I'm Darren Millar. Founder, owner, imaginator (whatever you like) of Regal Clothing Co. & The Effing Card Company I'm 25 and have lived away from home since i turned 18. I set off on my life journey to find wealth and employment. My first job: shelf stacking in the local Tesco to earn myself enough to move away properly... Great!
After 8 months or so i had the opportunity to move to Edinburgh, Scotland's capital as marketing manager for a small successful city centre nightclub. It was during my time there i would discover my love of t-shirts. The nightclub and bar industry is the place to be if you want free promo tees! I found myself collecting t-shirts rapidly, before i knew it i had the reputation of being the "walking advert". i just couldn't get enough of them, I must have been given 3 of every colour of the rainbow and every beverage/brand available. (I still have them in a box somewhere)
My love was strong, I started buying cool t-shirts from real shops. I just can't control myself i buy t-shirts, even in the depths of winter!
In 2003 i became self employed after a year at college studying Multimedia Design. I was then as I am now quite a successful designer with clients such as Channel 4, Mercury & EMI Records... Creating graphics and website elements on a contract basis. Over the last 6 years my business has continued to grow and I've picked up a few good clients along the way!
During all this time i still continued to buy t-shirts here there and everywhere, grabbing the odd freebie every now and then. When suddenly i thought to myself, I could or more to the point should start designing my own. And so my passion grew, now i could wear anything i wanted on a t-shirt... I began my fling with Spreadshirt, people would come to me when they needed quick silly tees printed and I'd be churning out some crazy slogans to wear myself.
It was only last year (2008) i began to seriously look into producing t-shirts to resell.. Regal Clothing Co. was born.
I'm not happy unless i have at least 2 new t-shirts per month to wear! I Imagine this is what women must feel for shoes or dresses?! What am i doing to myself?!
I'm not sure that i have a specific style? I print what I like.. At the end of the day I'm producing these shirts to satisfy my craving for new t-shirts. I'm inspired by any small indie tee brands, this business is all about creating something from nothing. However my main influences are definitely my parents, they've always been self employed. Making their own money from their own ideas! I suppose i want what they've got!
My long term plans for Regal Clothing? Well I'd eventually like to make a living from it! Perhaps either buy selling designs or bulk orders of t-shirts. In the mean time I'm happy selling 20ish shirts per month, That way i can continue to feed my habit... I want to create a cute/manly/unique/shiny store and feel to my brand... I'm generating more and more interest though blogs like yours and social networking sites like twitter and facebook. It's all about image and word of mouth. It's just mastering it!
If I've missed anything let me know!
All the best
Darren
For trade enquiries telephone: +441224 492 410 or email: trade@regalclothing.co.uk
Add me to your bebo: www.bebo.regalclothing.co.uk
Twitter: www.twitter.com/regalclothing
Facebook: www.facebook.com
Blog: www.moblog.net/blog/regalclothing
Visit the Regal Clothing Store: www.store.regalclothing.co.uk
