Today we’d like to introduce you to Johanne Wilson.
Lead by a creative power couple, COOL is a woman & minority-owned company led by Johanne & Terrance.
Wilson. To them, COOL means Create Out Of Love because when you work with COOL Creative, it’s not just business… it’s family. They’ve learned that people don’t buy from companies, they buy from people. Every order is shipped with hand-written thank you notes, customers call their cell phones directly (and they answer EVERY time) and their showroom is called the COOL House to reinforce the family messaging of their brand. The brand resonates with the millennial influencer that is searching for substance in this “insta” era. COOL’s signature capsule collection honors icons from the past to inspire the generation of today.
Johanne & Terrance met in art school over 18 years ago. Johanne has served as a brand designer at some of the world’s most prestigious agencies including Landor Associates. She has held art director positions for iconic brands including P&G Beauty, Under Armor, Burger King and Lane Bryant. Terrance is an award-winning visual artist that leads the creation of the original art featured in our capsule collections. He specializes in set and experiential design, as well as, video production. Over 5 years ago they built Cool Creative, a full-service branding company and 2 years ago they launched the fashion division.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Like in any business, there are challenges.
Among those challenges are:
– Trying to secure funding to make more inventory
– Coming to the realization that we invested in a particular product that our customers just weren’t buying
– Investing in opportunities, like pop ups or events that didn’t yield big returns
– Being rejected by friends that we thought were supportive of what we were doing
We don’t let challenges break us. Instead, we found that when we decided to keep moving those challenges made us smarter and more decisive. In business, being decisive is priceless.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Cool Creative – what should we know?
We’re a creative business. We make things for different purposes…
We create brands for clients… We develop brands with digital content. We paint. We draw. We strategize and ideate. We are thinkers. We understand people and what it takes to connect with them. We make art that is displayed on apparel pieces.We develop creative that makes people feel.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
LOVE.
Love our secret sauce. It is what helps us connect each other, our clients & customers, and the work we do. One of our key objectives is to make brands more human because we’ve learned that people don’t buy from companies, they buy from people.
When you are led by love, you move fearlessly. Fearlessness creates space for us to explore new ideas, let go of things that aren’t working, and take risks.
Pricing:
- Varsity Jackets $75 Off With Code Voyage75
- “I Am Human” Pieces Start At $25
- Icons Capsule Collection Shirts Are $55 (Including Shipping)
Contact Info:
- Address: 8325 NE 2nd Ave
Suite 119 - Website: shopcoolcreative.com
- Phone: 8443412665
- Email: info@createoutoflove.com
- Instagram: coolcreativeinc.com
- Facebook: Shop Cool Creative
- Twitter: Coolcreativeinc
- Other: CoolCreativeinc.com
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