The story of filmcrü: spoken by our founder George Jeff™
I love to dress fresh every day, and during my touring days with Ella Mai, I would pack heavy loads of luggage with clothing. When it was time to wash these clothes overseas, it was tough. Most places were not open or didn't exist.
When Ella Mai's tour wrapped up in the summer of 2018, I returned home frustrated. I was lugging around a ton of luggage for no reason. I had to figure out a better solution.
Furthermore, I spoke to my grandmother about the issues I faced on tour with my clothing/luggage; my army vet grandmother told me, "You need a uniform," which would eliminate half the battle. I took her advice and did just that. I searched high and low for a unique uniform. I found and bought a dark blue coverall and created the Filmcrü identity/logo.
Now you're wondering where the word Filmcrü comes from? Well, I'm sure you've been to concerts, games, or events where people work with large crowds. You've seen someone with a "CREW" shirt, jacket, or hoodie; that's the inspiration. I loved the idea but had to enhance it and make it different, so I did. Inspired by Phreshcru, I took their cru, swapped the English (u) for the German (ü), and added "film" to mine. I love film. I'm a filmmaker, so it is fitting. You know, they say, stand on the shoulders of others.
Bam! FILMCRÜ was born in 2018. When I was happy with my final logo, I asked my manufacturer to embroider Filmcrü on the back with a camera on the collar. When I got the call from my manufacturer that my coveralls were ready for pickup, I was excited to see what they had created for me. I had found my uniform and solved all my outfit and luggage problems. Soon after receiving it, I put it on, smiled, hugged, and thanked them.
A couple of weeks later, I received a call from Ella Mai voicing we were going back on tour, and I was excited to show off my new uniform. I wore my uniform every day on tour and was complimented every day. Everyone would ask, is this mine? Where can I get one? My answer would be, It's my uniform! I made it, and it's not for sale! With no clear mission behind it yet, but to create a comfortable uniform for me.
Ella Mai's drummer Jermaine Poindexter suggested I start selling products with Filmcrü on them, specifically, t-shirts, so other curators like myself can rock it and have comfortable clothing to create in.
I continued touring with Ella Mai, finishing off strong in March 2020 during the early COVID-19 stages. During 2020, I envisioned what I truly wanted Filmcrü to stand for and the impact we could make today and 40 years from now. I took the time to curate our brand ethos and DNA. It took time, but it was well worth it. I expressed I wanted to use my current audience to highlight other photographers and cinematographers worldwide, tell their stories, and create fly pieces we can wear and utilize while curating.
February 12, 2021, WE announced to the world a launch day of February 16, 2021, that curators and supporters could purchase their first Filmcrü piece. Our first collection highlighted: DirectDev, Norberto Garcia, and AJ Lising. The first installation was a short sleeve premium black tee with green and yellow, inspired by Jamaica; why those colors? This shirt design was for a project I planned to do with Koffee at Coachella 2020. These t-shirts would have been our uniform.
March 22, 2021, we announced our second installment, highlighting more storytellers: Maya Iman and Amber Aisha & the rest is Nü History.
