Another Clairton Success Story

Clairton lad with style

One of Clairton’s stalwart families: If you grew up in Clairton anytime past the World War II era you remember the Julian families. They were civic-minded people who provided community service, were in business, and worked in the steel mills. One of the Julians had a son in the early 1960s. Dad worked in the steel mills as an electrician but like so many parents in Clairton, wanted something better for his son. Tom wanted something better too. After graduating from parochial school he earned a scholarship to Robert Morris University. Just as he had done as a youth, and would continue to do as an adult, Tom Julian reached beyond his grasp. He majored in Marketing.

Marketing? The common sense thing to do would be to major in something that could perhaps get him a white-hat (management) job in the mill. But Marketing?

It is said that giftedness in a human being is the ability to look at something and see something else. Perhaps that is what Tom saw when he enrolled in the Intro to Marketing course. Perhaps he saw a world far beyond Clairton that was his for the taking. To help pay his way through college Tom took a job in a Men’s Fashion store in Century III mall called the Proving Ground. Although it was just a part time job, new possibilities began to develop in the mind of young Tom. He was fascinated by style and fashion and used what he learned to his advantage in the classroom.

He could see that he needed to expand his horizons in the fashion industry if he planned a career in the field so as a senior he secured an unpaid internship at Pittsburgh’s Preview Magazine. That experience expanded his knowledge in business and women’s fashion but it cost him about $20 per day in transportation to donate his time! No problem, it was just one more tuition to pay.

By 1984 as graduation neared he took a job as assistant store manager at the Gucci store in downtown Pittsburgh’s Oxford Centre. The following year he took a position at the Barchetti Shops; the store became his classroom and its owner his professor

Those of us who have roots in Clairton have had those roots fertilized with hard work. We might not have known the term “multi-tasking,” but we sure knew how to do it. Most Clairtonians who became successful did so with hard work and multiple challenges. It was no different with Tom Julian. While working at the retail stores he continued his internship at Preview magazine. The work he did, his versatility, and the contacts he made led to an invitation to the Men's Fashion Association Press Preview in Atlanta. The Association was so impressed with young Mr. Julian that they offered him the position of assistant fashion director in their Madison Avenue offices in New York. From there he moved to Fallon Worldwide, an international advertising agency as a trend analyst. His clients included Nordstrom, Lee Jeans, Starbucks, United Airlines, Citibank and BMW. He moved to another agency, McCann-Erickson then opened his own firm, Tom Julian Group.

By this time trend expert Tom Julian proudly launched Tom Julian Group. He was able to transfer his skills into the marketing arena, as a cutting edge guru of lifestyle, culture and entertainment. Tom was able to market many industries including retail, financial, automotive and hospitality.

Of course, his “instant success” took more than 20 years to achieve, but every one was a learning year.

I asked Tom to share some of his memories of Clairton and these are his reflections:

"MY FAVORITE MEMORIES OF CLAIRTON ARE ELEMENTS THAT MADE IT A VIBRANT CITY AS WELL AS COMMUNITY. THE INDEPENDENT SHOPS ALONG MILLER AVE. AND ST. CLAIR. THE SPECTRUM OF CLOTHING STORES -- CMARADA'S, SKAPIK'S, HARRIS SHOP, DICESARE'S, AS WELL AS ISALY'S AND THE RECORD SHOP. AND THAT WE HAD A GREAT SPORTS SHOP TOO. IN ADDITION, WE HAD JEWELRY FR TEPERS, FURNITURE AT BELAIR, MOVIE THEATERS AND CHAINS LIKE G.C. MURPHY AND THRIFT DRUG.

ALWAYS ENJOYED GOING TO THE LIBRARY FOR SCHOOL ASSIGNMENTS. THOUGHT THAT IT HAD SOME OF THE BEST -- A CHILDREN'S FLOOR AS WELL AS ALL THE RESEARCH NEEDED TO COMPLETE PROJECTS.

THE COMMUNITY REALLY CAME TO LIFE THROUGH CLAIRTON PARK IN THE SUMMER AT THE POOL AS WELL AS HOLIDAYS WITH PROGRAMS AND FIREWORKS. AS WELL AS SO MANY OF THE BUSINESSES WERE FAMILY-OWNED AND WE KNEW ALL THE FAMILIES -- GRISNIK'S FOR BAKERY, RUSSO'S FOR HARDWARE, LIVINGSTON'S FOR DRUGS, BRAUM'S FOR GROCERY, JULIOT'S FOR PIZZA AND MORE.

THIS CITY WAS A RESULT OF CLAIRTON STEEL WORKS BUT THE PEOPLE HELPED TO MAKE IT MORE OF A COMMUNITY..."

From fashionista to trend analyst to self-employed guru to author, Tom’s debut in the book world, Nordstrom Guide to Men’s Style was a huge success. His book was so successful that he was urged to write a follow-up book, Nordstrom Guide to Men’s Everyday Dressing.

Tom is also a commentator for the web site Oscar.com. For more information on Tom Julian and his company, visit www.tomjuliangroup.com. Also, you may follow him on Twitter @tomjuliangroup for updates! To purchase his first book, visit www.amazon.com.

Tom Julian, Clairton boy.

A little blogging music Maestro... My Little Town by Simon and Garfunkel.

Dr. Forgot
http://drforgot.com