Cloth Talk with Strictly Heat
The sun is causing the block to heat up and with the COVID 19 Vaccine being distributed at large rates that means one thing is back, Summer. Now before you call your crew and make plans for the season its time to go through your closet. I’m sure your stocked up on your shoes, and have enough jewelry to keep you cool on these summer nights. But what about the threads? If your still going out in last season’s drip, or simply just dont know what to wear, dont even trip because we are back with Cloth Talk.
"To the ones that doubted me, thank you, and I wish you the best." Says Riverside native DayDay Holland, the CEO of Strictly Heat. A clothing brand that's so universal, you will find something for yourself as well as your significant other. The clothing line was birthed in 2018, and it has been on fire since with every drop they put out. The brand keeps up with the trends but knows how you add its own originality to all the pieces. We reached out to DayDay, and got a chance to discuss how he stayed busy during the pandemic, his goals for the year, and of course, the clothes. Read our conversation below.
What do you want to accomplish before the year is up? I would like To accomplish a lot, but the main thing I want to [achieve] is making the brand universal and making it my full-time hobby.
How has the pandemic affected your business? Did it slow you down, or did it allow you to thrive? The pandemic really helped me out because it gave me time to lock in and focus on the brand more than I [usually] would when working. I know it affected some people in a down way, but I feel like if you quarantined correctly, you came out better. It just gave me the time I needed to really put in work.
Growing up in Riverside seeing Kawhi Lenoard come from your city and make it, how does that make you feel? Kawhi, being from here shows anyone can do anything they want to do; you just got to put that time in and perfect your craft.
When it comes to creating, what is your design process like? I try to stay open mined and create. When I do it like that, I can [build] off anything I see I can drive and find something to create. And it just has to come to me. I like making things that come naturally, like it is me in the design.
What sets Strictly Heat apart from other clothing brands out here? One thing that I can say separates Strictly Heat from other brands is that anyone can wear it from a baby. To a grandpa [or] grandma, but it is me like how I feel are in these clothes so like how I feel are in these clothes so when people wear it, it's like they know where I'm coming from it isn't like I'm forcing anything on anyone. If you like it, you like it. If not, I'm not sorry.
Do you believe in quality over quantity? Yes! 100% I believe in quality over quantity, due to the fact that quality will keep [customers] forever and when they tell someone about it its on a good not. If you have cheap quality, people will know, and that can be a reason they stop buying from you. Quality is good in the long run.
What is one thing you wish you knew before starting this business? I wish I knew a lot of things before starting, but I wouldn't change any of it because that's what makes it fun and makes me want to keep discovering more and more.
Running a business isn't easy; long nights and early mornings, how do you stay focused and keep everything intact? I try to make a "TO DO" list of everything I need to do and anything I want to do so I keep things in order and not get off task. Sometimes I have to take some days off [from] the brand to check into myself and make sure my human to-do list is completed. Then with not working on the brand for a couple [of] day, it makes me want to do it more. so, I get more engaged. I just keep a level head and think of the reality of things.