purchased them right there, and they don’t care if they have to sit in their closet until October. But that still is a challenge in making sure that you bring the right products at the right time, and the season definitely plays a big part in that.
How do you maintain quality and consistency across the different types of custom print?
Jerime: That’s a balancing act, too, because you want to ensure that whoever your supplier is, or your manufacturer, they’re vetted, and you establish a relationship to where your standard is the standard. For anybody starting a clothing label, a clothing line, it’s a challenge at first because you have to be willing to put yourself out there and go through that process with the manufacturers to make sure that you all are on the same page as it pertains to the level of quality that you expect every time. And also a little nugget is when dealing with manufacturers, you have to be firm on where you draw the line as far as quality goes because, at the end of the day, they’re always looking to make the best profit they can make as a week.
As a manufacturer, it is common to encounter situations where the quality of a product deviates from the established norm after several orders. You have to put your foot down because the moment you let them get away with that, then any opportunity they get to cut a few corners, they will. So you have to be steadfast in your approach as it pertains to the level of quality. And once you establish that with your manufacturers, it could be one, two, three, or four. I know people that have five manufacturers, depending on the products. Once that is established, your customer can come to expect a level of quality from your company.
Let’s talk about the reality show. What inspired you to engage in reality television?
Jerime: Well, I’ve always had the idea for years and years, and we tried to do it years ago, and it failed miserably because we didn’t know what we were doing. And we decided to give it another crack, this time with all the things that we’ve learned since then. That being said, anybody who has seen Behind the Curtain, whether it’s at our show, at our store, or on the road, finds it to be quite interesting. I do it every day, and I’ve been doing it full-time for over 10 years, and it’s interesting to me. I’m learning still at this time, and it’s one of those things that we felt that this story needed to be told, not necessarily just about business, but about family dynamics, about the dynamic of Victoria and I, husband and wife, D9 members as well as owners of the story. This story needed to be told, and I guarantee anybody that’s thinking of starting a business, in business, they’re in business with their family. This is something that they’re going to want to check out.
Aren’t there risks involved in doing reality television? Are you ever concerned about how it may impact your business?
Jerime: I think it could only positively impact our business because it creates exposure for what it is that we’re doing. Currently, some individuals may have a different opinion. They might question the idea of creating a display of their work or demonstrating what makes their business successful, as they fail to see the benefit of inspiring others to enter the same industry. I feel like that is a loser mentality because at the end of the day, what’s for you is for you, and I also feel that competition is good. If someone watches this show and is inspired to start their own business based on what they see, that would be the ultimate success for me. I truly feel that there’s enough money out here for everybody, so I don’t feel any way that putting this out there and letting people see what it is that we do. I don’t see it having a negative effect on our business. I just don’t.
Victoria: When you hear the term reality, you think drama; you think there’s going to be a lot of fighting and bickering and stuff like that going on. I mean, there will be some drama, but this drama reflects our real experiences as vendors at that moment. I know many people associate reality with negativity, but our show is all about positivity. It’s uplifting, entertaining, and guaranteed to make you laugh.
Jerime: Let me say this. I know several people who have been a part of reality shows from a production standpoint and a talent standpoint, and when I tell you the amount of scripting that takes place and storylines they’re trying to pull out of this stuff. A lot of it is fabricated, and it’s fabricated because they’re trying to put together what they think is interesting. I can tell you right now that everything that you see on our show is 100% legit. It’s what we do, and it’s not difficult to be interesting if your life’s already interesting. We’re doing it. We’re doing it. We’re working every day. I work six days a week here at the shop. I’m literally getting up, driving cross-country, flying cross-country to these events. No need to write or sugarcoat anything because it’s all there. And for anybody that is putting out content, or you’re thinking about putting out content and you don’t think it’s going to be entertaining, I can tell you right now, if you’re legit doing what it is that you say you’re doing, there’s an audience for you.
What advice do you offer other people, other entrepreneurs looking to follow your steps as far as creating their own success?
Victoria: As far as creating your own success, my advice would be to be true to yourself, and whatever it is that you’re trying to do. And, see it all the way through, like take it 100% of the way. Don’t stop at 25%, don’t stop at 30%, just keep going, and keep pushing. And whatever it is that you’re trying to succeed in, you will succeed if you just keep going, just don’t give up.
Be’n Original
