Deep-Dive With Aaron Dezonie, C.E.O of Dark Circle Clothing

DARK CIRCLE DEEP DIVE
In this episode, Steven is in discussion with Aaron Dezonie of DARKCIRCLE. They talk in detail about culture, passion and the journey of cultural expression that is DARKCIRCLE.
Aaron talks about his art and the power of words to create different narratives for different people. To understand in depth how the creation of DARKCIRCLE combined cultural expression with a vision, encapsulated in a successful business listen in.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Who are You?
Aaron Dezonie, Creative Director of DARKCIRCLE Clothing.
We started out of my bedroom in 2007. It was a way to express myself and have fun.
The Culture
The name DARKCIRCLE originally comes from my group of friends at that time, that’s what we called ourselves.
Not many others wanted to listen to the music we wanted to listen to or go to the places we wanted to go to. We created an environment for ourselves where we could listen to our music and be creative, that included stuff like sketching, writing raps and most importantly, for me, product design.
The Journey
I was part of a DJ crew who worked across the US and Europe, this fulfilled me being part of the culture, but I still wanted to find a way to express myself.
Art has always been my passion, but I didn’t feel there was a market or platform for the type of art I wanted to create.
I initially started creating graphic images on T-Shirts, by hand, for myself and my friends as an outlet for my artistic expression.
Then it clicked and I realised this was my canvas because the type of art I’m interested in is bold typography in a contemporary, minimalist context.
People started asking us to make T-shirts for them and that’s how DARKCIRCLE came into being.
The Business of Fashion
The original DARKCIRCLE members moved onto other things and I was the only person who was still doing what we had originally started.
I never considered making a business out of it until I met other like-minded people who helped me understand what it was I wanted and what I wanted to achieve. They showed me that I could make money out of it and that people would be interested in my vision.
Overcoming Adversity
We rented expensive offices and spent money on stock that we never received. I went from the high of people giving me money to wear my art, to the low of having no money and losing everything.
I walked away from it, but while I was doing other things I was always thinking about how I could get back into it.
I had an opportunity to get involved with Candy Store and this led to my association with Trapstar. Seeing their team in action made me realise they were running a business and that I had to do the same for DARKCIRCLE
Mentors
The unofficial mentorship from Mikey at Trapstar was a game changer. He helped me to understand that you have to sort out and understand your business to move forward towards your vision. At the time I didn’t realise how important a mentor is but on reflection, it was a key component for me in the business.
The Power of the Word
Words to me are my pictures – the concept of DARKCIRCLE is the words, fundamentally it is a play on words.
I love the power of words – I wanted to see if one word could paint a thousand words. I never give my words context because I want my customer to bring their own context and story.
The Matter of Education
Being at school never felt important, what I learnt from school were the playground politics – learning how to communicate with people, understanding why someone likes or doesn’t like you.
My education didn’t come out of the education system, I fell in love with learning when I found something I wanted to learn about.
Collaborating
Collaborations have pushed our boundaries and are an important element of our evolution.
The Richard Hambleton collaboration was an opportunity to work with someone I really looked up to. It gave DARKCIRCLE credibility and opened new doors for us.
The collaboration with the artist Schoony was about us working together in the same space at the same level. Both collaborations provided validation through the publications we were featured in.
A Bigger Collective
Other people have skills that are different to mine but are key to ensuring the business moves forward, they can contribute towards a collectively shared vision.
People might not have their own vision, but they want to be a part of yours and they can contribute more than you, the founder, can in some areas.
The vision for DARKCIRCLE is now as part of a bigger collective where other people are part of that journey this includes our customers. I want to engage with my customers better so I can understand about their Dark experience.
BEST MOMENTS
‘I don’t consider DARKCIRCLE a fashion brand it’s a cultural expression, It’s an expression of our interpretation of what's happening’
‘Just had a different outlook to our peers at that time’
‘How do we put our stamp and flag on that, the way that we do it, At that time it felt unique and different’
‘It can mean a million things but it's important that people make their own story’
‘Just trying to make a cool product that people can enjoy’
‘The people who inspire me are those who were put aside because they weren't academic enough’
‘If you want something and you are willing to put time into it there's nothing you can’t do’
‘It says DARKCIRCLE - there is no end to this, my happiness is in that darkness’
VALUABLE RESOURCES
https://www.woodburyhouseart.com/
https://uk.trapstarlondon.com/
http://schoony.co.uk/
https://www.richardhambleton.com/
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-steven-sulley-study-podcast/id1434828547?mt=2
ABOUT THE HOST
The Steven Sulley Study is my take on success. My view is you should have multiple focuses to be a well-rounded individual. Success shouldn't be just one thing like money, for example, it should also consist of a healthy fit lifestyle and thriving relationships. As a person who has made a success in life and also made huge cock-ups I feel I can offer suggestions and tips on how to become successful or at least start your pursuit. My 'Study' has taken resources from reading and education plus being around, my perception, of successful people and I, know a lot of successful people from all walks of life. My 'Study' coming from my experiences in business, investing, sales (my core background), training, boxing and education has enabled me to become well rounded and successful.
CONTACT METHOD
http://www.instagram.com/sulley.steven
ABOUT THE GUEST
Aaron Dezonie
Aaron Dezonie is the founder and Creative Director of DARKCIRCLE Clothing, a UK based streetwear brand Started in 2008.
Aaron started his journey into the business of street fashion in 2005 starting out running events at a local nightclub based in his home town. With the success of these events, Aaron started making merch for himself and his team which lead to a demand from event attendees to get their own. As an avid art enthusiast, when making clothing he found a platform to be creative and produce art in his own style. This led to a practice of merging the lines between art and street fashion. In 2016 that line between art and fashion became even thinner when DARKCIRCLE collaborated with Soho based Art distributors WOODBURY HOUSE and legendary US painter and street artist Richard Hambleton.
In 2017, due to the success of the DARKCIRCLE X Hambleton collaboration, Aaron was appointed the creative director of one of London’s largest private Art collections and creative director of the Richard Hambleton Archive, license and copyright holders of Richard Hamilton.
During this role, Aaron had the opportunity to work with some of the most established galleries in the US, UAE and Europe.
DARKCIRCLE has continued to merge the worlds of art and streetwear with a series of collaborations between artists and in partnership with WOODBURY HOUSE with second in their series of collaborations with British sculpture artists Schoony.
For 2019 Aaron sets his goals at expanding DARKCIRCLE into select stores across the globe and working on a number of collaboration projects.
Aaron Dezonie
Creative Director
DarkCircle Clothing Limited, Nothing Here
Unit C3, Bowyer Street
Birmingham, B10 0SA, United Kingdom
CONTACT METHOD
https://www.instagram.com/darkcircleclothing/?hl=en
https://www.darkcircleclothing.com/
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