We recently connected with Kari Marin and have shared our conversation below.

Kari, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

If happier as a business owner means content with where I am, then yes. Happiness is a feeling that comes and goes with circumstances; some days I am anxious being a business owner and have fleeting thoughts about giving up and working for another company or organization again. But being content is knowing I’m supposed to be where I am regardless of feelings.

What no one told me about being in charge and being a business owner is that some days, I don’t want to be. There is a different kind of faith I need when I am putting my trust solely in God to provide the work and finances. When those days of faith are lacking, I feel like going back to my Egypt — the jobs that provided the income for my living expenses in those seasons in my life, but are now not where I am meant to be. Sure, it was nice to be provided for, but I remember what I was going through towards the end of my days when I was there — a gut feeling like there was more to experience and know about God. I didn’t know what I truly wanted to do, though, and I thought I really needed to by this time in my life, but as I have come to realize, that that gut feeling was God telling me to give Him what I had (which isn’t much), and He would direct my next step. Funny enough, that next step was to create the job I couldn’t find for myself, nor what anyone could offer me. It’s scary, and sometimes I just don’t like being in charge, but I remember who brought me to this place I am now and I realize I am not.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I didn’t know I was going to be where I am now. I thought I was going to be a rockstar audio engineer; that was my trade I was being trained in. Suddenly, the thing no audio engineer wants to hear (pun intended) is that they apparently have hearing issues that no one can figure out how to cure, let alone diagnose. That career path came to a screeching halt. I was trying to hold on to that career as long as I could until I couldn’t hold on anymore. I felt like a fraud, a nuisance to my team. As I began to accept this path I guess I was going down, I knew there was more. What God gave, he can take away… and for good reasons. I had put my identity in being an audio engineer and was putting my love for God on the back burner. Through this health situation, He drew me back to Him.

I knew I had a love for people and for God, so I was going to do research studies to learn about people’s needs and reconcile them to ministries and organizations that could help fulfill those needs. I was so excited, I had already wanted to make merch, like t-shirts, for my ministry. Long story short, it was going well, but we ran out of funds and our expenses were only getting higher. It was time to look for a part-time job. I applied everywhere I could, but no bites. My trade was an audio engineer, but I went to school for mass communication. I thought I could apply for something within that field, but no bites. I eventually met my now friend/business mentor who gave me a chance at his t-shirt shop — the one I went to before to ask to make me shirts for my research ministry. I knew nothing about making shirts, but I was able to help around the shop and eventually learn the trade a little bit.

The time there was fruitful and rewarding, but I still felt God had wanted me to continue pursuing ministry. I had told my boss I needed to leave so I can do what I believe I needed to do, and he was so supportive! He also encouraged me to make my own shirts and use what I learned at his shop to start my own ventures making shirts. I thought it was a great idea to design and make shirts to sell to fund my research, so that’s what I did.

Eventually people around me found out I can somewhat make a decent graphic tee, so they started asking me to make them their own custom shirts; I was not a fan of that idea. I had no desire to do anything beside ministry shirts. Enough people asked, and my husband encouraged me to give it a shot — that maybe this could be the way God provides the funding that I’ve been looking for. So, within about 2 days or so, Marin’s Custom Apparel was born.

Since December 2023, we’ve been customizing all kinds of apparel, print products, and hard goods, and have only grown in a miraculous increments. This has been a ministry from the beginning, but I didn’t see it. We put people first, seek to build relationships with the people we meet, give them the space to be creative, feel a little nostalgic, and hope to show fun in a world where adults are told to holdback their childlikeness that seeks to come out. Having competitive pricing is what we aim for and we can work with most budgets, big and small.

We want people to know that when you come to us for your apparel needs, you will be heard and taken care of. We are people behind this business that are trying to make the best of what this world has to offer just like everyone else. We are a business, but we genuinely love meeting the new peeps that come our way and want to take care of them. It’s not just customizing apparel and other things — it’s an opportunity to love people through good work and relationships.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Being independent is highly overrated. I’ve been on both ends of the spectrum: wanting but seeking no help to accepting all the help I can get. The latter is liberating.

Growing up, I was taught to depend on no one and to do everything myself if I wanted things done right. I’ve come to learn that’s just pride and advice coming from people who are hurt and need healing. We need other people. I was always burnt out, struggling to find the joy in completing those tasks off my list, having no peace in a lot of what I did, feeling alone and wanting help, but declining it when I really wanted it. Why? I dug in and asked God. He told me I was bearing fruit, but if I’m not sharing that fruit with others, then my fruit is like the one that eats itself — which is rotten fruit.

Being with people, opening up, sharing experiences, letting people in on projects helped take a lot of unnecessary weight off my shoulders that I was never meant to carry alone. Sometimes, it is not about getting things done right, but rather just getting an opportunity to humble ourselves.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

My husband is my built-in business partner and co-owner. We met during the peak of Covid, he proposed on July 4th, and we married Valentine’s Day.

He’s been supportive of all my endeavors and has actually been able to come on to the business full-time recently in November 2024! He is the lead in production and is great at what he does!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://MarinsCustomApparel.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marinscustomapparel
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marinscustomapparel