Havant and South Downs College student launches his own T-shirt printing business

A college student has launched a business designing and selling hand-made products.
By Hope Mckellar
Published 17th Jun 2019, 16:38 BST
Updated 19th Jun 2019, 14:15 BST
Jack Harris showcasing his hand-printed T-shirt designs at his pop-up stall at South Downs College, Havant.Jack Harris showcasing his hand-printed T-shirt designs at his pop-up stall at South Downs College, Havant.
Jack Harris showcasing his hand-printed T-shirt designs at his pop-up stall at South Downs College, Havant.

Jack Harris has started up the business, Jack Joe, selling hand-produced T-shirts, photo prints, screen prints and posters.

The 18-year-old set up the printing business while completing his foundation art diploma at Havant and South Downs College.

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He previously studied graphic design and art at A-level at the college.

The products were designed and submitted as part of his final major project and he plans to launch a website where he will sell his designs once they have been marked by his lecturers and given back to him.

He currently runs an Etsy and a Red Bubble store, through which he has sold more than 1,000 products.

He held a pop-up shop last week, in which he sold T-shirts that he designed and printed himself, selling six to his teachers and friends at £10 each.

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The pop-up shop was the last part of his final project at HSDC and he is hoping to receive a good grade from his lecturers. 

Jack is planning to hold stalls at markets across Portsmouth where he will sell his designs, before moving to Cornwall to study illustration at Falmouth University.

He will bring his designs to Falmouth and sell them at markets there and hopes to even open a permanent storefront in the town.

The designs have a lot of inspiration behind them, including punk bands, Katharine Hamnett’s ‘choose life’ designs, passive aggressive artists and activism.

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Some of his designs feature quotes and lyrics from David Bowie.

Jack, who currently works at Tesco, says he has his lecturers to thank for giving him the confidence to start up the business.

He said: ‘Without the course, I would be stacking shelves for the rest of my life, fortunately things changed when I was given the confidence boost I needed by my teachers and peers.

‘I would love to have stores around the UK, but I’ll most likely start with a store in Portsmouth.’

His dream is to work for himself as a designer.

You can buy Jack Joe products from his Etsy and Red Bubble stores https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/JackJoeH https://www.redbubble.com/people/jackjoe1708

Related topics:HavantPortsmouth