Local Artist: Bri McDowell

Bri McDowell

Bri McDowell loves art, but more than that, she loves to help people. One way she fulfills this desire is with her company, Humble Ink Clothing.

McDowell, 25, started the clothing company early this year to help support Reno artists. She wants to get artists exposure and money in an attempt to help them become financially stable and to help them spread their art.

She gets their art out in the community by putting it on Humble Ink t-shirts. People who wear the shirts will help expose others around them to that artist’s work.

“It’s a way to create a mobile canvas,” McDowell said. “It’s like a walking gallery.”

Humble Ink t-shirts stand out, according to McDowell, because of the ability these shirts have to evoke feelings in people. Art has power, and she wants as many people as possible to experience that.

“They may or may not like it, but I just want them to see it,” McDowell said.

Humble Ink Clothing is only one of McDowell’s many business ideas to help people. She hopes to become a lifetime entrepreneur—always caught up in multiple projects.

“I think it’s sad if you have an idea or a dream, and you get old and never acted on it,” McDowell said.

One of McDowell’s most ambitious ideas, if she earns enough money, is to start a charity. She would like to put money towards the many voids in society where barriers may exist for individuals to fill these voids.

“Some people have perfect minds for things but never use them because they can’t because they have to pay bills,” McDowell said. “I’d like to find these people and help them.”

McDowell plans on helping these kinds of people by putting money towards their ideas so that can strictly focus on their goals.

Because she can fulfill all of her goals here, McDowell doesn’t plan on moving away from Reno. She feels a sense of loyalty towards her hometown since Reno helped mold her into the person she is today and because she wants to and feels like she can give back to the community.

Text by Jon Fortenbury