GO-GETTER: Johmar Thomas and Blue Monkey Clothing

Blue Monkey Clo. is an independent brand out of South Florida that specializes in exclusive and unique urban street fashion, from your basic graphic tees to cut and sew button ups. The name “Blue Monkey” derives from the creative mind of Johmar Thomas who is a graphic designer by trade and is always coming up with new ideas. Combining two of his favorite things, the color blue and the primate species, along with the drive and determination to bring creative and unique product to the masses, the Blue Monkey Clo. brand was created.

Tell readers about your business and what type of products you specialize in?

Johmar: First of all I want to say thank you to Stacks Mag. for this opportunity and hello to all the readers, thank you for your interest.

Blue Monkey Clo. is an urban street fashion brand out of South Florida. We strive to produce unique and creative product for customers. One way we do that is by applying feedback we receive from family, friends and customers to obtain a better product. Our main products are apparels, t-shirts, cut & sew shirts, hoodies and crew neck sweatshirts. We also sell promotional items like stickers, blankets, buttons and even shot glasses with our trademark logo.

How long have you been in business for and how did you come up with the name Blue Monkey Clothing?

Johmar: We have been in business for three years. The first two years we were basically feeling our way through, trying to understand which direction we would go and how we would go about it.
The idea for Blue Monkey came in 2012. Being a graphic designer, I’m always thinking of new ideas and trying to find the best platform to produce those ideas. One day I was sitting around thinking “people come to me all the time to design and print a t-shirt for them, why can’t I start producing my own.” Over the next couple of days I began to brainstorm different ideas. The combination of two of my favorite things, the color blue and primates, sparked my interest and eventually I settled on that. The name is both unique and creative, exactly what I wanted to bring to the brand. Shortly after, I contacted an amazing artist, friend and classmate of mine by the name of Christa Hoskins. Since I wasn’t the best at hand drawn illustrations, she sent me a few sketches and we decided on what is now the Blue Monkey logo.

Has the shoe game made a big impact on the designs of the shirts you sell?

Johmar: Early on the shoe game only had a small impact on the type of shirts we designed, but as we started to push the brand more, that began to change quickly. Around the inception of Blue Monkey I was working at Nike and the majority of people that came in looking for shoes wanted a matching outfit or at least a matching shirt. Taking what I learned from that, I began to talk to people I knew in the sneaker head world to start producing shirt geared toward the shoe game.

What shirt design is currently your best seller?

Johmar: Currently our “Blame Game” design is our best seller, we still have customers requesting product with that design so our plan is to bring it back. Our newly released “Lady Liberty” design is giving it a run for it’s money though, the shoe game has been gravitating to that one.

Would you ever consider selling clothes for children?

Johmar: Yes definitely, that has been a request from a lot of our customers so we will be transitioning towards offering things for children.

Where do you see Blue Monkey Clothing at in the next three years?

Johmar: In the next three years I see Blue Monkey even more involved in the shoe game with shirts, socks and other products for customers to wear with their shoe of choice. I also see Blue Monkey reaching a lot more people. With the use of posts and hashtags through Instagram, Facebook and Twitter the Blue Monkey brand has an endless possibility of the customers it can reach.

Is there anything you would like people to know about you?

Johmar: I am originally from Jamaica and have been living in South Florida since I was about 4 or 5. I am hard working and determined to bring some of the best designs to customers and to make a bigger foot print in the shoe game in the coming years. Along with being the creative mind behind Blue Monkey Clo., I am also the founder of Elsisco Designs, my graphic design company. Readers can contact me via www.elsisco.com from their design needs.

Tell readers more about your Elsisco Designs company?

Elsisco Designs is my graphics design company that focuses on all aspects of design and creativity. We specialize in graphic design, logo design, screen printing, t shirt design, advertising, photography, social media, typography, and more.

How can readers keep in contact with you through social media or your business website?

Johmar: Instagram or email would be the best way for readers to contact me. Instagram @bluemonkeyclo & @_elsisco. To contact me via email, I can be reached at bluemoney@elsisco.com or johmarthomas@elsisco.com.