St. Edward’s University student, Noah Barshop, and co-creator Sam Hamad recently launched Inkuire, a new organization and clothing brand that promotes communication outside of social media.

Barshop and Hamad hope to use the organization and T-shirts to increase face-to-face interaction between people and especially between strangers.

Hamad came up with the idea for Inkuire six months ago and launched the organization on March 16. He asked himself why he wasn’t going out and engaging with strangers. “I feel like a lot of people can relate to the idea that they don’t know how to approach someone,” Hamad said. “I thought the shirts were a good way to express, Hey, I want to talk.” 

The Inkuire team, which also includes University of Texas at Austin student, Chris Omenihou, launched their brand with a video edited by another team member, Ben Cohen. The video explains the idea behind Inkuire and invites people to step out of their comfort zone and take the initiative to talk to a stranger. 

Omenihou says he loves what he calls “Inkuire moments,” when he randomly talks to someone new and tells them what Inkuire is all about.

Since social media is becoming a larger part of life in today’s culture, Inkuire wants people to take a step back and think about how many people they actually interact with through Facebook or other social media. They want to spark intimate conversations between people that wouldn’t normally talk to each other.

“Inkuire is addressing the suppression of communication,” Barshop said. 

Inkuire was established as a clothing brand, but it is also a movement. With the T-shirts, the video and special events, Inkuire is trying to expand and get as many people involved as possible. 

The organization hosted their first private event on April 16 for St. Edward’s students.

The idea behind the event was for students to meet and interact with people they didn’t previously know. Each person in the room was able to meet someone they had never talked to before and learn something new about them. 

The event was meant as a kick-off party and consisted of food, conversation and an open mic area, where people expressed themselves through music, raps and even slam poetry.

“At the end of the night we want everyone to feel like they are a part of Inkuire, whether it’s with the shirt, with the idea or with the way of life. We want people to be as passionate about this as we are,” Omenihou said. 

Nathalie Phan, a junior at St. Edward’s, said the event was a great experience for her. “It was a bonding experience, except with people that you’ve never met before or people you just never bothered to approach,” Phan said. 

Inkuire is planning to host a similar event for UT students later this year and wants to get freshmen involved in August when students are looking to make new friends and try new experiences.

During the summer, the team will expand the variety of the designs offered for their T-shirts. The team will also use the summer to plan and strategize their next steps.

Going forward, Barshop, Hamad and Omenihou hope to grow their Inkuire team and spread the Inkuire movement past the college campuses of UT and St. Edward’s. 

They have already sold shirts in New York, California, Texas, North Carolina and Maryland.

T-shirts and tanks are sold online at inkuire.org and have the word “Ask” printed as a graphic.    

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