Hub clothing designer reaching for the Sky

He wants to leave the kind of cultural footprint made by titans like Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs — “people that started in music, then built empires,” he said. Lassiter isn’t hurting for confidence about his chances; he says he’s making different choices than other kids his age because “I think like a millionaire.”

More than anything else, Lassiter is driven by a will to help his family.

“I wanted to help out my mother some too, because she is working two jobs,” he said.

He admires his mother, who graduated magna cum laude from the University of Massachusetts-Boston this spring. She and his father, Thomas Lassiter, share space atop the 17-year-old’s list of role models.

“And the paraplegic guy I met at Sullivan Square,” Lassiter added. “Him because throughout everything he’s been through, he never stopped living.”

Right now, Lassiter’s goal is to keep building and growing Touch the Sky. Just a few months into the business, he’s learned that empires don’t come easy. It will take patience, hard work, persistence and a big-picture focus before the business turns profitable.

But even in the early going, he has already faced some obstacles. One is his age. When he and Gilmore, a petite, soft-spoken girl, went to City Hall to register their business with the Office of the City Clerk, they learned they could not, because they were underage. So, for now, Touch the Sky is registered under Jacqueline Lassiter’s name, making her one of the three partners in the business.

Getting carded at City Hall was one thing; establishing credibility with customers was quite another.

Looking to reach a wider audience and introduce the business’ own Web site, the pair set up a MySpace page for Touch the Sky; to avoid being viewed as only kids, Lassiter listed the company’s age as 53.

“With the present state of fashion being so boring … We offer something different!!” the company’s MySpace page reads. “What do you think about when you study a Picasso painting while listening to Tupac … You get the brainchild of Your’Majesty Gilmore and Timothy Lassiter. You get Touch The Sky.”

The strategy calls for Lassiter and Gilmore to increase the company’s visibility to reach clients beyond school friends. It’s a slow process, but Touch the Sky has made some progress, getting Web hits from as far away as Bangladesh, Lassiter said. Though sales are still meager, the willingness to work has not waned.

“Timmy learned a very valuable lesson,” said Patty Bailey, Lassiter’s mentor and a teacher at the O’Bryant school. “And that’s in order to lead his orchestra, he turns his back on the crowd. He is not a follower; he is a true leader. He is able to distinguish what is good for him and what is not.”

Right now, according to Lassiter, what’s good for him is to keep grinding, and recognize that not even the hungriest or most talented people become successful on their own.

“I’ve learned that if you really want a dream to come true … you can’t be afraid to ask people for help,” he said.

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