Remember being 20-years-old and spiraling between innocent optimism and existential dread? Lost in the feeling that anything is possible yet having no idea where to start?

For that reason, we called Grant up to talk about how he made it to this point, the challenges of opening the store, and his motives behind it.

When you say your store will stock DIY goods, what are we talking?
I could give you some deep reasoning for why I would or wouldn’t have brands in the store, but I’d be lying if I didn’t just say it revolves around personal taste. I’m not thinking about whether something will sell well, I’m thinking about whether it will fit the image. It’s really just what I think is cool, and it’s my peers in this DIY space. It’s people that make stuff out of garages, basements, and backyards. That type of thing is what I want to support.

It’s also cool to stock stuff that I wouldn’t typically buy for myself because it’s too expensive, but I get to stock it and secondhand enjoy it. I love having the magazines in person too, like you can’t flip through these things digitally, but now I get to check them out. I’m just excited to share my enjoyment with others.

“People that make stuff out of garages, basements, and backyards. That type of thing is what I want to support.”

Would you ever stock Spitfires or a Toy Machine board?
I like the idea, but we have a really cool skateshop in Richmond called Venue, it’s been around like 30 years. It’s mom and pop run, like I skate with the owner’s kid. So since we have that skate shop, out of respect I don’t want to step on their toes at all.

My golden rule for the shop is that everything I sell in the store you can’t buy anywhere nearby or within hours. Like Venue doesn’t have Late Nite Stars. I would be willing to get some decks from them, or Stunt decks. Smaller, niche brands that wouldn’t be at Venue, I’d stock. I’m not planning on selling something they already have.

So I’ll never walk in and find a pair of Polar Big Boys?
Probably not. I plan on priding myself on carrying unique stuff.

I like your point of flipping through a zine. Are you revolting against the online shopification of the world?
Not purposely, but I heavily value the idea of community. Not to be all deep, but seeing something in person is completely different. Even a shirt, you can feel the weight of the shirt, you can look at the graphic all close. And the act of physically pulling up to the store, maybe you buy something, maybe you loiter, maybe you play some pool, but it’s all these things you don’t get online. Online you get the shopping experience, but a shitty one.

I’m still going to have an online store, I’d be stupid not to, but I will say I’m way more hyped to have people come and shop in person. People tell me all the time about how physical stores are going out of business, but I don’t think the need for community and physical spaces will ever go away.

“People tell me all the time about how physical stores are going out of business, but I don’t think the need for community and physical spaces will ever go away.”

You started Letter from scratch, but where did the initial inspiration come from?
For me, I taught myself how to screenprint, to design, and I did it because I was hyped on it, not because I had the tools and resources. I remember watching Jenkem’s Carpet Company video during my freshman year in high school, and at the time I didn’t understand that screenprinting could be such a big thing.

I used to pull up to the skatepark with 10 shirts, and then 20, and then I started selling online. You make due with the resources you have, even if it’s $100 and you’re screenprinting in your living room. It’s about working within the limitations you have, and even the smallest setup can make cool things.

Wow, you’ve been screenprinting since freshman year of high school. Did you always know you wanted to pursue Letter full time?
So my whole family are educators, but they never pressured me to go to college. My family just didn’t want me to sit at home not doing anything. I knew in the back of my head that I wanted to do Letter full time, but I didn’t know how. I did some community college and I got this two year associates degree, but it was mainly classes to help me learn to run my own business.

I remember my business teacher told us about how he had a nightclub, and the Foo Fighters played there, and he was telling us all about his personal entrepreneurship endeavors and I’m sitting there like, “Dude.” I’m sitting around a bunch of finance bros, and hearing those stories I knew it was what I was going to do. I knew I could make the dream true.

Why open a shop in Richmond, Virginia out of all places?
Well I moved here from Leesburg, Virginia, which is two hours north of Richmond, like a year ago. I’d always come here growing up skating, but I realized Richmond doesn’t have a space for zines, clothing, fingerboards, and all the stuff I mess with. I thought I could do that, and it would naturally fulfill a space that’s not already here.

