Meet Brett Holloway | Graphic Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brett Holloway and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brett, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
Well, to be honest, it all came from some artwork I did for my cousin, who is a big outdoorsman. He loves to hunt and fish, so I decided that for Christmas a few years back, that I would draw up a few trout designs for him as a gift. I had a few people who saw the designs- encourage me to find an outlet to somehow sell these, and so T-Shirts were the medium I chose. I took those designs from pen and paper to my Ipad, which was quite an ordeal, because I had zero experience with illustrator apps of any kind. From there, I had a local print shop make up about 25 shirts, which sold fairly easy, and from that I had the idea that this could become something bigger. I began to draw up more fish designs, and that eventually branched into more artwork related to hunting, mountain climbing, hiking, outdoor scenery, etc. I’ve always loved the designs we see from companies like Colombia, North Face, Patagonia, and others, and I just wanted to try and put my stamp and style out there as well.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Funny thing about me, is that I’m not a full-time artist. I’ve been in Education for almost 11 years now. I’m a World History teacher, and love my job! When I was in college, I began to really think about my future career, and to be honest, I didn’t think that I could make a living off of my art. I did not want the life of a ‘starving artist’ we hear so much about. So, I changed my major away from art, and chased my other passion and love of history. With that said, I never stopped drawing or finding creative outlets. As far as struggles go in this field, it’s really hard to break through with bigger companies. It doesn’t matter if it’s Patagonia or Colombia, they all have in-house staff that do all of their creative designs, and they are not open to third party designers such as myself. But, I guess we can all be thankful for those closed doors, because that simply pushes us to still get our content out there, even if we have to do it ourselves.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If you come to Memphis, there’s a lot to do. First off, we are eating BBQ, and we are not going to Rendezvous, we are going to Central BBQ, and eating the best ribs in Memphis. We can check out a variety of live sports, be that the Grizzlies, the Redbirds, 901 Soccer, the Memphis Americans (Indoor Soccer). You gotta see the city view from the top of the Pyramid, which has been turned into an amazing Bass Pro Shop. Grab a milkshake and cookie from the Milk Bar. The Memphis Zoo is great for the family and kids. And, if you’re looking for good dining and night life I would recommend Overton Square.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would have to say my wife, first and foremost. She is the one who encouraged me to pursue starting my own T-Shirt & Design company. She is the one I usually run my ideas past first, be that on a design or colors. Just the simple fact that she has been supportive of me the whole way, I owe a lot to her. As for the content of my designs, I owe that to the influences of my cousin Andy, and his dad, my uncle Buster. Growing up, just about all of my exposure to outdoors was through them, be that hunting, fishing, riding four-wheelers, or shooting. I have a greater appreciation for the outdoors and God’s beautiful creations because of them.

Website: Jbhollowaydesigns.etsy.com

Instagram: @HollowayJB and @Jbhollowaydesigns

Facebook: JBH Designs