Fresh From Dopeville

Together, they created samples. When one buyer told the guys he liked the designs but thought they needed to improve the quality, they began studying the apparel industry. At Magic, a major trade show in Las Vegas, they found sources for well-made cotton T-shirts and learned new graphic techniques -- such as caviar beading, a tactile appliqué that refracts light. On eBay they bought a high-quality printer, sewing machine and that biceps-building heat press.

"We were the masters of making something look incredibly expensive," Dawodu said. When retailers said they liked Extra Fresh Freddy and his friends better than the other lines, they dropped Grand Republic Garments and Guerrilla Golf Wear to focus exclusively on Dopeville.

In 2004, they made their first sale to a major retailer -- Up Against the Wall, where a line of Dopeville baseball caps quickly sold out. They took their wares to a regional trade show in Philadelphia later that year. They sold 2,000 pieces and attracted the attention of some New York-based national sales representatives, who began selling their products on commission. Within a month, Dopeville's orders shot from a few hundred to several thousand.

At that point, the guys were still producing most of the designs by hand, after their day jobs. They couldn't keep up. Almost half the orders expired before they were produced.

"It was somewhat of a nightmare because we had to make that stuff," Nazati said. "We needed to figure out how to manufacture and distribute thousands of T-shirts."

Slowly, they began to make it work. Last year, they found a Canadian clothing manufacturer, which now does their sewing, printing and shipping. Their New York reps established a wholesale showroom for budding urban and street wear lines called the Museum Group, which exposed Dopeville to a broad range of buyers. "They are one of the brands we run across everyone when they come in," said Carrie Campbell, a Museum Group saleswoman, who said their "catchy graphics" appeal to many different customers.

So far they're putting all Dopeville profits back into the business. To make a living, Nazati works part-time for his brother, who rehabs homes, and Dawodu holds a full-time job as a waiter. But they both travel regularly to oversee Dopeville's manufacturing and sales.

This year, they plan to step up their marketing effort, which now consists of a MySpace page ( http://www.myspace.com/dopevilleUSA). Even without a major push, Nazati and Dawodu said they have spotted their shirts on rapper Rick Ross, Justin Timberlake's crew and the rap group Three 6 Mafia.

They are also learning accounting, looking for investors and trying to streamline manufacturing and shipping. They applied this month for a loan from the District's Latino Economic Development Corp. to purchase equipment to allow them to make tees that would be exclusive to select customers.

It's not going to be easy to take Dopeville to the next level, said Lucian James, founder of San Francisco brand consultancy Agenda Inc., which studies the relationship between music, fashion and marketing. "Hip-hop kind of reinvents itself every 18 months . . . [and] street fashion is particularly fast moving," James said. "You have to stay authentic. You have to constantly reinvent yourself and stay connected."

Stuart "Izzy" Ezrailson, an urban clothing veteran and owner of Up Against the Wall, said he was impressed by Dopeville and its owners.

"They are neat guys, and I think that they will learn to be good businessmen," he said. "They are in their formative years in this project. You have to make mistakes and move forward. That's what it takes."

We want to "keep making it fresh, making it hot," Dawodu said. "We're trying to push the envelope."

Recalling the early days of printing T-shirts by hand, Nazati said they are prepared to break a sweat again. "That was a tough part, but it just gets harder. Now, we have to keep this up."