We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ayden Stoefen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ayden, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Back in my early 20’s I was living out of a backpack on the road. Collaborating with a lot of non-profit projects abroad. With a background in graphic design and working full time drawing for the surf and skate scene back in the states. I wanted to find a way to merge my work with my strong devotion to working with underprivileged communities around the globe. With a strong urge to make this a reality I bought a flight back to the states and got right to work. I cut down on my freelance business dramatically and then focused my time and artistic abilities towards a new project. This is when I started Stoefs Studio. A clothing brand with a focus on giving back through creativity. I worked for 6 months designing a line and spent over $10,000 on screen printed merchandise before I even made my first sale at 20 years old. I used my retail connections from my years of graphic design and found a few storefronts to sell my artwork on my own branded tee’s. I felt that this would be the best way to get my local community involved in these NGO projects that were so far away it was hard to get people to donate towards the cause. With this in place I could now take a portion of the profits from the merchandise sales to then benefit these Non-Profit projects.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I was introduced to the art world at a young age. Painting and drawing since before I could remember. By the time I was 17 I was working as a designer out of my high school art class, using their computers and software to run my business and by the time I hit senior year I was working full time drawing merchandise for surf shops. As the next few years passed by I really dialed in my artistic style and was starting to get noticed. I took on the graphic design role fully by the age of 18 and began to grow a real business. Two months after graduation I left the country and started to work with the local companies I was meeting on the road. Using my graphic and photo work I began getting jobs with Non-Profit projects and thats where the idea of what I pursue now as my vocation came from.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I found no matter how big I grow staying as hands on as possible is the fastest way to build long lasting relationships. I’ve tried outsourcing my sales to commissioned based employees and never saw much of an impact on growth. The spark that gets your potential clientele excited about your brand isn’t just in a good product, but the high energy that you the owner feels about what you’re doing as you’re explaining who you are to them. Once the initial foundation is there then you can take your hands off the wheel if you’d like. But there’s importance in the initial sale to represent your product how you the owner envisions it.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think it’s important to build your business off of a sturdy foundation. I never planned on becoming a clothing brand owner. It was never a dream of mine nor something I held a lot of interest in. It was the though the thing that found me. By this I mean it was the perfect career that fit everything I held important, was passionate about, had connections in the industry and supplied a talent that was sought after. This became the best platform for me to be able to do what I love and mass produce it enough to build a real career out of my drive to design. With this knowledge you can present everything you do in a genuine way and your clientele will notice this. Selling a product that really makes up who you are is something people will be willing to support. Having a strong interest in interacting with the people you work with and being extroverted definitely helps with sales. As you work with all kinds of personalities every time you pitch your product will be different and you need to make it relatable and a product you want to make your customers feel is missing in their stores.

Contact Info:

• Website: stoefsstudio.com
• Instagram: @stoefsstudio

Image Credits
all images are property of Stoefs Studio