Dukes in Suits is a JMU Business spirit shop founded and run by JMU Students. I founded the business in November of 2020. The purpose of creating Dukes in Suits was to make a store for the JMU Business community that is always available to shop from. Our online store is always easy to access and we hold pop-up shops in Hartman Hall every-other week. The second aim for the business was to make apparel and merchandise that resonated with JMU students. Dukes in Suits apparel and merchandise is officially licensed by JMU. It is the perfect apparel to dress in for class or for feeling comfortable. Hit the button below to learn more about Dukes in Suits.
Duke in Suits Through the Years
2019
2020
2021
2022
The idea for Dukes in Suits first started in the summer of 2019. During high school, I had experience managing my school's spirit shop which sold t-shirts, hats, and other school themed apparel. Going into college, I knew I wanted to major in business and that college was the perfect time to start a business. I did research on whether JMU's College of Business had an existing store and what their apparel looked like. I also researched if the name "Dukes in Suits" had been taken. In both searches, "Dukes in Suits" was mine for the taking. I created my first sketch of my idea for the logo. Obviously, I need improvements. In my first year of college, I sent the idea around to friends. Their feedback was positive, except for the design. Over the next summer, I worked on drawing the face of a bull dog and a suit. I had help from my mom, who is a professional media arts designer, with creating the logo used for our first t-shirt, the Madison Business T-shirt. That would be the based for our next two logos.
It can still be hard to start your own business, even after you evaluate the opportunity. The thing I thought about, that helped me get over the mental block, was how I wanted to look back on my college experience. These kinds of opportunities are hard to get back once they pass. I said to myself, "Down the road, it would be cool to look to see that I created Dukes in Suits and seeing the impacted it created."