West Holmes grad’s online retail venture takes flight

West Holmes grad’s online retail venture takes flight
                        

Young people today are challenged to spread their wings and fly to follow their dreams.

Brent Wilson is taking that analogy quite literally.

Wilson graduated from West Holmes High School in 2015 with a passion for film and a deep desire to make the trek across the country to the west coast, where one day he hoped to make it in the world of film.

Wilson said he initially looked at going into industrial design, but his heart kept calling him to film. After taking a gap year off school at Columbia College Chicago, he was working on his drawing skills when he found himself making videos and using his creativity, not in drawing but in filming and producing.

“Industrial design was the safer route, but it wasn’t where my heart was, and I figured why was I going into something safe when I should at least try to move into something that I am truly passionate about,” Wilson said. “It is my passion.”

Now Wilson is preparing to make the move out west, where he has secured lower-level work in the movie world, knowing that while he will have to work his way up the ladder, he will be surrounded by like-minded people who share his passion.

“I am excited that this experience will continue to drive my creativity,” Wilson said.

In the meantime, while waiting to make his move to San Francisco, he began toying with some ideas as to what he could do to keep the creative juices flowing.

Wilson has always had a passion for wildlife and birds in particular, and thus he created the idea of the BirdShirts.com line of clothing, and now he has designed a site that allows people to purchase clothing while supporting a number of nonprofit organizations designed to protect and aid birds.

“I was still at home and had the time to take on another venture since it is not easy to get highly involved in film here in Holmes County,” Wilson said. “So I came up with this online retail idea, and I wanted to do more than just sell shirts online. I wanted to put a cause behind it and be able to help someone by doing it. It turned out to be animals rather than people, but I was excited about the opportunity.”

Wilson began to explore a variety of options and put a lot of effort into entering a niche market where he could make an impact and have some fun being creative while helping a good cause. He landed in the avian world, where he joined a larger group of people who desire to help birds and conservation practices, and BirdShirts.com was born.

“I was home from college, and film is what I actually went to school for, and I realized that my passion lies in creating things that other people can experience, enjoy and react to,” Wilson said. “I like taking something from my mind and turning it into something physical and real that I can present, much like film. I like the idea of creating opportunities for people to react to something, whether it is on film or through something like these shirts.”

Wilson said the idea behind the website is to aid organizations that have gone to great efforts to support wildlife with birds being the primary focal point.

His initial foray into that endeavor has been creating ties with the American Eagle Foundation. AEF installs web cams near eagle nests and films the lives of eagles for educational purposes. Wilson said AEF provides a window in the American bald eagle that shows the love, care and even the dangers of these creatures striving to survive and thrive in the wild.

“It’s so cool to see their social media and to see how many people are interested with the drama of these birds, but it is expensive to upkeep it, so I felt it would be fun to help raise some funds for that.”

Wilson developed a concept that coincides with the eagles, creating a product line of T-shirts that promotes AEF. An eagle dressed in old-fashioned ace pilot garb complete with goggles and scarf along with a number of other shirts has created a unique clothing line for a good cause. The proceeds will then go to American Eagle Foundation. Wilson said the idea is to continue to delve into new and exciting nonprofit organizations that he can help.

“Ideally I’d like to help different organizations through what I’m doing and eventually develop a following from all of these different organizations,” Wilson said.

He noted that another organization on the horizon is The Peregrine Fund, an organization that strives to protect threatened and endangered species of birds worldwide. They have already worked closely with the Toucan Rescue Ranch, an organization that aids in the rescue and care of Costa Rican wildlife. BirdShirts.com helped raise more than $5,000 for that cause.

“That was a win, and it was cool to help them do that,” Wilson said. “In teaming with various organizations, we pick up people from each of the various communities, so we will have all of these different groups involved with BirdShirts.com. I’d love to see it grow to support itself because it offers people a chance to get something of value that’s fun and interesting rather than just asking for money for these organizations. At least that is the theory behind it.”

Wilson said the designs are actually drawn by his friends and artists Nick Tish and Kaci Bucklew, and he utilizes two different printing companies to have them printed. The companies will actually create the shirts when they are ordered and ship them directly to patrons. That means Wilson doesn’t have to store and ship product, so he can spend his time designing and creating.

Wilson said he is currently redesigning the website to make some enhancements, but the site contains links to each of the organizations with whom they work, the American Eagle Fund being featured right now.

You can follow the progress of BirdShirts.com on Facebook or via Instagram.


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