Frame of Mind with JD Harris

Welcome to the Frame of Mind series, the brain child of Chase Price with RedefineU Media. At hygge, we’re kind of known for keeping it short. Most of our videos are under one minute and at Zero Day we strictly enforce the 10 minute rule. But a few months ago, Chase came to us with an idea: interview local start ups and entrepreneurs about their stories and ask them questions that small business owners, creatives and community leaders everywhere are struggling with. This series of long interviews (yup, 30-45 minutes) is designed to get in-depth and personal, so get ready to dig in.

JD Harris just might be one of our favorite guys in the world. As the owner of Glory Days Apparel, this guy knows how to create a damn good t-shirt design, and don’t even get us started on the fanny pack. We’ve had the opportunity to work with JD on a few collaborations with our own hygge t-shirts, and those collaborations are truly something we look forward to. JD brings an unmatchable amount of energy to everything we do. In fact, in the Frame of Mind episode, he says that video and photoshoots with the Glory Days Apparel team are like giant parties where they have fun, and we can totally attest to that.

JD moved to Charlotte in 2005 to do the typical finance stuff that most were doing back then in a city pretty much only known for banking. As time went on, though, he knew he wanted a change. Originally from Ohio, he had seen a lot of brands there capitalize on the nostalgia of the state and create apparel around that. He saw a gap in Charlotte’s market, and decided to go for it.

“I think everyone has at least a couple shirts that there’s some sort of memory attached to it, whether that’s a favorite concert you went to with friends or sporting event. Whether you wear it or not, there’s a memory, there’s some sort of attachment to it that makes you want to hang onto it and keep it. I’ve always wanted to celebrate that.”

And celebrate he has. Glory Days Apparel has been around for over 3 years, and you can see his iconic, throwback designs all over the Queen City.

This week on Frame of Mind, Chase sits down with JD to ask about how Glory Days all got started, how he knows which collaboration requests he knows to turn away and how he balances his time as his brand continues to grow.

You can watch the whole 30 minute interview below.