Meet Travon Mills | Fashion designer and owner of Richie Duvon

We had the good fortune of connecting with Travon Mills and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Travon, every day, we about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
I always had a passion for fashion, art, creativity, and a vision for helping others become brave by breaking out of their shell of fear. Richie Duvon stands for bravery and leadership. I believe to be successful, you have to be brave enough to take the risk and opportunity that you’re afraid of. A lot of us run away from our dreams and goals because we’re afraid of the “what if’s” and thoughts of failure. But a lot of people just don’t speak about it. One thing I’ve learned is that every successful business had/has “failure” which is ok, you just have to learn from the mistakes and keep going, no matter how much doubt you have as long as you believe in yourself that’s all that matters. I was once in that shell of fear, always thinking the worst of what could happen if things didn’t turn out how I imagined or if I just didn’t have the right support like the most popular people. That’s what kept me stuck in that shell of fear. Three years before launching my business I wrote all of my ideas down in a notebook, but I allowed myself to get comfortable with my fears. As I closed my notebook and put everything to the side, I never opened it again until 2 years later. By that time me finding out I was about to be a first-time father that year, thoughts started rushing through my head. Growing up I never had the newest or fanciest clothes, but my older brother did. So, I always told myself “I couldn’t wait until I got older to buy those shoes or clothes” I wanted, but in the meantime I would just wait until my brother left out to sneak his shoes and clothes to wear to school. By me going to school with his clothes and shoes, people would compliment me on how nicely dressed I was which made me feel good about myself. As a child I always had a gift for art, creativity and I remembered my mother telling me not to ever let my talents and gifts go to waste. By her voice replaying in my head that very same day, it caused me to open back up my notebook and finish where I left off. Many sleepless nights and months of researching, creating and learning about the fashion business made me want it even more. I always had a gift of inspiring others and bringing people together so by being open to new ideas, it drove me to do intense research in bringing my vision to life which allowed me to launch my business that next year.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’ve never gone to school for art or design it kind of came naturally when I was a child I would sit at the computer all day finding pictures to draw and just pay attention to everything they were doing, and I would have my art book and pencil right there in front of me drawing, or I would watch cartoons and design my own characters or super heroes. I’m most proud of how far I came because if I was still stuck in that mindset of fear, I don’t know where I’ll be right now. It definitely wasn’t easy at all but me having a daughter really pushed me to go harder, I wanted to give her the life I never had growing up she gave me the extra motivation I needed so whenever I ran into a brick wall, I would just slide right through the cracks and keep going. I didn’t like the feeling of fear, so risk was the only other option I had, That’s what helped me overcome the challenges. I’ve learned that you’re in control of your own life, nothing comes easy or overnight. Just never to give up on your dreams and goals because you can either have 6 months of progress or 6 months of excuses in life. I want the world to know always take risk and opportunities in front of you that can change your life forever. Don’t let fear get the best of you. Never let no one say “you can’t” do something because you can. Take those risk, opportunities, experiences, and even surround yourself with more people like you and watch how easier your goals will get.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
It’s so many nice places but It would have to be somewhere more causal like a outside luxurious roof top that offers it all. Somewhere We can enjoy the environment, the view of the city, have drinks, eat and talk business at the same time.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to give a Special shoutout to my mother specially on the times when I felt like giving up or that I wasn’t doing good enough she always thought the complete opposite, always gave me the encouraging words i needed to hear and always helped me out anyway she could. And the crazy part is she ALWAYS been right about everything she said. I will never forget the day she got me 5 sells in 5mins!. Also my father for being supportive through the whole journey and just promoting anyway he can to his friends, school, events etc. Shoutout My brother Zayden who always believed in me from the start he was the first person to ever wear the brand and help made connections to open doors for me to get the exposure I needed. Shoutout My cousin Marquise, every time I needed him he came through with no questions asked. Shoutout my sisters for always being supportive and giving me their opinions. And my daughter (even though she won’t understand this right now ) but she definitely kept me going by just being my little helper in packaging and sorting out inventory. And Shoutout the rest of my friends and family who supported me from day one I just want y’all to know that nothing never goes unnoticed!

Website: https://richieduvon.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richieduvon/?hl=en

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/pages/category/Clothing-store/RichieDuvon/posts/