Logo of Twisted Tees.
Photo courtesy of Jordan Lemonier's Instagram page.
Twisted Tees is a T-shirt company that was inspired by a six-minute YouTube video and Jordan Lemonier’s ambition.
It started out as a simple search on YouTube inspired by his interest in T-shirt making. Now it’s a popular T-shirt company that supplies shirts for FAMU and the greater Tallahassee area.
Lemonier started Twisted Tees in October 2017. A couple months before he started his business he came across Stan Banks’ YouTube channel.
After watching a video he decided that it was something that he wanted to do himself. According to Lemonier, he’s always had a knack for seeing things that interest him and bringing it to fruition.
“I watched the video, I did my research, and I said this is what I want to do,” said lemonier.
Although he hasn't been in business long he has a wide variety of clientele. For his FAMU clients, his product consists of FAMU-inspired shirts for athletic events, Greek paraphernalia for his fraternity Iota Phi Theta, and whatever his clients can dream of.
He will make the design himself or he will use what he's given. Either way, Lemonier says he gets the job done. Sometimes it can get a bit overwhelming, he said, because he has to manage school, work and running his own business. He says that he has to find a balance. Sometimes that balance comes with making sacrifices.
“You have to balance your work and your leisure time, and sacrifice to better your business,” he said.
Returning customers like Miia Lewis and Savitri Thomas say they are always happy with his work ethic and the product that he provides.
“He works hard and he does his best to accommodate his customers even on short notice,” Lewis, who is sometimes a short-notice customer, said.
According to Lewis it was the dynamic designs and low prices that attracted her to Twisted Tees. She said that his shirt designs looked just as good as Lemonier said they would and she trusted his product even with questionably low prices.
“Whatever I need done he can makes it happen. His prices are affordable and his shirts are of better quality compared to other vendors on campus,” Lewis said.
Savitri Thomas has also purchased shirts from Twisted Tees and says she’s satisfied. He's her go-to person for shirts during homecoming.
“During homecoming I know that Twisted Tees is a good choice if I want a FAMU inspired shirt for the football game or for regular homecoming activities like Set Friday,” Thomas said.
With business booming during peak seasons like homecoming or basketball season, Lemonier says that he does up to 50 shirts a week or more. It can get so hectic that he has to call on friends for help.
While he's grateful for their help he understands that sometimes there are projects that are bigger than what he’s capable of completing with the current equipment he has. He's had to turn down at least one project because he didn't have the manpower or the equipment.
He doesn't want this to continue to be an obstacle for him, so he has decided to invest in more materials to make shirts at a faster rate. His goal is to expand the products that he offers and further his business opportunities.
“I’ll be making shirts at a faster time rate, I do want to get into making shorts and hats and im starting my own clothing line called Twisted,” said Lemonier.