It’s one thing to undertake some form of creativity as a hobby, it’s quite another to step out into the world and declare your creativity to be your business.
It takes skill, confidence in your abilities and constant hard work. One local man who has set up shop through his creativity is women’s fashion designer Jonathan Palmer.
“It was always a confidence thing for me,” Palmer said, discussing his formative entry into the world of fashion. “Since back in middle school, I noticed that when I dressed well, I got better results; I got compliments.”
Long before The J Palmer Studio was a glimmer in his imagination, Palmer was rummaging around for materials to create clothing from.
“I was using hot glue guns and bedsheets, bed skirts — just playing around,” he said. “I also used to take t-shirts and cut them up — then I used to have to hide them so that I didn’t get in trouble.”
Between splattering paint on his own clothing and taking influence from his older brother’s insistence that he should dress well, Palmer began to consider fashion design as a career. Initially, he had grand ambitions to make his mark in the field of men’s fashion. Attending design school in Nashville changed that.
“Before I went to school, I thought I’d do some women’s fashion but focusing on men’s. I thought I was going to change the whole game for men,” he said. “But what I learned is that your everyday men don’t really care. I thought, no, there’s no money in that. For women you can do a lot more.”
Since graduating in 2013, Palmer has been focusing on building his own brand. His designs have been showcased in industry events, such as the Bronner Brothers International Beauty Show in Atlanta, and he has designed a gown to be worn on the red carpet at the upcoming BET Awards in Los Angeles.
“I’m excited and humbled by it — especially for a guy from a small town, you feel like it’s too much for you,” he said of the attention his designs have been gaining as of late. “Particularly when I first started, I would turn down red carpet dresses. I would make excuses that I couldn’t do it because I felt like it was too big for me. Throughout the years people encouraged me, and I’m taking on bigger jobs now.”
The majority of Palmer’s clientele tend not to be in the market for red carpet wear, however. Rather, he seeks to provide couture evening wear for ladies’ nights out, weddings and events.
“I’ve been working with pageants, but also for business events and book releases,” he said. “It’s to make a woman feel empowered — that’s something I pull emotionally from myself. When I dressed better I got better results. I want to give that to somebody else — and for a cheaper price.”
Usually one would expect high-end evening wear designers to base themselves where the big markets are. Palmer, however, claims basing his business in Clarksville to be an important decision.
“I feel like in my heart staying in Clarksville is the plan. People keep telling me I should be moving to New York, but I feel like I should be here,” he said. “I really want to bring a designer like me to Clarksville, to Nashville, to Tennessee. We don’t have that here.”
Aside from providing bespoke, elegant, affordable designs to the women of Tennessee, Palmer has plans to expand his business to pay tribute to an essential aspect of his journey.
“I’m looking to branch out over the next 10 years to also own a hair salon,” he said, adding that he cut, styled and applied hair extensions while attending school. “Cutting hair helped me pay my way through school and helped me to network with people in the fashion industry. It helped me put on my first shows, and helped me to travel.”
For more information, contact jonathan@thejpalmerstudio.com.
J Palmer Studio highlights designer"s creativity, confidence
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