Locally designed ball caps carry message of positivity
Jonathan Hall was sitting in a firstyear kinesiology class with a focus on brain function when he had a revelation.
He wanted to be doing something else, he realized. And it was that class that helped him get there.
They learned about the power of positive thinking that day – about mindfulness, about self-care – ideas that resonated with Hall, who decided on the spot to change his mindset, to improve his outlook, to embrace positive thinking as a way of shaping his life.
“I was always beating myself up for little things,” says the 27-yearold founder of I Am Awear, a business that makes slogan caps. “The smallest thing would happen and I would just let it beat me up. I’d think on it all the time … I was basically mapping out my whole life by beating myself up.
“Things started to change when I started to go for what I wanted and what I love.”
He loves being creative, he says. Art, marketing and sports have always been favourites, even back when he was a student at Barton Secondary School. So after wandering a few different paths, this parttime baker got an idea that overtook everything else: ball caps.
These caps would be stylish, unique and promote the power of positive thinking. Give back to the community and remind its wearers to be mindful, to be concerned with only things he/she can change.
Hall calls them Thinking Caps. Branded with the logo I Am on the front and back, each also has the message “Think Positive” stitched into the lining. Ten per cent of sales are donated to the Canadian Mental Health Association and you can find them at exclusive boutiques like Brimz in Toronto, L’Amour Du Noir in Cleveland, Parlez De Nous in Hamilton and on the I Am Awear website (www.iam-awear.com).
Hall collaborated with Brooklynbased model and vegan activist Amina Blue — who has walked the runway for Kanye West and appears in Tyga’s music video for “1 of 1” — to create the White Thinking Cap. Featuring an “A” on the front, this all-white cap is meant to promote veganism and has the message “Eat Right” stitched into its lining. You can find it locally at Nude Boutique on Locke Street.
But Hall isn’t done yet. He has just designed a special run of McMaster University Thinking Caps, featuring both McMaster and I Am logos, which he expects will be available in the campus store in the student centre before the new year. If it takes off, he’s hoping he’ll also be creating Thinking Caps for Mac’s sports teams under his “I Am Awear Sports” brand.
“My goal is to get to the players and to get to other schools,” says Hall. “I’m really taking that launch seriously because I think if it goes well, it can have a big chain reaction.”
Hall describes his personal style as simply modern.
“You can find my outfit if you go on Instagram and search on the Explore page,” he laughs.
Here he wears a black Gildan hoodie under a black and khaki Gap bomber jacket. His black skinny jeans are from Zara. And he accessorizes with black Converse kicks, a gold Flud watch and a black I Am Awear Thinking Cap. Most eye-catching piece: My sunglasses. I just think sunglasses can make any outfit look OK. They’re Clubmaster Ray Bans. I like the frame, I like the structure, I like the way (they) make my face look. Quirkiest wardrobe item: One of my winter jackets … it’s lined with (faux) fur, but it’s very … I think it’s way too flashy. Way too flashy. And the hood is raccoon fur. It’s forest green but it sits on you open, so you’re seeing the fur inside the jacket. The fur looks like rabbit – darkish brown fading into grey. Wardrobe must-have: Converse shoes. I love Converse. What I want to do with my hat is what Converse has done, which is cross all classes with (their) product. Best purchase: My other winter jacket. It’s a Mackage jacket. It’s black, shiny … it kind of looks like it’s trying to be leather but it’s not leather and it’s a little poufy. And the (big) hood on it is what I really like and the fact that it’s extremely warm. Regrets buying: I kind of regret buying that (Mackage) jacket because it was very expensive. Loves to shop at: Online, eBay. I will look for things I know nobody has. I like going to H&M and looking for very plain (generic) clothes. I’ll go to Zara and buy a white T-shirt. And jeans. No one can pick out (what brand of jeans someone is wearing). Ridding your closet of: Track pants. There’s a certain type of track pant that I want and I don’t like the way any of my track pants fit. And if I ever do get track pants again, I’m going to get these track pants by John Elliott. They just fit really well – they’re just nice. Splurges on: I think I splurge on shoes. Beauty item you can’t live without:
Cologne. Tuscan Leather, by Tom Ford.