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

Alright, Brittany thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

So when I first decided I wanted to start up a clothing brand, I thought being a graphic designer was all I really needed. A few jobs I had, I was helping people with their apparel needs and started to learn the production side of it. I then started thinking since I knew how to design, design for apparel along with actually conducting the production, I had an idea. I wanted to specifically help people who wanted to start an apparel brand, help them with all designs and getting production done. Pretty much make the process easier and not having to put it all in theirs hands as far as the apparel choices. Use all the information they give in order to present them with a full brand. I started doing that side and I am really enjoying helping people out, giving them advice on where they can start and finding out from them where they want to take it. My next step in the process is to have a storefront where someone can come in get help with design work, production and given the opportunity to sell in my store in order to get exposer. There is a whole plan i have to it in order to make the environment a creative hub for apparel brand owners. I want to do this because its not always easy to get your brand seen in store/shop.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am a graphic designer, freelancer and apparel producer. Outside of just doing regular graphic design where you’d just create something and the clients take it somewhere else to create the products they need, I’ve offered help to people who want to take their ideas for a clothing brand and bring them to life. I got into the apparel industry while I was going to school to become a graphic designer and then decided I wanted to go more in depth with on the apparel side. When I started my own brand (SMC Apparel). I made sure to take notes of when I was starting up my brand and where I struggled so that when I do have a client ask me for help, I can make sure I execute the project properly. I started learning different print methods like Direct to garment, silkscreen, silkscreen transfers and embroidery. Once I got those methods down packed, I started to learn how to design and find the best vendors for other things a client might want for their brand. Some of the items ive designed for are used in pop up settings to further a clients branding like canopies, decal stickers that i would personally make, pins, patches, etc. Sometimes not every consumer wants just clothes, so I try to offer different kinds of items that are still branded for you and can appeal to your audience. I learned these methods so that I can make the best decision in which direction ill go when I’m designing another persons apparel brand. That way they can have immediate answers if they don’t know which method to go with and which would be the best for the appearance.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I would probably say some of the certain decoration techniques that there are today. Some of them have made the production portion much easier especially when I know a certain garment will be problematic with other methods. Along with just the knowledge I’ve learned.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think the biggest struggle about my journey is that even though I created a brand in my image , I have to remember the audience. So not every time I create something that I think is great, is liked by my audience. I have learned that sometimes I may have to design strictly what my audience would like. Its not always the case but its something I deal with very often. When I first started noticing this I was discouraged, but I kept going and eventually the designs I started creating were liked by both parties.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://smcapparel.bigcartel.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/undrgrndprintco/ & https://www.instagram.com/smcapparelaf/