Shelburne teen launches new clothing label OOFII

October 22, 2020 · 0 Comments

Written By PAULA BROWN

LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

“OOFII”, it means rich and wealthy, and it’s also the name of a new clothing line started by a Shelburne teen.

“My family really relates with clothing, so it was just in the family bloodline to start a clothing [line],” Tyrell Harris told the Free Press.

Tyrell Harris is the local 16-year old entrepreneur behind the clothing line OOFII, which started up in February of this year. Harris, who was born in Brampton and later moved to the community with his family, is an avid basketball player and enjoys shopping in his free time. Looking for a way to secure his future, Harris decided to create his own clothing line, a decision he said didn’t take him long to make.

“I play basketball and one day if I don’t want to play basketball, I always wan’t to have another option other than basketball for my future, so I chose clothing,” said Harris.

First starting out with selling sports head bands with the brand’s name on them, that Harris said sold out after about two weeks, he quickly moved on to selling urban apparel such as tracksuits, sweaters and t-shirts.

Harris said that the first piece of clothing he designed for the brand after the head bands was a plain black sweater.

In the making of his brand and clothing line Harris has spoken candidly about his family being an inspiration. Watching the OOFII brand develop Shawn Harris, Tyrell’s dad, said it has been “amazing” to watch his son create his own clothing line.

“It’s amazing to see the support that he gets from the community, it’s amazing to see the support that he gets from friends and family and like he said, online, it’s been amazing,” said Shawn Harris.

With OOFII starting up early in the year, it, like many businesses, had to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was a time that Harris said was tough.

“I ended up making a website during the pandemic and it’s been doing very good,” said Harris

While the brand is still in its first year, Harris is looking towards the future for OOFII. He said he’s hoping to be available one-day worldwide, with a factory and a store.