Article/Interview by LADY KOOTORE

If you think that the hottest fashions only come from New York, L.A or Japan, well think again because the styles of JWork Limited is coming straight out of Columbus, Ohio. Who is JWork? If you don’t know, then you have been hiding under a rock or something. These brother’s are doing the damn thing and they all are from the capital city. The company consists of Jermaine Jenkins (C.E.O.), Andre Wilson (C.O.O.), Darrell Hunter (C.M.O.) and Trav Dav (Director of Marketing). Did I mention these brothers’s are fine!! I got chance to sit down with them and discuss a little bit of what JWork is about.

LK: So where did the name JWork come from?

J.J: The name came from the basketball slang when you make a shot, your putting in your j work. So since my name begins with a J, it wall worked out for the good.

LK: That’s what’s up! Now how did you get started with doing the clothing line?

J.J.: It started out as a hobby. It was like you thought you had the official jersey but when you would go out to the clubs, or the malls, every one had the same thing. So Andre and I started making jersey’s and jackets and was rockin them at the ice breakers and even BW 3’s on Tuesday nights. People would ask us where we got them from and I would tell them something bogus like Korea (laughs).

LK: (Laughs) that is crazy. What is the hottest jersey you have ever done?

J.J: I made a Lebron James jersey around the time he got drafted. It was something no one else had and this dude wanted to buy it from me for $500.

LK: WOW!! That dude was pretty thirsty! What makes you different from the other designers that are out there locally and nationally?

D.H: What’s so different about us is that we come with an exclusive style that no one else has. We have a style that is unique. When you see our stuff, you will be like wow that’s hot or that’s something I never seen before. We wanted to bring that feel that we weren’t from Columbus. Everything is unique and we are bringing exclusiveness.

J.J.: We aren’t like those so called other fashion designers like Red Monkey. I don’t know what they were trying to do but I guess they thought they were doing something.

LK: So with all of this success, do you have to deal with a lot of haters?

D.H.: We get a lot of love and we get a lot of hate. When the hate comes, we just let it roll of and keep it pushin.

LK: That’s what’s up! Jermaine, you were in the army and you became blind. What was that experience like?

J.J.: That experience for me was crazy because it was like being reborn. I looked at things very differently. I knew I was born to design, so I just went ahead and did what I had to do and go hard at it.

LK: Are the only things that you design are men’s clothing?

J.J.: We have a female line coming out real soon called Lady J which is our sister company. Right now, we have a few professional models that are wearing a few of the pieces now.

LK: How much will people have to come out of pocket, and where can we purchase your items?

J.J.: The shirts are in the $45-$65 range. We are working on our web site which won’t be up until July, but you can order the clothes from our myspace page at www.myspace.com/jworkltd. All of our men’s clothing comes in all shapes and sizes. I have females that come up to me all the time asking if we can make a vest or something for their boyfriend, father or grandpa.

LK: WOW! What keeps ya’ll business growing strong?

D.H.: I feel if you study white people, you will learn how they are getting their money in ever different way. I mean some of them have their money invested in everything.

J.J: Also, you have to make sure you bring in people that will help your circle grow. Like Russell Simmons said at a seminar, you want to bring in people that are smarter than you. If you know more than that person, why are they working for you.

LK: What else is next for JWork?

J.J.: Right now, our main focus is clothing. We tried to do the designing of the shoes but that didn’t work out but we will try and do something for the fashion show that we have coming up on September 12th. We also have the military shirts that we are about to put out. The only difference from ours and everyone else’s is that ours will be authentic.

D.H.: We are also coming out with the J Star jeans that will run about $120 but it will be the raw denim.

J.J.: We are also trying to do a movie with Mirror Love Productions. We want to start a record label. We want to help the community by building recreation centers so kids will have somewhere to go and stay off the street. We want to change the game on how we are perceived as black business men.

LK: I like that! Are all of you single or have families?

J.J.: I have one son.

A.W.: I am happily married.

D.H.: I don’t have anybody. I don’t have any kids or nothing. (Imma have to jump on that for real!)

Trav Dav: I’m chillin.

LK: I want to thank you all for taking the time out to chop it up with me. I wish you all the success in the world and hopefully we will be collaborating in the future.

JWork: Thank you!

Well, there you have it ladies and gentlemen! These guys are doing the damn thing for real. I feel that they are going to put Columbus on the map as one of the top fashion cities. These men are smart, good looking and go getters! I love it! Be sure to be on the look out for this fabulous line of clothing in a store near you or order off their myspace page at www.myspace.com/jworkltd.

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