Help Me Save My Clothing Line

THE REASON WHY WE’RE HERE: They over here not letting niggas be gay y’all!

Hello all , it’s Dez. (@DatCraftyGal) here trying to save my business. As of today June 13, 2020 Printful has stated that they will no longer be allowing me to print “Let Niggas Be Gay” and will not be fulfilling any of my future orders. It’s one thing if they told me this from the beginning but this is after they have already printed and fulfilled over 50 T-shirts and Hoodies for me with this same phrase with no problems. It’s another thing and probably the most important thing, to tell a black queer woman that “Let Niggas Be Gay” is not allowed or is inappropriate. Unless you are racist and/or homophobic there is absolutely nothing wrong with this phrase.

[Orders fulfilled and orders pending]

As you will see in the photo below they admit that is was a mistake on their behalf and uses a copy and paste lie that they support the black and lgbtq community,  but we all know that if that was true this would not be an issue. We know that if this was true, they would hire black and queer people.

[Part of a DM they sent me, email and the public statement they made on Instagram]

So here we are. They say they will fulfill the pending orders but there are another 30+ orders people made before all of this and before I officially closed down my shop. I am stressed over the idea that I have to give all of these people a refund. I am stressed over the fact that this phrase bothers so many people. Something as simple as letting people be who they are and love who they love, especially black people, really makes people angry and uncomfortable. Even more of a reason to not let up. This is far to important. It once seemed impossible for me to do all of this on my own but I’ve been shown so much love and support over the last few weeks so I know it can be done. This money will help me get started making all of my merchandise MYSELF. No more depending on anyone else, no more working with racists and homophobes. No more 6 week long delays. Before this, I thought maybe I could get my shirts done somewhere else but after all that I went through I’m afraid I will have the same problem with others. I want to have full control. This is also important for me because I will be able to help other black and queer individuals if they are looking for this service.

[A list of things to help me get started]

THE STORY
(you don’t HAVE to read this part)

Since I was 17 years old I wanted my own clothing line. I was inspired by the skaters at my school, Culver Park High School; A small continuation school filled with Black & Latinx “delinquents”. Who were taggers. Who were artists. ( One of the students even created the official T-shirt design for the school that I have to this day. ) I was also inspired by streetwear brands like The Hundreds, Johnny Cupcakes, and Obey that were especially popular back in the early 2000s. I was also inspired by the fact that black and poc youth, including myself, were incredibly talented and often overlooked. We were the “bad kids”. We were the kids that got kicked out. The misfits of a very diverse but still..  predominantly white school.

When I graduated high school I decided this was what I wanted.  I made many mock up designs. I had a million different names for my brand ( that were mostly bad. ) I had no idea what it really took to have a clothing line or any kind of business but I was young and inspired and most importantly I was having fun. I was always up to something. Switching my focus from music to doing hair and nails to designing and drawing.. whatever. I shared my ideas with family and friends and even connected with people who believed in my vision and wanted to be apart of it. We would sit in a Starbucks or Friday’s somewhere in Inglewood talking like real adults. haha. Unfortunately , everytime I tried to do things with others it fell through. And I needed people... smart people.. because I had no idea what I was doing lol
So I gave up.
For the time being.

Fast forward, some years later I would find joy in drawing again. I drew because of my partner, my brother, and all of us who loved to draw but gave up when we got older. I would draw because I was depressed and it helped. Then, I drew because I was broke and needed money. Somehow I found a way to make money doing what I enjoyed. Even if it wasn’t much. 

On June 2019 I jokingly posted on Instagram that I should put “Let Niggas Be Gay” on a shirt. By my surprise a lot of people were interested. I’ve been drawing for 4 years by then and it had just clicked in my head that I could try again with my clothing line. I have more experience, more resources... and I am literally a digital artist now. The possibilities are endless. I thought. But let’s start here. So, I did some research, made some mock ups. I found this place called “Printful” where they put your designs on clothing and ship and handle everything for you. Perfect. Ya know... cus I’m broke af. I made the designs, they were sent out, everything was great. Until, it wasn’t.

LET NIGGAS BE GAY!

This phrase may be simple or silly to some but it’s honest and it’s powerful. It’s something I think about constantly.  When I see artists afraid to publicly come out and the backlash they face when they do.

[Young Thug speaking about Lil Nas X coming out]

When I see someone who was kicked out of their home... Children being bullied... People being killed.
I don’t need to tell y’all how tired I am.
but I’m not giving up.
Heres to a new start?