Today we’d like to introduce you to Blair & Brandon Dottin-Haley.
Hi Blair & Brandon, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
We are the Dottin-Haleys, also known as #TEAMDOTTINHALEY. We are Blair Dottin-Haley, born and raised in New Orleans, and Brandon “The Bae” Dottin-Haley, raised in Maryland, and we live in Baltimore, MD.
Blair shared impactful messages via social media for almost a decade before a friend gave him the idea to put his messages on apparel for people to wear. We loved the idea because we wanted to give the world the ability to “Say it with ya Chest!” and created the first collection of 6 shirts, which launched in December of 2016. Today, The #BLAIRISMS offers dozens of designs on over 1,000 different products from T-shirts and hoodies to backpacks, coffee mugs, wall art, and more. A piece of The Blairisms collection was also recently acquired by the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Born from life’s challenges and triumphs, #BLAIRISMS are vital lessons. We created the #BLAIRISMS with the intention of spreading messages of inspiration, laughter, and personal reflection. The brand is known for sharp and clever sayings, such as “Don’t forget to be your own inspiration” and “Everyone you meet is at some point between hurting and healing. BE KIND”. We are also known for celebrating Black culture and the impact Black people have on global culture at-large, including being agents of the resistance. Erika Alexander calls us #BrandActivists because of the way we use the #BLAIRISMS brand to elevate Black issues, also because of the passion and commitment we have to being agents of change. As married Black gay men and partners in entrepreneurship, we thrive at the intersection of politics and commerce and embrace the challenges and joys of being who we are in a world that far too often devalues Black queer life.
During the pandemic, we created the award-winning #SAVAGECHATSERIES as a way to connect with and build our community. We wanted to highlight the many contributions of Black people to global culture, so we interviewed over 400+ guests from all walks of life and from all over the world. We wanted to capture the range of Blackness, so we spoke to cultural icons like Vanessa Williams, Erika Alexander, and the ladies of En Vogue, as well as veteran White House Correspondent April Ryan, Mayor of New Orleans, Latoya Cantrell, and fashion legend Ty Hunter and over 400 more! The #BLAIRISMS is a family that continues to grow. You can check out the #SAVAGECHATSERIES and stay up to date with us on IG @The.BLAIRISMS.
#Blairisms are affirmations meant to inspire, create moments of reflection, and hopefully a little laughter. Our goal is to strengthen individuals and communities with a healthy dose of honesty. This “Edu-tainment” brand encourages self-care, inspiration, accountability, self-advocacy, joy, Blackness, and above all else…LOVE!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
This road has definitely not been smooth. We are Black, queer entrepreneurs and have found so much joy and pain building our business from the ground.
In 2018, when Blair’s grandmother passed away, it was especially devastating and made it extremely difficult as a budding entrepreneur to push forward. We have had to deal with loss, trauma, depression, and anxiety and continue to find new ways to continue healing in all of the ways we need to be healed as people.
We have had to stretch every single penny as far as we can and poured into our business even when we barely had enough to pay our car note or not. Black businesses have, historically, had to make a way from no way, and we are no exception.
We have had so much support along this journey and are so grateful to our family and community for lifting us up.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We love to create fellowship. It is our gift, and we enjoy that we get to bring people together in our work. We created The Dottin-Haley Group, a multi-service consulting firm to allow us the freedom to collaborate on projects that inspire us and contribute to the betterment of Black people and all people.
We have created a number of partnerships with organizations around the country to this end. Our partnership with the Sierra Club is focused on international climate justice. We launched a digital campaign and conversation series about environmental racism to highlight similar issues in Africa and the US in an effort to align the people of the diaspora. Through the campaign, we generated a petition that accumulated over 10,000 signatures and supported the creation of the first Loss and Damage Fund at COP27, which is intended to specifically benefit predominantly Black nations that will be impacted by climate change.
Our work also extends to community outreach and engagement with an emphasis on capacity building and economic development. In New Orleans, we are working with Delgado Community College and Apple to bring podcasting, coding, and other tech-enabled programs, to the city and encourage entrepreneurialism, creativity, and collaborative storytelling.
We believe in the power of storytelling and worked to create engaging content for Black people, including virtual and in-person programming. We have produced panels that center Black issues. For example, we produced a discussion in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. with activists, journalists, and politicians to discuss his legacy and ways we can continue the fight for equity and economic justice. Check out the discussion here (https://www.youtube.com/live/
We have also produced community events and engaging conversations with Freedom Riders, Sybrina Fulton, and always seek to keep education and community at the core of our work, even if it is a day party with Manny Fresh.
Currently, we are working to create educational forums, content, discussions centered around building community, keeping people entertained and engaged in social justice. Follow us on IG @The.BLAIRISMS to keep up with all of the things we have going on.
We are proud of building a business that sustains us and using our talents to sustain ourselves, which has been a journey to say the least. We are also extremely proud that a piece from our collection has been acquired by Smithsonian. To have a place in history is something that we do not take lightly, and we hope that our work continues to have lasting impacts on generations to come.
What makes you happy?
When people’s lives are positively impacted by our words or work. We are happiest when we can bring people together and be surrounded by our family and community.
We love when we are able to see the impact that we have on someone’s life, whether that is being approached on the street or getting thousands of people to sign a petition.
One of the most inspiring moments of joy that we’ve experienced came from our #SAVAGECHATSERIES when our family came together for each other and for the future. We were interviewing a music educator during the pandemic who mentioned that one of his students was having difficulty keeping up with drum lessons because he didn’t have a drum set at home to practice. Because schools were closed, he was unable to practice and was falling behind, having to rely on virtual instruction and simulation instruments. Before the interview ended, one of our audience members, who happened to be a previous guest, decided to buy the young student a drum set. We helped to coordinate the surprise and were so glad that the show was able to bring those two people together for the benefit of the children.
It’s our community, the #BLAIRISMS family, that truly is a gift and makes us happier than we could have imagined.
Pricing:
- T-shirts start at $25
- Hoodies start at $40
- Reach out to inquire about consulting pricing
Contact Info:
- Website: https://theblairisms
- Instagram: https://www.
instagram.com/the.blairisms/ - Other: https://linktr.ee/
theblairisms
Image Credits
Brandon Dottin-Haley
Ty Hunter
