Nubi Company is a Minnesota-based company that designs and manufactures Afrocentric infant and toddler wear. The concept of Nubi Company developed when their mother Nancy Ellis was out looking for her youngest son’s newborn clothing eight years ago. There were no bright colorful garments or any that reflected ethnicity. She was disappointed, but not for long.
Erin Ellis said, ”At the time my little brother was a newborn, [my mother’s] inspiration was basically . . . the clothing didn’t resonate with her. She had skills in sewing and found some cool African fabric, and sewed an outfit that represented our culture.”
Nancy Ellis proposed the idea of Nubi Company to George Ellis and Erin, and expressed her interest in their partnership.
Erin Ellis explained, ”My mom brought us in the living room and I remember she was sitting in a rocking chair, and she said ‘do you guys know that Fubu started in their house? They started sewing in their house and they employed their family members.’ That kind of encouraged us because we always want to work as a team, being a family and tight knit and close as we are. That is where the vision came.”
The Nubi Company hierarchy includes Nancy Ellis – CEO, George Ellis – President, and Erin Ellis – Director of Marketing and Design.
George Ellis and Erin Ellis were still in high school when the Nubi Company was born, and it wasn’t until they were in college that they invested more time in the business.
George Ellis said, ”Since we were both still in high school when she started the business, we were not always able to be there to help support her. I really started jumping in the picture when I was a junior in college about three years ago. I made the decision that I wanted to be more serious about the business, and I thought it was a great opportunity. I went to the University of St. Thomas and got a degree in entrepreneurship. A lot of the business development and business planning were actually done while I was in college. It gave me a good opportunity to learn and talk to different professors about the opportunity of an ethnic clothing business. It taught me how to evaluate the business as a whole. It proved to be a good opportunity. So that’s where I started becoming more serious, and then just seeing the passion that my mother had in the business. It was something that she wanted us to take over eventually, and that got kind of exciting for us, as well as her being able to pass on something to her children, and be able to do more and ultimately one day be a household name.”
The Ellis siblings believe in maintaining multiple streams of income. They see it as essential to draw on all their gifts and talents in the business world. Erin Ellis recently graduated from the Art Institute International Minnesota with a Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design. She now works as the only African-American in the graphic arts department at TCF Bank.
”It’s so interesting how we all have separate jobs and we never knew that our company would be where it is now, based on our backgrounds. I always wanted to draw and I was always interested in art. I used to draw when I was little,” Erin Ellis said.
In 2005 Erin Ellis started EJ Design (www.ejdfirm.com), a graphic design company that has clients such as the University of Minnesota – College of Liberal Arts. Things she has learned in school, on the job and running her own company, have been beneficial in developing Nubi Company.
”I am learning so much. The only thing I can say is I am truly blessed that God has brought us this far,” Erin Ellis added.
Looking to the future, George Ellis and Erin Ellis eventually want to work full time for Nubi Company, while exercising their talents in other ventures.
”Erin and I are very ambitious people,” George Ellis said, ”To get to the level that we want to be financially, not only for ourselves but for our families and for the families we are going to have and families we are going to help, we really believe in diversifying what we do. I think Erin can attest to this; one job for us is not enough. We like to have multiple challenges. I want to go into real estate developing properties. I am working on a business plan right now for financial services for the underserved in our Black communities. I definitely want to do Nubi full time as well. We are currently working to get Nubi into local boutiques around the metro area. We are working with a couple of relatives to introduce Nubi to other states, and then eventually we want to introduce Nubi to the world.”
Nubi Company products can be purchased online at www.Nubicompany.com, or view a calendar of upcoming selling dates at Midtown Global Market.