Jedidiah| Always Working, Always Giving

Written By: Jeremy Seick

This company has proven itself to be more than a t-shirt company, and even more still than a full, trending clothing line. Jedidiah has taken something that anyone could have done, stepped it up a few four or five notches and then they gave it meaning and a purpose. This is where your basic need of clothing crosses paths with the basic needs of those less fortunate. This season it is the needs of homeless youth. By purchasing a piece of Jedidiah clothing not only are you creating awareness for the featured organization Stand Up For Kids, but a portion of your cost is getting donated to help keep kids off the streets. Jedidiah has done an incredible job of showing how hard work, perseverance and a sold out heart for the less fortunate is going to change our world. We are stoked to bring you this interview and give you a bit more insight into what the Fall season will be looking like over at JedidiahUSA.com.

Thank you all so much for talking with us! First off, where did the inspiration for this Fall Line come from? And can you talk specifically about a few pieces?

Kelli Larson (Design Director): For our Fall 2011 line, we partnered with the organization Stand Up For Kids in a commitment to help homeless kids in the US. In 2010, we traveled around the country with the StandUp For Kids team, meeting with leaders from the organization in Los Angeles, New York City, and Miami. These specific locations, as well as the documentation taken from the trip, served as the inspiration for these collections.

Our LA delivery is primarily inspired by Venice beach / punk rock / hesh influence. Falling into this delivery is our Coastal Jacket, a quilted nylon jacket with black metal trim. We love this jacket because of its unique fabrication & lightweight comfort. For our Miami delivery, our focus was the Cuban/Latin influence there as well as the military tie in. One of our favorite pieces in Fall is our Utility Jacket, which hence the name, has a utilitarian vibe with subtle military detailing. It is made up of a heathered 8 oz. twill with unique flap pocket detailing and black metal trim. And lastly, our delivery for New York is heavily naval inspired, which is why you see so many graphics revolving around ships & the sea. Check out our favorite men’s graphic tee in this delivery: Steamboat.

What is your process for designing out a line? Does it come to you one idea at a time more sporadically or do you sit down and plan out the look and flow?

KL: We are always first inspired by the organization we are partnered with for the season. This makes developing a theme for the collection somewhat easy, as we are generally inspired by a specific location (or several locations) in which the organization works and the people they influence. Most of the time, we try to take a trip with the partnered organization to the places where they work in order to get a better idea of what they do and experience first hand the people, culture, sights and sounds in that region. From there, we develop inspiration boards that help us narrow down the direction we want to go for the line and help to inspire us graphically.

What can you tell us about the organization Stand Up For Kids? Why did Jedidiah decide to sponsor them this season?

Woodbury Roland (PR Coordinator): StandUp For Kids is a national non-profit whose mission is to improve the lives of homeless teenagers and at-risk youth. Like all the non-profits we work with, our relationships stem from knowing who they are and what they do. We got to know SUFK about 4 years ago because of our involvement with The Switchfoot Bro-am.

Over the years we have met their staff, traveled to see a variety of their drop-in centers and learned about their culture and the work they do. They are almost entirely run by dedicated volunteers across the country. Some of these folks are truly modern day heroes for me, the effort and passion they put into these marginalized kids is so inspiring. It was easy to choose them for one of our seasonal campaigns.

What inspires you daily to continue to work for social justice?

Kevin Murray (CEO): Great question, I am really energized by the whole concept that our business can make a difference in the lives of others. When we first started down this path in 2004, people thought we were crazy and this concept would never work. But I believe in my core that social enterprises will have the greatest impact on ending the cycle of poverty and human suffering here and abroad. Governments have proven pretty inept at tackling these issues and faith based organizations have carried the burden far too long. I am inspired to be part of a business community that puts giving as a line item on our income statements. I hope in some way we can inspire other businesses and industries to do the same.

What is the environment like at the Jedidiah office on a typical day?

Mark Bubb (Marketing Director): There are a lot of cubicles, and we all have to work in silence! (Laughs) It is actually one of the most casual offices I have worked in. There are no real cubicles, it is an open floor plan which makes it feel more like a hang out and less like an office. Every now and then we play a few pranks on each other, and for a while had a 1st Floor vs. 2nd Floor Nerf gun rivalry going, that lasted about 2 months! Don’t get the idea that work doesn’t get done, I assure you it does, but our environment seems to draw better creativity out of us, and makes for a more welcoming scene for our ambassadors, interns, and family. At the end of the day, we want to do good, have fun doing it, and feel good about what we were able to accomplish for our partners like StandUp For Kids.

Talk to us about Jedidiah’s continued connection to the sport of surfing.

KM: As a brand, our genesis was here in San Diego and in the surf community. From day one we were never really a typical surf brand. We always wanted to use art and emotion to tell the stories of the brand, not icons and logos. We don’t sponsor surfers and we don’t advertise in the trade magazines, but we do offer a different brand perspective than anyone else in the surf community. Our model of embedded generosity I think resonates with many in the surf community. It is about giving back more than you take, it is about leaving the world a better place for people coming after you. I think the essence of a surf lifestyle fits this model as well.

To what would you contribute the success of Jedidiah Clothing thus far?

KM: Never giving up, never quitting and always trying to improve each season. One success is usually built on the backs of 100 failures, we’ve made a bunch of mistakes along the way. I hope we continue to learn how to be a better brand and better people.

What is coming in the near future that you are looking forward to at Jedidiah?

WR: Many things! We are looking forward to partnering with StandUp For Kids for the next six months as well as our following Spring/Summer 2012 partnership with NIKA water. The Jedidiah team also just launched Made For Good, a collection of like-minded brands that use a model of embedded generosity to raise money and awareness for charitable organizations through sales. We are all excited to grow Made For Good in order to increase the footprint of the work Jedidiah has been doing for a decade. To learn more about this new company, visit www.madeforgood.com

Any final thoughts you would like to share with the readers?

KM: Changing the world usually starts with changing yourself. No matter who you are, no matter what you do, no matter where you live, you can make a difference in your world. We all have a voice, don’t be afraid to let yours be heard.