The start of Dullboy

Even though the launch of the website feels like the start of Dullboy, in reality, it really isn't.

Over a year ago I started creating Dullboy illustrations on my iPad. I was heavily inspired by the Complex Blueprint interview with Kaws. As you may have already noticed. My other long-time inspirations are artists like Piet Parra, Rhymezlikedimez, and Fucci. At the time I didn't have the ambition to let it be anything bigger than just another creative hobby of mine. Dullboy was not even the only character I drew. I also created skeletons and aliens. But for some reason the Dullboy character as it is now stuck with me. It reminded me of not wanted to be seen, or feeling out of place. A feeling I experienced a lot growing up.

This sparked the idea in me that maybe it could be something bigger?
A message to like-minded people who feel the same. And instead of only making it "sad" in a way. It could be a positive message. This is where the red heart and flowers came into play. The only thing that was missing was a name.

I didn't want it to be too basic like "bagboy" but it still needed to remind you of the feeling I wanted to represent. And then I remembered the nickname an old colleague of mine was using.  It felt like the perfect fit because if you are not doing what everyone who is popular is doing you are considered as "dull" quite fast.  And so Dullboy was born.

Leon if you are reading this, thank you.

So I had a name, idea, artwork, but it still wasn't meant to be a clothing brand.
Until..

Until I walked into the office with one of the bags that I designed. Up until this moment, only a few of my closest friends knew what I was working on. But the bag with my artwork printed on it didn't go unnoticed. And a few of my colleagues/friends even asked if they could buy one from me. Honoured as I was that people actually really liked what I was doing I started doing research on the possibilities of starting a streetwear brand. While at the same time also creating some sweaters for people who were interested. 

And here we are now. Yes, I'll skip the part where I jumped through the many hoops of ordering samples, being disappointed, ordering different ones, feeling like giving up, and all the drama you can expect when wanting to start something.

The only thing that I feel is left to say is that this is only just the start, well kinda..
And that I'm looking forward to building this community and brand into something bigger than just me, my friends, and my early supporters.