Lemar & Dauley: Show & Prove

I got the chance to talk with Lemar & Dauley co-founder and creative director Kareem Blair in which we discussed a little bit more than what was the next line they were working on orwhat’s in and what’s not; we talked about how Lemar & Dauley became Lemar & Dauley and how important it is to whenever anything is created whether it’s an album, a training seminar, or presidential speech, it must come from a place of passion and purpose. One must stay true to the art and not make a piece of clothing just because you can. The reality for Kareem and Lemar & Dauley is to fight to preserve a culture that gets diluted through multi-million dollar corporations on a daily basis and whose only goal is to make a dollar. Lemar & Dauley is here to help bring back the innocence of a culture which is bigger than any dope tee.

Scheme: What were some of the frustrations and hardships you three had to go through to get this line off the ground and running? I work for a non-profit for my 9-5 which is comprised of a staff of five people and the struggle is to get more work done with less personnel and on top of that they need money to stay funded so they can compensate the people they have working. What was it like for all three of you guys to get through that process?

Kareem: Man we actually haven’t gotten through it yet (laughs). There’s still just three of us and we handle everything in house, we do our website on our own, we design our line, we do a lot of free-lancing for bigger companies to get those checks in between. Brian (Bachelor) handles all our sales and together we handle marketing, Brian’s our event planner when we do collabos with other companies and I do all of our creative direction with Manhattan and the ads we’re about to place this season. We’ve just gotten to the point where we can hire staff.

Scheme: In a previous interview you talked about exposing what other people (lines) don’t have or lack, what do you see those weaknesses being and how do you capitalize on those?

Kareem: One of the things we’ve noticed is people specifically in the industry of entertainment people are afraid to be themselves. I hear a lot of insecurities and we all suffer from them but what I notice in brands is they’re a reflection of the individual behind them. What I’ve noticed about a lot of these brands is they play up on a lot of stereotypes and trends on what they believe the people want rather than just be themselves. We’re just us and sometimes you’re going to like us and sometimes you’re not going to like us. That’s okay because that’s human and people can actually decide whether they want to be a part of what you represent or not and I feel like a lot of these brands try to be everything to everyone and it might be good now but eventually it’s unhealthy.

Scheme: In the United States of America everyone’s concern is producing better education systems for children with better teach quality. Talk about your experiences with your education and your 9-5 jobs and how those experiences played a role in the line that you three have and are developing.

Kareem: Well I think the first thing to let you know is that I’m an advocate for education. I don’t necessarily believe that everyone has to go to a institution to be educated but I do believe that whatever goal people have in life they should educate themselves at least to that. So if you want to know about graphic design, you don’t have to know everything else but at least learn everything in your field of interest because at the end of the day you have still have to compete and you have to know your weaknesses and your strengths and you have to play on them.

As far as our frustrations we all have them, when you’re 19 or 20 years old truthfully you’re still not disciplined to what keeps you sitting in that class. I think in the earlier stages that was our frustration, but when we had to be in real life and be these young males in very quote un quote adult type situations you grow up quick and learn that you can’t get through this unless you have some type of discipline, patience, direction and focus. You have to stay rooted in what those goals are and you have to stay rooted to achieve them, it’s not one week you work and the next week you chill.

“It’s a very competitive city and to actually make a New Yorker show you support for what you do…that’s damn near an impossible task, because in New York everybody is a somebody.”

Scheme: I read that you guys were self-taught. Coming into a major industry like fashion was that ever intimidating to you guys?

Kareem: Nah, I’m 25 now and I was 19 when we started as far as getting a Apple computer and learning these programs. Our homegirl would sneak us in the school and she would get us one i.d. card and we would keep having to pass it back until we were all in the lab and we got up there and saw what all the college kids were working on. We realized that there was a lot of stuff we didn’t know and we figured we needed to learn at least a third of this before we could really go at this. First thing we learned is that you have to have good aesthetics as an artist and also we just wanted to get nice with the computers because at that age we didn’t have the business savy. So I forced myself into business and science libraries which was very uncomfortable at first and you pick up these books and you don’t know what you’re learning but you’ve been told more than a few times that you’re supposed to know this.

Scheme: Speaking of books and I don’t know if you guys are at liberty to talk about the book you guys are coming out with, but why the book route instead of a film or another media route?

Kareem: Right now it’s a book but we’re still working on the developmental stages but we see in the development that it’s going to be a lot more evolved by time the book comes out. So it’s turning out to be more of a multi-media type of project where chapters will be divided into DVD as well as have photo albums and collage shows and we’re working on motion graphics. It’s going to be a pretty ambitious project. The reason we’re doing this is because I feel like there’s a story here but is it being told? I feel like we’ve accomplished something that is pretty impressive in one of the most difficult cities on the globe. It’s a very competitive city and to actually make a New Yorker show you support for what you do…that’s damn near an impossible task, because in New York everybody is a somebody.

