Daily Inspiration: Meet Jesse Donck-Rains

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jesse Donck-Rains.

Hi Jesse, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My first semester at UGA, I struggled with an issue that is familiar to most college students: fitting in. I grew up unschooled meaning that for my elementary school years, I followed no standardized curriculum and instead learned through daily experiences. As I got older, I began going to Atlanta to take some classes, but even these were unaccredited and never larger than six students. This all changed when I duel enrolled at Georgia State University in downtown Atlanta full time my junior and senior years of high-school. At Georgia State, what stood out to me was not only the crowds of students–although this was shocking, it was the diversity. It wasn’t just diversity of race or ethnicity, not just diversity of thought, it was diversity of expression. People wore their lives in their clothing. There were hypebeasts with Supreme backpacks, young professionals in stylish suits, people wearing colorful hoodies and dark shades. Expression was everywhere. Spending two years there helped me to branch out stylistically myself.

By the time it was time for me to go to UGA after my senior year, I was ready with my thrifted retro tees and hand-painted Converse. When I got to UGA, however, I was dismayed to find that the self-expression that was worn on the sleeves of students in Atlanta was muted in the classrooms of Athens. Wearing something colorful among the seas of black and gray leggings and hoodies was cause to be stared at. I was told in confidence my first semester by the business major who sat next to me “I like your rainbow sweater, but I could never wear it.” There were of course exceptions to the rule, I considered myself among them, but the overwhelming theme of the campus was one of conformity, not standing out. Wanting to provide an outlet for expression, and remembering a conversation with a close friend that took place a few years before in a basement bubble tea cafe where we talked about starting a clothing brand along the lines of Tyler the Creator’s Golf brand, I designed and printed my first shirt.

Since then, I have printed almost ten different designs, some for myself, others in collaborations with friends and bands. The overall fashion scene at UGA hasn’t changed, walking down Milledge Ave. you will still see groups of frat boys in identical khakis and sperries. But that’s okay. Happy Time has allowed me to express myself and, hopefully helped a few others to do the same. In 2020, with the world crumbling and turmoil a constant at the local and national level, I decided to shift the company to be 100% non-profit. I now print all of my shirts on thrifted or donated clothing and donate all the profits to different local orgs like Athens Mutual Aid.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I have lost some money through some questionable business decisions, though I was never planning on making bank from the company. One struggle has been being taken seriously. I’ve had to combat the notion that I don’t take the business seriously. I think this is due to the colorful and loose nature of the designs and perhaps the fact I don’t always seem like the most professional person. All that being said, I do take this seriously, especially now that I feel I can help make a difference by donating my profits.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Happy Time is, at the moment a second passion for me. Unfortunately, the demands of school and my other jobs (dishwashing and farming) take up a lot of time I would love to devote to the company. Nevertheless, working on shirts has been an amazing outlet to be creative. Having this outlet has been very important to me as due to the aforementioned lack of time, I have been unable to keep up with some of the creative pursuits I was involved in before college. I have never considered myself an artist, I just like to create things. Whether it was dumb drawings (like the ones I still do for Happy Time), dance performances, paintings, short films with friends, and poorly written and played songs, I always found myself wanting to make something. I’m not very good at any of the artistic endeavors I have attempted–you can tell that by looking at my shirts, but nevertheless I find joy in bringing something new to the world. I would say what sets me apart is my broad base of knowledge and experience. While not being especially good at anything, being decent at lots of things changes the way I create. Dancing helped me learn to play guitar and vice versa.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was a weird kid for sure. I think that not going to school allowed me to keep a level of innocence that is normally brutally dismembered at a young age in classrooms and hallways. I used to just run around imaging things. I could play by myself like this all day. I was way more anxious and shy back then, terrified of thunderstorms. My first real creative pursuit was making lego stop motion videos. A passion that familiarized me with animation and video editing and left my room a complete mess. Even at a young age, I was really curious and scattered in my interests. I wanted to try everything. I got really into sports around when I turned 12 and had dreams of making the NBA, though I think my time is dwindling on that one, I am 5’7. Somehow despite the lack of interaction with kids my own age and the aforementioned weirdness, I was able to socialize without too much trouble. This led many comments like, “you’re homeschooled? How come you can talk to people?” From kids on soccer teams or at summer camps.

Pricing:

• All shirts are between $10-20, though I always tell people that they can pay more if they want as all profits are donated.

Contact Info:

• Email: happytimeclothingllc@gmail.com
• Website: https://happytimeclothing.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happytimeclothing/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Happy-Time-Clothing-2351195078493567/