“I’m just trying to help people find themselves”
Evan is the founder of Encourage Life Originality, a digital t-shirt company with a
heavy focus on the epicness of the individual and on helping people find themselves
through art, no matter what that art form may be. He has currently designed
over 200 shirts that are all available on his website, with new
ones being added daily.
The Basics
Year: Sophomore
Age: 20
Major: Art Studio
Hometown: Armonk, NY
Fun Stuff
Biggest inspiration: The idea of the individual
Favorite places in NOLA: Audubon, French Quarter
His favorite shirt: “Higher Learning”
His other art mediums: Painting, drawing, photography, graffiti, interior design,
anything that showcases that it came from him
Getting Down to Business
How did it all get started?
I’ve always had kind of an artistic eye and I designed my high school class shirts… I
definitely do it for the love and not the money but at the same time I really want to
have enough money to travel and support my family… this way I’m doing something
that I love while still having time to enjoy life.
How do you balance school and your business?
I promised my parents school would come first and it’s not really about the
money right now. You have to make sure school comes first because without
that foundation you can’t do anything really. At the same time you have to stay
motivated, it really is possible to do everything and not get overwhelmed.
What do you think is the coolest thing about your shirts?
I like to tend to people’s needs/wants but I also try to make designs that kinda
change people’s perspectives. I can also completely customize the shirts to
individuals, for example, one shirt actually has my friend’s face integrated into it and
it’s really fun and he can wear it around campus. I did another for my friend who
is a rapper. I’m all about trying to help out the other kids who are like me, trying
to make it while in college. I also really like doing the fraternity and sorority shirts.
Since it’s a print-on-demand set up, it doesn’t cost extra for just one person to get a
shirt and you don’t have to buy it in bulk. Basically, I want to make sure what you’re
seeing in your head is what you’re getting.
Do you have any advice for other entrepreneurs?
Write everything down, I catch myself almost being a little anti-social at times
because once it’s in my head I have to get it out there… and just share your ideas
with other people, have them comment positive or negative and tell me their ideas
so I can try to work around that.