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

Samantha, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s talk about keeping costs under control when growing. How have you managed to keep costs from getting out of control?

I have a very unique business that allows me to control the amount and type of product is produced. I hand paint each hat so I manage what color hats are being created and the particular price for each design. By using wholesalers, I am able to profit drastically from my custom creations. When I first started, I was buying hats from beauty supply stores, swap meets, basically anywhere that sold decent quality hats. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was overpaying and not profiting as much due to my prices being lower to appeal to shoppers. Selling at pop up events, I wasn’t making much after vending fees and time to be there. I now use wholesalers that provides me with high quality merchandise, low costs, and endless options. I have the control to put out particular designs and colors, which allow me to not waste any merchandise bought. If a certain design does not do so well, I can create a new design on a single hat and have it available to order on demand from my website.

Samantha, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Samantha Turner, better known as S. Rose. I am a Chicago artist that specializes in creating hand painted hats. I have had a passion for drawing and food since I was younger. I graduated from Illinois State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Science and concentration in Studio drawing. After college I began working in restaurants. I have a background Restaurant Management and I also worked as a Sous Chef. After years of working in the demanding industry of food service, I decided to take a more serious approach to my art career and become full time. It was the best decision I could have ever made!

I began by painting strictly canvas paintings. When COVID began, I was having a hard time with sales and staying inspired. I went on a hunt to find an item that I could create that would be more accessible than a gallery quality artwork. I went to a wholesale strip mall in downtown Chicago and came across some denim hats. My first design was a white and gold hat the read “HUSTLE”. From there I started creating all kinds of hats. Then one day, I realized that I could put my paintings and ideas on hats. Business started to take off and I began to have a demand for custom hats. I now offer my own brand collections of hand painted hats and customized hats.

I create hand painted hats that display images of black culture, trending topics, and my original artwork. I make artwork that people can have a connection to and have to ability to display their own ideas, even if they don’t have the artistic ability. Customizing hand painted hats, creates endless possibilities. Whether a portrait, logo, or random idea, I can create it! My hats are very popular for teams and parties. I have created hats for barbershop crews, teams, bridal parties, and more.
I am most proud of the creativity and quality of work that I create. I have put in a lot of work and problem solving into my product and it shows! The best feeling is when I see someone wearing one of my pieces and the excitement that customers have when they get to take their own hat home.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Building an audience on social media is not an easy task. Influencers have millions of videos of what to do and how to do it. One important thing to keep in mind is that not every strategy works for every business. Doing your research on similar products and their audiences helps drastically. I go to well-known hat companies’ pages and see who’s following them and what kind of things they like. I then apply my findings to what I’m creating and make a connection between the two. I personally build my audience by using popular/trending tunes, trending subjects and sometime the not so trending. Going viral is a want for your video, but converting new followers to sales is more important.

If I had advice to give on growing your social media audience, I would say to post frequently, show your personality/creativity in your post, and don’t be afraid to take risks. Sometimes the things that you don’t like or care for, people love!

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

The best source of new clients is at in person events. Clients get to meet me and here mt story. I also have a more successful business pitch to selling my products, because I have more time than just click or swipe online. Clients love have a positive and personal interaction with you and your product, which makes them more likely to share or purchase.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.srosechicago.com
• Instagram: @srosechicago
• Facebook: S Rose Chicago