It genuinely feels like I’m fitting in where I belong by doing this here. Like if I were to come to New York, I don’t think it would make sense for me to do this there, because there’s so many cool spots with a similar style. Here, it’s unheard of.

The shirt you’re promoting the store with says “Too cringe for NY, too based for LA, just right for Richmond, VA.” Care to explain?
I didn’t make up that t-shirt concept, it’s been printed on shirts forever. But I remember seeing it when I was living in Leesburg, VA, and my homie wanted me to put it on a shirt. It went really well in my small town, and it was clear it was golden. When I moved to Richmond and knew I was opening the store, it just made sense. Richmond is niche and cool, but it’s also cringe, so I knew I needed to make it. I actually remade the Yankees logo too, making it say RVA. And the post of the shirt went really well.

When you were thinking through the original idea, did you have any inspirations other than skate shops?
When I was 16 I went to New York for the first time, and I was a part of this flea market called Park Mart. I was surrounded by a ton of people I look up to, and it was so cool to look through all these different creative projects, and see what people are working on. I’d seen a lot of the stuff online, but physically going through it is different. I remember thinking “You can’t find this anywhere else.” It was very tailored towards my interests, and Park Mart was a massive inspiration for me.

When I was thinking about opening the store I thought about the curation and having a space like that. I wanted to recreate that feeling I had at Park Mart for others in the shop, and let people be able to discover new things, or see the stuff they follow on Instagram in person.

The other big inspiration for me is Waste Store out of London. They are an example of a physical space, and the environment they create and pop ups they host are a massive inspiration for me. If I’m pulling from one shop in particular, it’s gotta be them.

“I’m going to grow old and be cringe one day, that’s just how it is.”

Over time your personal interests will change and evolve, do you expect your shop to evolve alongside you?
I’m going to grow old and be cringe one day, that’s just how it is, but I do hope that I can surround myself with people who have cool things going on and stay tapped in on what other people are hyped on. I’m going to try and keep expanding my tastes and interests, but I never want my shop to feel random, or someone to walk in and be like, “What is all this shit?”

As I get older, I hope the business grows with me and I can continue to pull in cool things around me. I’m always coming across something and being like “How do I not know about this yet?” and I hope I never stop feeling that way. If I keep doing that, the shop will follow suit.

How much weight do you put into following current design trends?
Not everything I do is a completely original, straight from the head thought. I pull from others, but I’ll never fully rip some shit. I try to be a sponge and soak up as much as possible, and then I try to bring something new to the table. There’s no point in copying someone else, like what’s cool about that? It’s ABD.

Screenprinting clothing as a medium is funny, because it’s simultaneously endlessly creative, but it also puts you in a box. And I always like how you do the large prints, where a graphic will go over hoodie pockets, and onto sleeves. Is that your way of pushing the medium?
I don’t know if I consider myself a clothing designer, but I like putting graphics on shirts and hoodies, so I’m always wondering how far I can take a t-shirt. If I get my own mesh and 2×4’s I can make a massive screen and I can do a fat all over print, and I think that’s just the natural creative part of thinking “How far can I take this?” Through that I learned to do it well, and people really like it. They are a pain in the ass, like I completely undercharge for the amount of work I put into it, but I’m hyped to put these things out.

“There’s no point in copying someone else, like what’s cool about that? It’s ABD.”

What was the most challenging aspect of this store opening journey so far?
Just getting the lease [laughs]. I’m 20 years old, and I have no credit. Getting people to take me seriously about a physical store space was the hardest part. And I was aware of that going in. My Aunt is friends with a realtor, and I asked him “How does a young gentleman looking for a store space get taken seriously?” He told me to write a business plan, but I’m terrible at writing. I swear I’m some sort of dyslexic. Anyway, I wrote a 30 page business plan for the store. I mapped all the finances out in hopes of getting a realtor to represent me.

