The Founder

    Meet the Founder of DopeByDefault

    Samuel Nana Adjei, professionally known as SammySolรงa (SOL), is a Ghanaian multidisciplinary artist, designer and storyteller whose practice spans fine art, illustration, animation, world-building and contemporary design.

    His creative development began with drawing, painting and sculpture and grew through years of independent experimentation with mixed media, handcrafted leather, cut-out and stencil systems, layered materials, light and installation. His artistic practice has continually evolved across physical and digital forms, extending into digital illustration, animation, character development, storytelling and world-building.

    This background is central to the development of DopeByDefault. Rather than pursuing separate creative careers, Samuel has spent years developing a connected creative practice in which materials, cultural research, visual storytelling and contemporary design inform one another. DopeByDefault represents one contemporary expression of this larger creative universe, bringing his experience with craftsmanship, African cultural references, mixed media and visual storytelling into wearable art, collectible objects and contemporary fashion.

    More than a fashion brand, DopeByDefault is a philosophy and an evolving creative universe where African craftsmanship, culture, mythology and contemporary storytelling converge to inspire originality, purpose and fearless self-expression.

    From Accra To The World

    Born in Ghana and raised in SOS Childrenโ€™s Village, Samuel Nana Adjeiโ€™s creative journey began early, with drawing becoming a natural way of observing and understanding the world around him.

    His artistic foundation developed further at SOS Hermann Gmeiner International College, where his education introduced him to disciplined observational drawing, painting and experimentation with different artistic media. This period strengthened the formal skills that would later support his wider creative practice.

    He went on to study Painting and Sculpture at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), where his practice began moving deeper into mixed media, material experimentation, light, installation and research into African cultural traditions. What began with drawing and painting gradually expanded into a multidisciplinary practice shaped by craftsmanship, cultural research and storytelling.

    From those beginnings in Ghana, his creative journey has continued to evolve across fine art, design, animation, world-building and contemporary applied practice that carries African cultural references into work intended to speak beyond its place of origin.

    From Accra to the world is therefore not simply a destination. It reflects a continuing journey: from early artistic foundations to a broader creative practice, and from Ghanaian roots to a global creative language.

    DBD-The Story

    DopeByDefault began as a personal creative experiment long before it became a fashion brand. For Samuel, clothing had been part of his creative language long before the brand existed. His early fascination with fashion, music, magazines and visual culture developed alongside his drawing and painting, eventually leading him to experiment with making his own garments and painting characters and imagery directly onto T-shirts.

    That interest continued through his formal artistic development, where painting, sculpture, mixed media and material experimentation expanded the way he approached objects and images. Over time, he began combining leather, fabric, paint, texture and symbolism to create pieces that felt less like conventional clothing and more like wearable works of art.

    DopeByDefault grew from this intersection of art, fashion, craftsmanship and storytelling. The garments became a space where Samuel could bring together influences that had shaped his creative language for years. Inspired by Ghanaian culture and music, fine art, mythology, contemporary design and visual storytelling, each piece became an extension of that language.

    What began as a personal way of creating and wearing original work gradually developed into a broader creative brand. Today, DopeByDefault continues to evolve beyond fashion, creating wearable art, collectible objects and visual works rooted in craftsmanship, identity, culture and originality.

    Philosophy

    DopeByDefault is built on the belief that greatness is not manufactured but uncovered. Every individual carries an innate creative identity waiting to be discovered, shaped, and expressed.

    To us, creativity is more than artistic ability. It is the courage to think independently, to honor where you come from, and to create without compromise. Originality is not about being different for the sake of it; it is about becoming the most authentic expression of who you already are.

    This philosophy shapes everything we create. Every piece exists as a reminder to embrace your identity, move with purpose, and leave the world more original than you found it.

    The Craft

    Every DopeByDefault piece begins as an idea before taking shape through sketching, material exploration and meticulous handcraftsmanship. Hand-cut leather is combined with fabric, paint, texture and symbolic elements, transforming garments into layered works of wearable art.

    The process is guided by originality and intention rather than trends or mass production. Leather, colour, texture and symbolism become building blocks within each composition, giving every piece its own character, depth and visual narrative.

    The same attention to material and composition that shaped Samuelโ€™s earlier fine-art practice continues through DopeByDefault. From handcrafted leather pieces to statement streetwear, every stitch reflects a commitment to craftsmanship, individuality and the belief that design should carry meaning long after it is worn.

    The Creative Universe

    DopeByDefault was never intended to exist solely as a fashion label. From the beginning, it was conceived as a creative universe where different artistic disciplines work together to tell a larger story.

    Fashion is one language. Illustration is another. Painting, animation, world-building and storytelling each reveal different dimensions of the same creative philosophy. That vision is rooted in identity, culture, mythology, memory and imagination.

    Rather than existing as separate creative pursuits, these disciplines contribute to a single evolving universe. The same ideas can move from a painting into an illustration, from an illustration into animation, or from a visual concept into a garment or collectible object.

    Together, they create a space where craftsmanship, art and storytelling become one. A space that preserves cultural narratives, encourages original thinking and invites people to experience the wider creative world behind DopeByDefault.

    Handmade in Ghana.
    Built through culture.
    Styled for the future.

    Welcome to the DBD experience.

    SammySolรงa

    SAMUEL NANA ADJEI / ARTIST PRACTICE