Bernos stands for quality.  Bernos stands for cultural pride.  But what is Bernos? Bernos is becoming a cultural phenomenon in the Washington DC area.  Their shirts have been seen on K’naan, featured on several local news outlets, and are poised to make a difference in a big way in the region.  Their fans have been growing and their t-shirts can be spotted on any given day in the DC area.  What made them such a phenomenon?  Jamati.com caught up with them to find out.

Jamati: Bernos has come a long way from its humble beginnings.  How did you all, as founding members come up with the idea to make t-shirts?

That’s a good question. The idea behind making Bernos t-shirts is simply organic. We were all looking for a way to express ourselves creatively and felt it would be a great avenue to do something that came naturally. Being lovers of t-shirts, and it being the main source of our fashion statement, we wanted to design t-shirts that expressed our historical and cultural landmark. Each one of us plays a respective role in the daily operations of the organization. Together we each bring our individual skills in the areas of business, fashion, graphic design, and photography. With all our talents combined it was inevitable that our brain child Bernos was born.

Jamati: The shirts are creatively designed.  How do you come up with the ideas for the shirts?

It usually starts out with a simple conversation. At times it might be one of us wishing to address an issue that we feel might be controversial, or something that everyone might be able to relate to. This begins our creative brainstorm process to design our unique and life-telling t-shirts.

Jamati: You originally started designing for the Ethiopian community and then branched out to the African community in general.  What was the reasoning behind not starting with the general African community?

Nostalgia! We were all looking for t-shirts, within our respective communities, that we would evoke childhood memories, or something that everyone could relate to. There literally were none in the fashion market. So we decided to try our luck and see how everyone would react. It was an instant hit. Our East African customers felt as though our t-shirts reminded them of those special moments that were often taken away from them or lost in translation when migrating to a new foreign country.

Jamati:  What are some of the challenges that you have seen in producing a product that some would think is relatively easy to produce?

We initially knew that we wanted quality shirts and for them to be made in a sweatshop free environment. What we didn’t anticipate were all the elements which go into paying attention to the quality of print, organizing the photo shoots, maintaining the blog, handling a large amount of customer orders, the PR/marketing aspect and the list goes on. However challenging as those necessary tasks may be, we at Bernos, believe it is always rewarding at the end of the day when you are in control of your voice, your mission, your product.

Jamati: Do you see yourselves selling Bernos products on a large scale in Africa?

Yes. Bernos did start out in a smaller niche, targeting a smaller community. But we feel we have grown and our customers come from various backgrounds who are also spread out internationally. We all believe in giving back to our communities and being a positive image for Africa. As the African saying goes, “It takes a village to raise a child”. We hope that our village (Africans) will help us raise Bernos (child) to reach Africa in the future.

To see their innovative designs or place an order, visit their website.