Celebrating Small Business…and My Student!
damn good founder, Daniel Kolukisa, and his sister/art director, Sophie Kolukisa
Back in my past life as an elementary school teacher, I always told my students, “If you get into trouble, if you do anything harmful to yourself or others, my face will appear and you and I will have a conversation.” Oh my! Well, come to find out, I have a student (one of many, luckily!) who I recently found out is doing GOOD, damn good!
This shirt is available at damngoodclothing.com
Daniel Kolukisa was always a kind, compassionate, serious student in my second grade classroom. In 2019, he founded damn good as a passion project, born out of a love for art, clothes, and community. According to their website,
“dan first found his way into art through photography: he had a camera, and some friends who needed someone to document their music careers, and the motivation to make something good. damn good.
dan and the team are always on the lookout for the next big thing. they’re not following trends. they’re setting them. damn good is a way to spread the love: making wearable art, a way to express yourself, and to make the world around us damn good.”
Daniel tells me that when he first started damn good, it was just him and his family printing t-shirts in a friend’s shop. “After dropping out of college to pursue art, this seemed like the perfect way to share my vision with the world. We had a great first year in business, until Covid hit and my health took a turn, and put life on pause. damn good had to take a backseat while everything sorted itself out. Now, we’re back and better than ever, and even though things have changed a little, we’re still the same.
“Whenever I’ve shown my dad anything cool, he’s always called it “damn good”, so when I was trying to find something to call my brand, there was just no other name to go with. We just want to make stuff that’s ‘damn good’. I believe streetwear is for everyone. Creativity doesn’t have rules. Working with other artists has stayed important to me, and it’s important to damn good. We’re going to keep making damn good clothing with other people, for other people, to share our art with the world.”
Future design from damn good
I’ve kept in touch with Daniel and his family over the years, and I know how important this small business is to them all. Through health struggles, Daniel has always persevered with a positive, can-do attitude. To say I’m damn proud of this kid is an understatement. I always consider my former students “my kids,” and seeing Daniel and his friends and family working together to bring art and community into the world makes me so very happy!
Future design by damn good
Follow @damngood.clothing and @damngood.club on Instagram to see new art that they’re promoting, and to talk with Daniel about upcoming designs.
You can visit their website at damngoodclothing.com .
I can’t wait to see what the future holds for this creative small business…and for “my kid,” Daniel!
Current and future designs by damn good
All photos courtesy of Daniel Kolukisa, damn good clothing.