Meet Lafe James | Creative Director / Designer / Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lafe James and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lafe, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
Physically, I’m from Naples, Florida. Mentally, I come from a place of encouragement, expressive freedom, and a hard work ethic.

Looking back, I believe one of the pivotal moments in my early life was being enrolled in the gifted program in elementary school. That program pulled me out of standardized school, challenged my mindset, and nurtured my creativity. That process has not stopped since.

From a young age, I’ve had a major interest in art, music, cooking, fashion – and I’ve worked in these fields in one way or another throughout my life. Doing so has allowed me to collect a skill set that I put to use in almost every aspect of running my business.

Additionally, having parents, and grandparents that have wholeheartedly supported my projects allowed me to go further and further down the creative rabbit hole with confidence. This collective support and experience have made a significant impact on the person I am today.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My business is split into 2 brands, each with a different product line and business model: The 1923 Trading Co. and the 1923 Clothing Co., simply titled ‘1923’. The 1923 Trading Co. features Florida themed, vintage styled, handmade wood prints. I make these prints in small batches by hand and sell them exclusively in person around Florida at markets and shops. The 1923 Clothing Co. is an e-commerce brand where I design and sell sunglasses and apparel.  Both brands share similar aesthetics, and are bound together with a wood product theme, and a coastal vibe.  I run my brand and business this way to satisfy my creative needs and to have a variety of projects. This ultimately protects myself from burnout or boredom that I find when I run a project with a singular focus.

The woodwork allows me to work with my hands, create a unique product from scratch, and travel around the state participating in various markets and interact directly with my customers. Something that my wife and I really enjoy doing together. The apparel line satisfies the other side of my creative and business needs; personal style, product design, development, manufacturing, photography, branding, and marketing. Unlike the Trading Co., this business model is extremely scalable as I work with manufactures that bring my designs to fruition. This setup allows me to focus on the design aspect of the brand, and leave the production to the pros. However, I didn’t plan it this way from the beginning.  I started the wood print project for fun, and out of a need to create a tangible craft working on my feet.  Spending so much time at a computer as a digital designer was taxing me to the point of needing a physical activity in my life.  So, I’d sign up for a markets, which gave me deadlines to work towards. I produce the wood prints in small batches in my home shop, hit the shows, sell out, and repeat the process. After a couple years of working markets, I started to consider expanding my product line to items that didn’t require me to manufacture by hand, as my schedule was constantly maxed out, and I needed scalability.  Queue the COVID pandemic. In person markets were shut down, and that was the catalyst I needed to develop my e-commerce shop.  Wanting to honor the originality of the wood prints, I launched our first 2 products; a wood watch, and a pair of wood sunglasses.  After a some challenging trial and error with online advertising, I finally hit a groove. Now, I run both brands at the pace that suits me, all while keeping all aspects of my preferred creative process alive and well. I’m able to travel for my wood print business, and run my apparel line while doing so.

However, this was not my first attempt at e-commerce. There were multiple failed attempts before I found my niche. While I was kicking around the idea of designing apparel and sunglasses for 1923, I tried my hand with a few other products. I developed brands and online shops for each. It seems they were never really meant to be. I should’ve known. I never had that 100% feeling with those projects, but I persisted for the experience. The “answer” was right under my nose the whole time; expand 1923 into apparel.  My biggest lessons from my experience in developing and growing my business as I’m describing here is to trust your instinct and focus on one 1 idea at a time.  If you’re the type of person where your first idea is usually your best, and you’ve set out on a new project. Just roll with it, you’re probably right, and see it through to the end before switching gears to something completely different. I would say I wasted a year and a half tinkering with other ideas before circling back to my original plan of expanding my product line. Those failed attempts taught me invaluable real world experience that I am able to put to use in my business today. Work today for your future, love worthy jobs are made, not found.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
So my best friend showed up, he’s staying for the week, and he’s looking for a good time.  What the heck is he doing here? I don’t have time for this! HA! First things first, I put him to work in the shop. There’s no slowin’ down production around here.  After he earns his keep we’ll head to Wynwood, grab some tacos from Coyo, stroll the streets, check out the massive murals, hit up Mr. Kream’s for the sweet tooth, back to the crib, dapper up, off to Prohibition for a steak and see where we can find some chill live music to round out the night.

As a former chef, I’m pretty discerning when it comes to where to eat, and if you’re hangin’ out with me, we’ll be doing a lot of that.  Wynwood is full of delicious places to indulge; KUSH, Doya, Kyu, BAKAN, 1-800-Lucky, just to name a few.  I’m known for throwin’ down in the kitchen, so a haul from La Meat Store and La Guardia Produce to stock up for some home-cooked, 5-star cuisine is in order.

When it comes to finding the latest poppin’ hot-spot, I’m not really the one to come to. Unless there’s some great live music, you won’t find me in bars or mixed in a crowd. But, I’m here to please, and this friend loves a good beer. I let him pick the brewery, and I’ll pick up the tab. Butcher Shop Beer Garden will be the choice spot for this. Now that we got that out of our system, the rest of the week is easy breezy. We’ll hit the gym, chill at one of Miami’s many beautiful beaches, then jump over to the west coast and spend the rest of our time fishing some of our old favorite spots in Pine Island, Naples, and Sanibel. An overnight stay on Cayo Costa, and I send him back home with salty skin and a sunburn.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
From art teachers to colleagues to Youtube channels, several people have encouraged and inspired me along my entrepreneurial journey. It is imperative to surround yourself with like-minded individuals. That said, the person who deserves the biggest shout out for being the number one support of all things in my life would have to be my wife, Jeanne. She has been an undying source of motivation throughout our entire relationship. A brilliant woman, with the patience of a saint, she simply has the ability to see things that I cannot. She is not only a necessity in my personal life but an irreplaceable asset for our business. Having a partner that understands and supports your goals, and is willing to go through the ups and downs of creating a business with you is an absolute must. Life has enough to throw at you and you and slow you down, the last thing you need is a human obstacle by your side along the way. Shout out to Miss Jeanne, my love, my missing link.

Website: www.1923clothingco.com

Instagram: @1923clothingco

Facebook: www.facebook.com/1923clothingco

Image Credits
Photographer: Jeanne Cortés Mural: Jake Kelly