By Jillian Hammell
Assistant Features Editor
A child’s imagination has no limitations. Young minds brainstorm hopeful futures and creative ideas. For some, the inner child disappears when thrown into the real world. But for one Bonaventure student, his childlike imagination has led to early success.
Freshman journalism and mass communication major Tristan King founded Muffin Boy Clothing as a junior in high school. According to King, he started the business with only $200 in the bank. He eventually took on another job to deal with startup costs. From there on, he pursued a copyright. Only three weeks after he came up with the brand idea, Muffin Boy Clothing was up and running.
According to King, the brand aims to embrace the weirdness within us all.
“Muffin Boy is a character that definitely makes a statement,” King said. “I wanted to create something different and admirable. I thought to myself, ‘who doesn’t love muffins?’”
From there, King let his imagination run wild.
King began drawing sketches and outsourcing from different fashion districts.
“I find the basic products from places like New York City,” King said. “I create the image then contact different businesses to make my clothing come to life.”
His clothing prices range from $18-25 for T-shirts and $20-50 for hoodies.
Although the online shop is currently closed, customers can find King on Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr to check out his latest fashions and when they are expected to come out. The online store is expected to re-open in July or August.
The Muffin Boy character comes in different colors, but displays the same smile and thumbs-up sign.
“One of my favorite quotations is, ‘The creative adult is the child who survived,’” King said. “I want Muffin Boy to help keep up the childlike spirit in all of us.”
King’s imaginative brand started to gain popularity after he introduced his brand to the public.
“When I first started to establish my brand, I remember wearing samples from Muffin Boy Clothing,” King said. “I did not start selling the products right off the bat, but I had people who were excited to wear the clothing. I remember walking home from school one day and a girl bought the shirt right off my back.”
Eventually, King began to network and spread the message of Muffin Boy Clothing.
“My older brother’s band started wearing Muffin Boy to gigs,” King said. “It was a nice way to advertise the clothing and catch people’s attention.”
King has also grabbed the attention of celebrities.
“I contacted Tyga over Twitter,” King said. “He wore Muffin Boy Clothing pins to an event. Chris Brown’s stylist has even worn Muffin Boy.”
King also mentioned the pop singer, Mike Star, is sponsored by the Muffin Boy brand.
King continues to expand his empire by contacting stores internationally, in addition to spreading the word on campus.
“I have been approached to open stores in London and back home in Queens, N.Y.,” King said. “I have even thought of selling a type of Muffin Boy toy in Japan. But it is fun to sell products on campus. I had a lot of business during first semester, but I decided to focus more on my schoolwork this semester.”
The urban brand offers sweatshirts, T-shirts, hats and pins targeted toward adolescents. However, King mentioned that adults also wear his clothes to embrace their inner child.
King aspires to one day own a flagship or central store. He also dreams of opening a store in California and selling Muffin Boy toys in Japan.
From the start, King has enjoyed building his brand. But he does not do it for the profit.
“My goal is to create a clothing line that is fun, weird but also cool at the same time,” King said. “I want to encourage people to smile and not take life too seriously.”
King has been involved with his business for several years, and said he is excited to see what the future holds in store for him.
“I am confident about Muffin Boy Clothing,” King said. “When I graduate from Bonaventure, I will be proud to call it my alma mater. I want my colleagues to remember me years from now. I think Muffin Boy can help me with that.”
