Episode 03: Jordan Carter
Jordan Carter: Co-Owner of Produce Portland and Produce Organic Records, Owner/Pharaoh of Pluto, Entrepreneur | Interviewed by Rashad Floyd
My name is Jordan Carter, and I am an entrepreneur. I’m the Co-Founder of Produce Portland. Our spot is on the corner of 4th and Davis. We're kind of the anchor on the block. Produce Portland is a hybrid retail store. We like to say that we cater to every market. We actually have a wide range of customers that come into Produce; from the sneaker enthusiast to the vintage thrifter, to the "fashionista", which is just someone who's aware of the streetwear industry and understands how things work. There's a lot of people who support Produce as a brand, just because there's so many of us that are led into the community. With Produce, we are trying to establish a better Old Town neighborhood. Because we do see the future potential in this area.
Growing up a lot of people considered me to be fashionable. So I was always into the fashion side of things, but I never really thought about pursuing it. Upon graduation, I went to work in the corporate field and realized it wasn’t for me. Being from Portland, I’ve never seen many African-Americans at the higher levels in the corporate world.
As I got into designing my own apparel, I started off with denim and I used to hand distress, using either a box cutter, scissors, or anything sharp to just go back and forth over the edges. I would spend probably three to four hours on one garment. But with a Dremel, it's probably two minutes per piece of garment. It's also kind of peaceful. It's like my getaway from life, just kind of seeing the fibers as they tear and not really knowing what to expect. It's more so, you create a piece and you have to live with it, which is just a reminder that sometimes life just gives you lemons. So using the Dremel to design my shirts is just a creative process and also an escape to create beauty out of chaos.
I graduated seventh in my class with a 4.0 GPA, so a lot of the kids looked up to me for mentorship, just because I had everything going for myself outside of the stereotypical direction of athlete, rapper, or entertainer. In high school, Park Rose was considered the white school. And so with me, being one of the African-Americans who took things seriously, who went to college, who got the degree, they were like, "Oh, I can do that too. I can be myself." I don’t have to act like I know what I’m doing to fit in.
At Produce, we consider ourselves to be more than just a store, but a destination. The barbershop concept came about once I got serious about opening a store. Might as well work with friends versus trying to create something on your own. And so that's also how the record label got started. That's how the market came about. It's a group of friends just working together on different crafts.
Produce Portland is the store side of things. Produce Organic Records is our music label. I think everyone now has that mindset where you can't really do it by yourself. And you got to align yourself with people who are like-minded. That's what we talk about a lot here, we have to keep our frequency hot. We are all in our own lanes. I think Portland needs a collective that can show people we can work together. In terms of streetwear in Portland, there's not too many black-owned businesses. Streetwear is about rebellion, and it's about going against the grain. It's like I did this because I wanted to do this.
For me, it's just special to be able to give back to a lot of the designers I see coming up. Just giving people a platform to do better. I am blessed to be where I am today. My family, my friends, the city of Portland, they've all believed in me and my craft. And so I’m reaching a point where I have the opportunity to give back to those same people, for me, it's just what I have to do.
