Staunton teen entrepreneur Jahleel Pettiford saw two of his biggest dreams come true in the Virginia Common University Siegel Center.
One dream was winning a state basketball championship as a member of Robert E. Lee High School’s boys basketball team in 2017. The other was seeing one of the fans in the Siegel Center decked out in Pettiford’s own Növel clothing line.
Pettiford’s fashion line allows him to express his creativity, pursue business in his teens, and spread a message of peace, love and positivity.
“With the way the world is now, a happy day is almost like a miracle,” said Pettiford, who worked with the Staunton Creative Community Fund to help develop a business plan. “The world is just bad now with all the scrutiny, violence and conflicts. I just want to spread peace, love and positivity and equality for all.”
Pettiford credits his father with instilling in him the desire to pursue greatness, and to make sure he was fashionably dressed while pursuing it. The father and son would take monthly shopping trips when Pettiford was young.
After going through a tough emotional time as a junior, Pettiford decided to start a positivity campaign, which included his drawings being posted to social media. Some friends encouraged him to turn the concepts into a clothing line.
“They were like, ‘If you turned that into a shirt, I’d buy it,’” said Pettiford, who named the line Növel because he loves uniqueness. “I was like, ‘well then that’s the next move.’”
True to their words, Pettiford’s friends did begin to buy his clothes, and they have continued to support his recently released Premature Icons fall 2018 line. It includes long-sleeved T-shirts, sweaters and hoodies.
“Premature Icons is inspired by people chasing dreams,” said Pettiford, a part-time employee at in the Staunton-Augusta Family YMCA’s Teen Center. “Considering the way the world is, if you just add some humor and keep your song grooving, your dreams can be endless.”
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Chris Graham
