About
Hello!
Rockin' Bones Clothing is an independent custom clothing brand with an emphasis on rock n' roll & horror themes. Our products are handmade and/or printed by hand DIY in house in the USA. Rockinbones.net has been live since 2002.
We are Robert & Kendra Jimison, the married couple that owns & operates every aspect of Rockin' Bones Clothing/rockinbones.net.
Want to know more? Here's some Q&A:
What were the contributing factors that led to your career choice? What about the fashion industry and entrepreneurship did you find appealing in the beginning?
We wanted to run our own business and do something creative since a young age, but family, friends, and educators usually discouraged us. Rockin’ Bones was established in 2002 when we were in college and we always wanted it to become our career. Our first year out of college was a real kick in the stomach in the corporate world, so we decided to do everything we could to make it a full time career. By 2007 we reached our goal and were able to run Rockin’ Bones full time.
Describe your workplace.
We generally design in the comfort of our home, where we run Rockin’ Bones. Sometimes it’s on the living room couch. Other times it’s in our office room; which is decorated like a teenager’s bedroom with a variety of artwork, concert posters, and horror movie posters on the walls. Essentially, we design in a laid back environment with visible inspiration.
What do you think is the biggest benefit of owning & operating Rockin' Bones Clothing?
We don’t like being told what to do or having to work hard for someone else’s benefit, only to be down sized. We don’t “have people.” We’re a two person operation so the most rewarding feeling is that when we succeed - it’s because of us.
Do you feel that your art skills have led to your success?
We think we're decent artists and it has played a role but ultimately, we’ve moved forward because we’ve exercised our education and brought job experience from completely unrelated studies and fields. We didn’t go to fashion school. We just think outside the box and do things our way.
What advice would you give to an aspiring young fashion designer?
I don’t think that we’re the best company to ask for advice since we were sort of born out of chaos and learned a lot through years of trial and error. The best advice that we could give is that you need to be professional and have guts from the very beginning if you’re serious about pursuing a career in this business.
What inspires your designs?
A lot of our inspiration comes from pop art, 80s horror and b-movies, and old music videos/album covers/flyers. If it seems like Linnea Quigley would have worn it in one of her movies, then it’s probably good material for a Rockin’ Bones design.
What are some perks to your jobs as designers?
Having the opportunity to meet very unique, interesting people would probably be the best perk. If we would have never conceived of this business, we would have never had the chance to do so.
What do you find most challenging about running your own label?
A curse we have with Rockin’ Bones is dealing with chauvinism from both genders. Kendra and I deal with an equal amount. But on the other hand, it’s a blessing that we’re a couple doing this together because when one of us deals with it, the other person can circumvent the problem with their gender. I wish that we didn’t have to deal with it period, but we don’t live in a perfect world. It is a double-edged sword.
What is the most difficult obstacle you have overcome?
Like any career, we’ve always had difficult obstacles to face. I think one of the biggest obstacles we faced was 2008-2009 when we made the bad decision to put a lot of trust into people on a certain popular model networking web site and send our wardrobe off for long distance shoots that we didn’t attend. The negative aspects far outweighed the positive. The decisions held us back and when we decided to stop and handle all of the future shoots, just the two of us, we accomplished more than all of those people combined over 18 months in just one afternoon. Lesson learned: if you want to do something right, do it yourself.
Before you go, meet Larry! He is a member of our family and the model for our cat graphic!
He has a Facebook fan page HERE!