“People change but that was expected, no one that has supported us in the past has stopped supporting us so we’re blessed but it’s difficult and definitely a coming of age when you witness people that didn’t believe now jock you.”

Scheme: That’s interesting because the industry is so saturated with clothing lines and everyone is in it for the long run, what is your opinion on the multiple clothing lines that pop up every second and their true motives?

Kareem: I mean that’s going to be in every industry, I used to dwell on it but now I’m like we’re so in our own zone as far as what we want to do an accomplish that I really don’t look at a lot of these brands like that. Like if I still hear from you for two or three summers then you’ll get my attention but when you first drop no disrespect, I don’t even pay any attention because I know most of these brands are fly-by-nights and won’t last because even when you get past the design element there’s a whole new world. Let’s say you sell a couple of units, it just only then begins, this is a very fickle market we’re in. They like you in 07′ but they talk about how you don’t design like you used to in 08′. So I need people to get beyond that and see that this is more than just that. I think it goes back to being yourself and you are who you are and when people know exactly what it is they’re excepting than they feel like what you do is a reflection of who I am for that I feel like if you’re going to have a lackluster or an alright season but I’m still going to except you for what you’re doing and I still support you. The minute you realize you ain’t the “it” that’s when everyone leaves you and I feel like that’s what happens with a lot of these brands.

“That’s one of things we always get into with out manufacturers, they’re always telling us we have to design a year in advance and we could do that but when that stuff drops a year from now I don’t know if we’re going to feel like the same as we did when we created it.”

Scheme: The trio of Lemar & Dauley have been friends for 10 plus years what has it been like seeing the different changes in other people from the beginning until now?

Kareem: That’s a good question, no one has asked me that yet but we talk about that often. People change but that was expected, no one that has supported us in the past has stopped supporting us so we’re blessed but it’s difficult and definitely a coming of age when you witness people that didn’t believe now jock you. It’s like you never believed and now you’re always coming around. Especially women who may have went another direction but now they call you frequently. On a personal aspect it’s very interesting to watch people’s behavioral patterns. If anything I’m blessed that we were prepped for it. Manhattan and myself are pretty pessimistic people so when it happened it didn’t affect us the way it would’ve affected some other people.

Scheme: Without giving away too much of your strategy, how far ahead do you guys think? Say you just drop a summer line do you immediately say, now we have to think about fall? So do you ever feel like you’re on vacation?

Kareem: Yeah you do, we don’t. Basically because we’re a three man team not only would we lose ourselves in the chaos but we would also tarnish the sentiment of the company. It’s very difficult thing to grasp like people can design and have great business sense but that sentiment and that feeling and passion that’s behind what it is you do, that just comes. We try not to rush into next season unless we’re mentally and artistically prepared because you’ll design a good season and make another tee, jacket or hoodie but it can lack that sentiment if it’s not authentic. That’s one of things we always get into with out manufacturers, they’re always telling us we have to design a year in advance and we could do that but when that stuff drops a year from now I don’t know if we’re going to feel like that a year from now. We do lose out some financial dollars from doing it this way so from a business standpoint I hope we can find a better formula but for right now know one is eating ramen noodles so I ain’t mad at it (laughs).

Scheme: You guys recently did an event with Vibe Magazine. What’s it been like to have the opportunity to establish your business and then collaborate with these major publication mediums?

Kareem: Brian handled that so I can’t speak for him, but we’ve also done stuff with DC Shoes,\ and we’ve done the apparel division for Kid Robot. Perception is crazy because as hard as we work every meeting we go into it’s still a prove yourself type of situation. It’s never like they’ve come this far look at all the things they’ve done. So we still have to prove that people are observing the stuff that we do, we can come through with the stuff we say we’re going to do. Even the Vibe party I think they were still a little bit unsure at first but it was a huge success and now they’re like what else do you guys have planned?

Scheme: So what is the ultimate scheme for Lemar & Dauley and where do you want to see it at its peak?

Kareem: I don’t know if I really want to see it at its peak. I mean everything has a peak but the peak that I have I really don’t think I want to understand how we got to that point. One day Lemar and Dauley might not be a clothing line anymore it could be a gallery or museum that houses street culture I don’t know, but I feel like we want to evolve Lemar and Dauley into something that’s more than just a fashion line. I want the clothes to be secondary, I want to preserve culture, when we through that party for Vibe people kept telling us it didn’t feel like an industry party, they we’re saying it felt like a house party. We’re living in very tough times and we want to bring back that time when things weren’t necessarily happy but just innocent. Ultimately I want Lemar and Dauley to evolve into a forum of creativity.