Meet the freshman who designs the sickest Syracuse swag

Kate Kozuch also runs her own blog

Kate Kozuch is only a freshman at SU, but she’s already making a name for herself in the graphic design, fashion and digital journalism realms. Her Instagram account and RedBubble profile have attracted many customers and viewers.

The magazine major sat down for a riveting interview with The Tab.

Courtesy of Kate Kozuch

Did you have any prior design or art experience?

I’m currently an Associate Graphic Designer for Almost Famous Clothing. My mom is in the fashion industry, so I’ve grown up around fabric and sewing machines. I also loved art in high school; I took it every year and ended up making a pretty big portfolio.

One of Kate’s original designs

How long does it typically take you to design original artwork?

The graphic art depends on how clear the design is in my head. If I have a strong idea of it in my head, I can usually bring it to life within an hour. Sometimes though, I’ll just mess around with odds and ends of abandoned projects and try to remake them.

The tailgate shirts take me a good twenty minutes. I want to make sure that I’m doing the best can do for the customer, I definitely don’t want to be lazy or sloppy in any way.

Kate’s customized shirts were spotted all during tailgate season

How time-consuming would you say your business is?

I put away a few hours a week, but I don’t try to overdo it. If I have a particularly busy week, I might not post new work or offer to take any rush shirt orders. Creativity has always been a fun thing for me, a break from school work and everything else. I’d hate to have it stress me out and ruin the fun.

What or who inspires you to create?

A lot my inspiration comes from reading magazines. I’m a magazine major, thus have a strong affinity for layouts and on-trend designs. I’m always looking for the next thing, I try to stay updated on new styles.

How did you get started?

I’ve been making RedBubble art since school started. I watched people make money from their designs and I knew I had the skills to do the same. I had specific designs in mind that I wanted for myself, but they weren’t found on the website. If someone else hasn’t made something I want, then I figure I’m better off making it myself.

As for the custom shirts, it started with an innocent offer. One of my sorority sisters wanted a cool sweatshirt to wear to the Final Four tailgate, I knew that I was capable of making something along the lines of what she was looking for. Once my friends saw what I made for her, the word about my shirts spread like wildfire. The next day I had twenty people throwing their sweatshirts at me.

Her designs have attracted many customers

How did you come up with your business’ name?

Honestly, I considered a lot of titles, but the real factor was which of them had an available Instagram handle. That must sound so millennial. Seriously though, college students live on Instagram, if I don’t have an easy-to-remember, searchable name then how can I expect to generate traffic to my account?

What makes you stand out from other competitors?

I think I take the customization aspect of my work to higher level than competitors. Most of them don’t have the time or consideration to maintain a relationship with their customers – they either automate sales through a website or just tell the customers when to expect their apparel to be done. I try to bring my customers into the creative process as much as I can, I send them pictures with updates, examples and ideas so that they can be guaranteed that they’re getting exactly what they’re paying for.

As for my online work, I encourage suggestions. I get messages all the time asking if I can make certain designs that a customer wants but is unable to create themselves. This may be unusual, to upload work for sale based on what only one person wants, but you’d be surprised.

Have you always loved fashion and art?

I basically grew up in that life, it’s comfortable for me. I have a fashion/lifestyle blog that does pretty well. I just reached six thousand followers, so that’s kinda cool. Because my mom is a fashion designer, I’ve always thought that I was going to do something else. “Be my own person” type of thing… but starting my business has changed that. There’s nothing wrong with follow a path like her’s as long as I add my personality to it.

Kate and one of her biggest inspirations, her mom, Loren

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