When Braje Brewer decided to start her own T-shirt business earlier this year, she thought what better way to honor her hometown roots than to name it 7FortyGear — an homage to Delaware’s 740 area code.
A 2015 graduate of Hayes High School, Brewer caught the entrepreneurial bug shortly after graduation, but for whatever reasons, never acted on it until Feb. 11, when she officially launched her online T-shirt business.
“I finally put some thought and effort into it,” she said. “My influence comes from my people around me on the south side of Delaware.”
Fast forward nine months and Brewer’s entrepreneurial effort is starting to pay off.
“The response so far has been great, and the market is booming,” Brewer said. “I couldn’t be more proud. The love is endless in Delaware from my 7FortyGear fans.”
Her success in the T-shirt business has earned Brewer, a student at Columbus State Community College, the nickname “B wit da Ts.”
Brand details
To give 7FortyGear its own look, Brewer came up with a simple, yet unique “740” logo in which the number four is replaced with a hand featuring four raised fingers.
As for the type of clothing available, Brewer is offering short- and long-sleeve T-shirts as well as hoodies.
“Maybe in the near future I’ll expand the market, but for now I just want to focus on making affordable T-shirts for everyone,” she said.
7FortyGear T-shirts are available in all sizes, but colors vary based on the season.
The current collection, she said, has been well-received.
“People fell in love with the olive green shirt from the fall collection,” Brewer said. “It has been the most high in-demand product yet for 7FortyGear.”
Currently, Brewer is selling her T-shirts via the 7FortyGear Facebook page. In 2018, she plans to unveil her own website along with a new line of colors.
“7FortyGear will be returning in the new year with the winter collection of colors that drops Feb. 11,” she said, adding at that point in time all gear will be available online at 7FortyGear.com
For those who prefer to purchase their T-shirts the old-fashioned way, Brewer, on certain weekends, sets up shop inside the Second Ward Community Center on Ross Street.
No matter what ultimately becomes of the 7FortyGear brand, Brewer is hopeful her story will, in its own simple way, make Delaware “a city of believers and achievers.”
“I hope that through my business venture I can give the people around me hope that you can do anything you set your heart to do no matter where you come from,” Brewer said.
