By Kevin Barry & Eli Glenn
Co-Editor in Chief & Sports Editor
Hammond High School’s very own Patrick Johnson is redefining the way we think about clothing brands. The Senior, while having a full schedule has simultaneously been starting up a legitimate business in his free time. His brand is called 1 of 1 and he started working on it in December of 2022, during a rough patch in his life. His designs are a representation of how he felt during this time and served as a form of therapy to Patrick. Through meditation and his inspiration from his idol Tupac Shakur, he was able to channel his thoughts and emotions into designs.
One night during his meditation, Patrick saw a drawing made by his then friend and now business partner, Anyla. The picture described by Patrick himself was “a girl and her brain was in the clouds, and that represented how I was mentally, my head was in the clouds.” He went on to say “once I saw that, I texted a designer on Instagram”. This small drawing immediately brought his brand to life, he started brainstorming different designs and decided his first piece of clothing would be a hoodie. Patrick used his clothes as a way of expressing his own thoughts and emotions so he put quotes such as “I’m not here mentally I’m in the clouds” and “stuck in a loop trying to find myself”.
Patrick launched his product by promoting it on social media where he was able to gain some traction and quickly sold out his first small drop of 25 Hoodies. His presence on social media includes public interviews and funny skits in order to bring more eyes to his product. With his second drop Patrick began designing shorts and bikinis. After another successful release, Patrick is looking to make a big mark with his next drop.
Although he makes it look so easy through social media, the manufacturing process for Patrick comes with many hoops and hurdles. Patrick took it upon himself to reach out to manufacturers via Instagram and eventually settled on a man out of Pakistan. The process “takes about two weeks for everything” Patrick explained “1 week to make and 1 week to get to me.” Patrick just sends him the designs and tells him “however much I need, or if I do pre orders it’s based on how many people order beforehand” he went on.
According to Patrick he’s just getting started, “I want my brand to be 6 figures by the end of this year, or by the time I graduate.” he remarked. With a successful start to the brand so far Patrick is only looking to make improvements. You can find ‘1 Of 1’ over at 1of1pieces.com or @1of1pieces on Instagram. Some of Patrick’s most popular clothing says to “be different from the rest and die a legend”. As we slowly head towards the end of 2023, only time will tell how big ‘1 of 1’ can really become.
hhsbearpress.com 