Ariviste means “to be a strong, ambitious person” in French. Undra Mays, who describes himself as a “natural creator,” discovered the word in some of his research and knew immediately it would be a great name for a clothing line.
“I’m always coming up with ideas and came up with this and knew I should pursue it,” Mays said. “I’m not a big fashion guy, just t-shirts and jeans and that’s it. I thought I might could create something and give it to someone else.”
He got five shirts made in 2017 for himself and he wore them for a year without telling anyone.
“I would always get stopped with people asking me, ‘What’s that? What’s that mean?”
He put in lots of study on how to make it happen from manufacturing to marketing.
“I studied others and how they promoted their brands and started reaching out with my brand,” Mays said. “I came up with some different designs but struggled to get my shirts printed when I wanted, so I invested in a heat press and started making my own.”
Sales started coming from friends and family. Mays put a photo shoot together to get some promotion going online, not letting anyone know he was the one behind the brand.
“People started noticing and asking about the brand and I just directed them to the website, not telling them it was my own,” Mays said with a grin.
He brought in some friends and family to help and the orders started coming in more and more.
“I was constantly learning how to do everything – start to finish,” Mays said. “I’ve had sales out of Chicago, Atlanta, North Carolina, Texas, and of course Mississippi. And now I’m getting a lot more local response.”
“I’m outgrowing my house now and looking at buildings I might could move into,” Mays said. “It’s picking up so much, I’ve been contacted by other lines showing interest and offering advice.”
Mays, who lives east of Bruce, currently produces t-shirts and is preparing a long-sleeve fall collection that will eventually include hats and joggers.
“We try to release our lines slow so we can keep up with the orders and not put too much out there at one time,” Mays said. “I’ve been really pleased with the response.”
“I’ve got a lot more lined up but I’m trying to take my time and do it right. My plan is next year to be fully manufacturing so I can focus more on marketing and the creative process. My long-term goal is to bring jobs back here with my own manufacturing operation here in Bruce. That’s my dream if I can get it to take off like I want.”
Mays, 38, and his fiance Tierra Pierce lead the brand.
“She’s a big help for in this with my team of Jay G and Don Goldstein. I don’t know what I could have done without them,” Mays said. “I work full-time and raising my daughter (Drakiyh), it takes all the team to make this happen.”
“Drakiyh is one of the biggest reasons I go so hard at this,” Mays said. “I want something to leave to her.”
Mays works as a behavioral health assistant at Millcreek in Pontotoc. He also shoots some short films and videos under the name Sherwood Jones. Sherwood is his middle name and Jones is his mother, Tilda Mays’, maiden name.
“I just thought it had a nice ring so I use it for that line of work,” Mays said.
Creativity is a big part of Mays’ life. He said the source of that is his late grandfather Freddy Lee “Fat” Jones.
“He was the only man in my life,” Mays said. “I never saw things the same after he passed.”
Mays fell in love with film and creating things from nothing. He got involved in music playing multiple instruments, learning engineering and producing. He’s constantly taking notes on any ideas that pop into his head.
“I got a lot of inspiration from him,” Mays said of his grandfather. “I still love film, having that camera in my hand. The clothing line was just one of those ideas that popped into my head and it took off. I still have a lot to learn but I love the challenge of it and the positivity of it.”