Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon Vallean.
Brandon, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story started January 27, 1995 in Oklahoma City, OK. The youngest in a family of four (Mother-Michele, father-Michael, Oldest brother-Desmond). My brother and I are survivors of the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995. Luckily we came out alive with minor scars and bruises. Since the events of the bombing, my family and I had moved state to state but it wasn’t until 2007 when we relocated to Powder Springs, Georgia. The rest was history. In the summer of 2007, we moved to Powder Springs, Georgia, the rest was history. In November 2010, Kanye West released his 5th debut album, ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’, which is to this day still assumed to be his best body of work. Watching an album being released at its full peak of blending art and fashion with the addition of a motion picture film to go with the album and the fabulous styling of West himself got me invested in fashion and design. I guess you could say fashion as always been in my blood due to the fact that my mother is a fashion buyer. Since I was a kid I was always around clothes.
The amount of certainty and belief that Kanye had in himself rub off on me and that’s where I started legitimately being focused on the world of style and fashion. Fast-forward to my junior year of college, taking fashion merchandising, I met my current co-creative director, Noah Dickson. He’s the other half I didn’t have before. He’s super articulate and his ahead of our time. He sees trends before they happen. Being Kanye West fan that I am, I came up with the name A FAIRY TALES END, a brand that symbolizes LIFE, DEATH, RELIGION and ART, blending luxury and streetwear. We focus on airbrush, cut and sewn luxury goods while targeting our four areas: PLAY, PREP and PUNK. We have since been offered to be a part of fashion runway shows, vending, photoshoots, to even throwing our own coachella-like pop-up events. All of that to get to this interview right now. We want to be a huge part in Atlanta. We aim to be a creative collective- a full-line production workshop. Completely self-sustaining, Atlanta’s first major fashion maison.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s very difficult and challenging to start a brand as two college students. Luckily there’s technology. I would practice my graphics design on Shirtapp. That’s where all of my sample shirts came from. The amount of shirts depended on how much I could have afford at the time. Making shirt is expensive! Especially without a huge financial backing.
COVID!!!!!!! 2019 was Me and Noah’s first year making all the marketing and event planning ourselves with 60 IG followers while still not knowing what we were doing. At that time sales weren’t important compared to number of people we wanted our brand to reach to. We survived the pandemic. Luckily during six months of lockdown, I bought an LLC to get our brand a step ahead to when everything would feel somewhat back to normal. Waiting for shipment of goods to come from overseas was tough to sit through but I believe that only made us realize how much invested we truly were.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Both Me and Noah are creative directors of A FAIRY TALES END. We are known for Airbrush, which has been our bread and butter. No one is doing airbrush like us as far as graphics. We want our graphics to affect you. It’s art. I’m most proud of the company that I keep. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my family and friends who love me and believe in my dreams.
We are apart to have two separate divisions of our brand in our sophomore year. We came out of the pandemic with twice more products and we chose to expand and explore. That is what makes us different.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Patience in a virtue. Believe in GOD.
Have Faith.
Never give up/Never lose hope.
Find new ways to innovate.
Pricing:
- Athletics division; $35-$100
- Luxury: $90-$300
Contact Info:
- Email: afteorders@gmail.com
- Website: afairytalesend.com
- Instagram: afairytalesend/brandonmvallean
- Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/afteclothing
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/ipeirTK7PEdK3zJH6
Image Credits
shawnwentcrazy Noah Dickson
