Back in July, Conlin McDonald, founder and CEO of E3 Apparel, entered Pow Wow Pitch, a pitch designed to stimulate Indigenous entrepreneurs.
Hundreds of entrepreneurs across Canada pitched their businesses online in hopes of winning a cash prize of $25,000. As a semi-finalist in the fashion category, McDonald only received $1,000. However, instead of being daunted, he remains upbeat and ready to face the next challenge head-on.
“I learned so much from this – how to maintain the business, how to stay relevant, how to go about building a clothing company and find other distributors for a curated price,” said McDonald.
The St. Albert resident started E3 Apparel in April 2024 selling recreational clothing (T-shirts, sweats, hoodies, leggings and baby onesies) stamped with Cree syllables.
He is from Muskeg Lake Cree Nation in Saskatchewan and recently began to delve more into the Cree language. Wanting to share it with his three sons and the greater public, he began a home-based business pressing vinyl decals on articles of recreational clothing.
“Our next step is printing images direct to garments and outsourcing them to manufacturers. After our communication with Pow Wow Pitch, our orders picked up and it’s no longer feasible for us to manufacture them.”
Advice on how to portray his company was one of the most important marketing tools he received.
“The main thing is to keep it simple and always to stay relevant, and always have something on the go.”
Since opening, McDonald has set up a E3 Apparel Facebook page, posted on TikTok, and contacted media. And it has worked. Orders have been shipped far and wide, from British Columbia to Ontario, the United States and as far away as Australia.
At the moment, the Indigenous businessman is in talks with St. Albert’s Further Education to create a poster. He’s also developing Cree syllabic stamps to help facilitate language for elementary school students. And he’s hoping to market his products at Kingsway Garden Mall.
“Right now, I’m just waiting for a price point.”
McDonald is also a frequent guest at markets and is one of the vendors setting up a booth at St. Albert’s Truth and Reconciliation Event on Sept. 30 at Mission Park. His wares include T-shirts, sweaters, keychains, beaded earrings, and colour changing wine-glasses.
The event is designed to remember survivors of residential schools and those who never returned home. It features knowledge keepers, speakers, performers, artisans, exhibits and food vendors.
McDonald can also be reached by email at [email protected].