I sent it to a family friend, Mr. Faircloth, he’s known me since I was a kid running around with my underwear on my head, asking him if it makes sense. I needed him to take a 20 year old’s writing and make it make sense for a 50 year old. After reading it he asked how he could help me, like offering me a loan or whatever since he owns a business as well, and while I was good on money, I needed a cosigner. Because of him they took me seriously in the application process. With his help it was night and day.

Yeah, I wondered about how you made this all possible, because a lot of times when you see someone young with a store or whatever it’s like “Oh, nepo baby.”
I’m not here to play the whole, “Oh, I came from nothing.” I’m blessed, and my parents are so supportive. My mom’s come over to help so much, but as far as financials, they were very hands off. And I respect that. It wouldn’t have been the same otherwise. Making this happen through the money from Letter Company has made this product better. If I was just handed the money I don’t know what it would look like.

What was the most useful piece of advice you’ve received from someone about opening a business?
I took Mr. Faircloth out to dinner one night, and I was sitting there trying to instill faith in him, and he was like, “I’m not worried about it. You can’t stress about these things. Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face.” I think Mike Tyson originally said that, like you can work as hard as you can, but not everything is going to go my way, and I have to be prepared for that. It’s important to have perspective and understand that when things don’t go your way it’s not the end of the world. There will be parts that won’t go smoothly, and I have to learn to keep pushing forward. You’re not going to catch me whining.

“Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face.”

Have there been points that haven’t gone smoothly yet?
My store actually got robbed like two weeks ago, someone broke in and took a stack of shirts and ran. I left for the night and when I came back the door was jammed open, swinging wide. It was weird though, and I see this as a blessing in disguise, but I had so many power tools in there. If they took those, I wouldn’t have been able to build anything. Construction wouldn’t have been possible. So I was still able to work on the shop and all that. They just took the shirts and dipped, but the store was open all night. Nobody messed with it.

As an outsider, coming into a shop like this can be intimidating. How do you make sure it’s still inviting to the common shopper?
If I have friends that work here, I might be paying them in t-shirts, so I don’t expect them to be an allstar employee, but the last thing I want is someone coming in like I would when I was younger, all hyped and excited, and get shrugged off by someone. That happens in a lot of places, and all of the coolest places I’ve been there’s been someone like that. It’s fine to an extent, like I don’t think I’m going to want to have a long conversation with everyone that comes in, but if someone comes in and is excited to talk, I want someone to entertain the conversation and be hyped with them.

Being a small business owner, I’m sure you’ve run into the fact that all the homies want free shit. How do you plan on navigating that with the store?
It’s a hard balance, and when situations like that arise you have to be real. For example, when I do a drop I don’t even keep a shirt for myself. So I’ll tell them, like I don’t even have this. If I give you a shirt it’s like I’m spending $30. It’s not like it just happened to be sitting there, if that were the case I’d give it away no question. Listen, if I gave out everything to everyone, I’d have nothing. Nobody’s entitled to free shit.

As cool as Richmond is, where is the line of “I’m succeeding, let’s move on to something bigger.”
I haven’t thought about that too much, but I know I don’t want this to be the only project I ever do. For me, I’d be interested in starting something new somewhere else, like even if this goes really well, the Letter Store will stay in Richmond. But if I get the opportunity to do a store in New York one day, I’d totally do that. I would be shocked if I get to that point, but of course I’m interested in future projects.

I’ve always had this idea of doing a coffee cart, and if Letter Store goes well, maybe I’ll be able to do a different project in the future. I would like to think that this isn’t the last project I do. I’m very much living in the moment with this, but I don’t want to be sitting in this shop in 25 years and have it be exactly the same. The dream would be to have the next generation take it over and bring in what they find cool.

To wrap this up, what’s the best reaction you’ve gotten from a Richmond local?
When I was putting the sign up someone passed by on a bike and said, “Yo, that’s sick as fuck.” People are intrigued, and they might be confused, but I’ve had neighbors reach out. I’m just happy that people care, because I could have done all this work and people not care. People are interested, and that makes me hyped to keep going.

Interview by: Ben Komins
Photos by: Thomas Torbinski
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