Meet Tev Johnson | Owner, Designer

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

Hi Tev, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
The thought process behind starting OPEN was really to make a brand that I can wear for myself and others like me, a lot of the streetwear brands I liked at that time wasn’t really putting out anything I really liked. My pops always told me since I liked clothes so much I should just make it…so I did.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I design clothes for my brand Open The Company. Open Is a streetwear brand that I started back in 2015 I didn’t really feel what was coming out from my favorite brands at the time a lot of the designs felt forced so I decided to make my own, I named it Open because I didn’t want to limit creativity with a certain name when it came to designs, I wanted to keep an open concept (pun intended) and then later make it a lifestyle brand. I feel the team behind Open sets us apart from most brands which consist of P, Tommy Widow and my brother Elijah. These guys are the most creative, open minded and very sociable people I know. Everyone plays their part so well with the brand and has their own avenue of organic creativity which is beautiful and rare to find nowadays. When it comes to my most proud part of this brand its my team and the people enjoying our clothes! We came along way since Open started we still aren’t where we want to be but its a step in that direction, it took a lot of failed ideas and concepts and us actually building relationships outside of social media and keeping them to get us on the right path.It definetly wasn’t easy we had to really eat the losses and keep going, we had to understand this is part of our journey that we are on. We overcome challenges by reflecting and moving forward to the next idea as a team. I would love the world to know that our story is just now beginning we just left the foreword and entering chapter 1, we are here to inspire and show off these fly ideas especially at home in Colorado Springs.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Man so many places! Colorado Springs has grown a lot over the years and still is growing especially downtown but Im definitely going to Tejon Eatery or Coati for food that cafeteria style layout is hard and the drinks at Coati are good too. I don’t really go out like that I’m usually at the homies house or my brothers for the pow wow but man DJ Craftmatic has this silent disco that is just gold in the city, a lot of people come out for that and its just a good atmosphere. Soul Hause has great events as well, their creative space towards Old Colorado is AMAZING. Art 111 is my second home though I do all my pop ups there and even Dj’ed there a few times the owner Robin is a great guy and brings that gallery to life those are the few places I usually go in the city.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Man I would dedicate the shoutout to my family and my team, without them nothing would be possible. They’re my Inspiration and driving force everyday. Really want to shoutout my team though P, Tommy Widow, Elijah. Working with these guys been amazing and its an iron sharpen iron deal we all make each other better. P Is the old man of the company (lol) he’s wise and very dependable especially when it comes to the logistics of Open he makes sure the ends are tied. Widow is the mad man I get jealous of how his brain processes ideas for every second he breathes, the coldest designer for sure. My brother Elijah just joined us and Im excited to see what creative ideas he brings to the table, he’s very competitive I got high hopes!

Website: www.openthecompany.com

Instagram: @onlytev @openthecompany

Twitter: Onlytev

Other: Team members of OPEN ig: @cutti_p @neighborhoodtom @elijah0_7

Image Credits
@yotheyshootin -AG