Today we’d like to introduce you to Wesley Smith.
Hi Wesley, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I wanted to start my own apparel brand dating back to high school. I worked in Retail in sales and then management for roughly 20 years when I launched STANDARD H as a side hustle in 2015. It was during COVID-19 that I could focus 100% of my time on my brand and now I’m thankfully doing it full-time. I’ve always been into cars and clothes, but there weren’t any car-inspired brands of apparel that were depicting the inspiration in a subtle way. It seemed all of the brands were simply screen printing cars on shirts, or printing logos on the apparel. I wanted to create a higher-end feeling brand using robust, yet soft fabrics and presenting them in a far less “obvious” way.
Through the verbiage and descriptions of my products, you’ll soon understand the nuances of design and color usage, for example, and how they stem from the automotive world. The STANDARD H assortment is also very indicative of the Southern California climate, yet built to travel. As the collection has grown, you’re now able to pair different pieces together in the event it isn’t the standard 72 degrees and sunny.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being a small business in the apparel industry can certainly be tough. The largest hurdles I’d say are being able to satisfy manufacturers’ minimum requirements, as well as finding ways to gain brand exposure. As they say, “It’s not always what you know, it’s WHO you know,” and that’s never been more true than in this business.
Gaining exposure is where this comes into play more than anywhere else, so that’s something I’m always trying to manifest because people don’t want to feel “used” either. So it’s a very delicate line to toe. The only other way to really get featured is to pay large sums of money to be hosted on blogs, etc. so I’m incredibly thankful you reached out to me (for free)! Haha.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
STANDARD H focuses on creating understated apparel and accessories for the car and watch enthusiast. There is a ton of overlap between the two communities, and it’s been fascinating to witness the growth of the brand as somewhat of the go-to brand for watch collectors. The apparel has very close attention to detail, and I feel that’s a very common trait among watch and car enthusiasts – they appreciate things that are special and unique, and STANDARD H exemplifies this through its fabrics, construction, and even color choices within the collection.
We launched with a logo-centric product, but that was never the goal as far as what the brand would represent. Since COVID, and ultimately the increase in focus and time dedicated to the brand, the building of the latest styles – namely the Avant T, and the lightweight XK SweatShirt – are the types of products that were meant to really represent the brand from day one. It just took longer to get there than originally planned, yet having them all made right up the road in Los Angeles has been well worth the wait.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out.
This is an easy answer: Trust your gut. Follow your own intuition and really maintain focus on what you’re setting out to do/accomplish. Your company should be your vision, and though you will no doubt receive “advice” and input from others, stick to your original vision for why you started your company in the first place.
As a side note, the STANDARD H Podcast was started as a tool and community-building exercise for anyone and everyone interested in learning more about entrepreneurship and stories on growing businesses. As someone with zero interest in gatekeeping, I thought this would be a great way to not only learn for myself but also share with others.
Pricing:
- Avant T-shirts $68
- XK SweatShirts $95
- Targa Florio Jackets $495
- Shift Logo Trucker Hats $38
- Shift Logo T-shirts $38
Contact Info:
- Website: www.standard-h.com
- Instagram: @standardh_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopstandardh
- Twitter: @standardh_
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBdExF64j2l92-fyPRo0GVA
- Other: https://anchor.fm/standardhpodcast
