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BSU student designs fun fast fashions
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The desire to have a great piece of original clothing is always a high focus for many people. Some want it so they have something different from everyone else or others just like to have a variety of designs. Of course designer fashion is
rarely affordable.
However, when there is that one item that expresses a person, many take measures to obtain it. Fortunately, not all designer wear requires a person to have immense amounts of wealth.
Students with limited budgets can get clothing from Newfire Paradise Clothing Company and get original designs by a local artist.
In the near future, customers will be able to create their own design via the parent company Newfire from a new faction called Fastshion. Boise State student and Entrepreneur Preston Lewis is the creator, designer and owner of NewFire Paradise Clothing. Fashion for him is not only a job but also a creative outlet.
Lewis always had with an interest in art. He wanted a way to express his graphic designs and have something original to wear, but he also wanted to have something more positive than what had been currently on the market. Thus he created Newfire Clothing.
“I first started designing back in the eighth grade when basically all I had was Microsoft Paint. I started designing graphics just for myself. I thought it would be cool to have a clothing company,” said Lewis, “I figured my dad is an artist who studied art at Boise State and my mom is a marketing manager so I figured what could I use of my parents’ skills to have support for a successful company. So I figured I’d harness the strength of my dad’s graphic design and screen printing experience to my advantage and also use my mom’s marketing skills.”
Lewis started using royalty – free clip art and other image software to learn the basics of graphic design.
He now creates his own designs and draws his inspiration from abstract art, high contrasting colors and other elements in his life.
“I started designing anything from CD covers to stickers to T-shirts, but my main passion was T-shirts. I figured I could just buy my own screen-printing equipment and did that. Then I just sold my first two lines to my friends. By sophomore year I was outsourcing all my fashion pieces to China and other parts of Asia … I then started getting my own T-shirt cuts, then started going to trade shows with my designs with all my stuff in [a] back pack then people started buying and after a couple shows I started buying both spaces.”
He now runs the bulk of his business online as well as doing trade shows. His Website nfparadise.com is his online store where he sells his merchandise and interacts with his clients via blogging and email.
While in 8th grade Lewis created his company and main fashion line Newfire Pardise, a Christian-based clothing line.
“Newfire comes from Revelations 3:16 which says because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am about to spit you from my mouth. So basically I just wanted a clothing line to express not only religious ideals but express the ideal that people need to be anti-complacent and not mediocre and to really stand up for what they believe in … and hold true to that.
So that is what NewFire is: a constantly renewing fire for what you believe in.”
The clothing line follows a style with a fit similar to that of Abercrombie and American Eagle, but designs with an edgy skater-surf-action sports feel to it. The line consists of T-shirts, long sleeves, sunglasses, pins and other accessories.
His newest addition to the Newfire line is called create-a-shirt, in which the client can create a shirt from a batch of designs and logos.
Lewis made about 400 shirts at his last trade show this past summer. He will implement a program into the Website so clients across the globe may create their own shirt via the web.
“Everything is going towards customization … so we wanted to create a feature for my clients to do that and make their own T-shirt,” Lewis said.
Lewis’ newest business endeavor is a company spawned off the idea of create-a-shirt and Newfire. It is called Fastshion.
Fastshion comes from the two words “fast” and “fashion” getting “fast fashion.” It will be an online community where all sorts of people will be able to create their own shirts.
“Fastshion is the idea that everyone should be able to create their own fashion product domestically for high turn around and low cost at good quality,” said Lewis.
The site, which is currently being redesigned, will offer the same custom creating shirt program.
Fastshion will be tentatively available in the next three months. The Newfire Website will have notifications.
Lewis will continue to run his own company after he graduates, but plans to go to work for a multi-national company to see how business is done on a larger playing field with various possibilities.
For more info and a look at the designs of Newfire and purchase merchandise go to nfparadise.com
RYAN RASMUSSEN
Culture Writer
