Kin of Duncan
About Us:
Welcome to Kin of Duncan! Kin of Duncan is a youth entrepreneur creative brand owned by 14 year old Jazmiere Bates.
As an only child, Jazmiere Bates began to consider her dog, Kindrick, to be her brother. She loved to dress him up in outfits to match her own. They received so much attention when they went out for walks that she could barely make it down the street without someone asking about their ensembles. After discovering that Jazmiere had Dyslexia, her mom invested in a vinyl cutter to enhance her spelling skills. Crafty Jazmiere beganto utilize the tool to make their matching outfits even more attractive. To further grow her skills, Jazmiere attended summer camps at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. She also attended sewing and textile camps.
It quickly became apparent that Jazmiere had fallen in love with art and sewing and her business, Kin of Duncan, was born. Kin of Duncan caters to what Jazmiere calls “fur kids” and she has multiple products for everyone’s family pet. She sells pet clothing, bandannas, paw balm, and mask during the COVID-19 crisis.
In 2018, Jazmiere pitched her business idea to the “Catapult – Start-up to Storefront Program” and she was, by far, the youngest participant accepted into the program. After completing the necessary training through the program, Jazmiere was granted her own retail space, at The Gallery on Penn, to house Kin of Duncan.
In 2019 alone, Jazmiere attended more than 25 vendor shows to sell her wares and to spread the word of Kin of Duncan, far and wide. In 2020, answering the call for masks when they were almost impossible to find, Jazmiere put her great sewing skills to use and found herself sewing face masks around the clock. She specialized in sewing smaller ones for children. Also, in 2020,Jazmiere partnered with Pittsburgh Animal Aviation Rescue Team (PAART), to participate in a dog food drive to help pet owners during the Covid-19 shutdown.
