Let Success Be Your Happiness
Ever since I was a little girl, I always wanted to do something in the world of fashion. At first, it seemed like a crazy dream, and suddenly it turned into reality, weirdly thanks to the pandemic. I’m a Junior at Syracuse University, and I major in Communications and Rhetorical studies. My classes, in the beginning, ranged from studying types of communication to learning about Plato and Socrates. Although everything I was learning in my major was exciting, I never felt super passionate about it. As the semester went on, I found the work to be more of a chore.
Once we got sent home for Corona, I felt even more disconnected from my classes and lost focus. I wanted the school to give me a rush, like when you get a piece of candy as a little kid. I ended the school year wishing for more but getting the work done.
I knew that the pandemic would get boring, so I would shop a lot, which all girls probably did. The one thing I shopped the most for was sweatpants, sweatshirts, tank tops, and anything comfortable since I knew I wouldn’t be doing anything. My mom and I both share the love of sweatpants and sweatshirts. As my collection grew, and so did hers, we both concluded that we didn’t love any specific brand. Of Course, there were brands that we liked and had a few things from, but none that had every quality we found to be necessary. With what seemed to be endless time on our hands, we decided to start our own sweatshirt and sweatpants company, Crazy X.
We called it Crazy X because we knew everyone had experienced some sort of Ex in their life. Whether that be anyone ranging from ex-significant other, ex-boss, ex-best friend, most everyone could relate. I would love to say that we started it, and in a night, it was an overnight success, but sadly that wasn’t the case. When we released our first lilac sweatshirt and sweatpants set, it was exhilarating, and we sold out within a few weeks and already had people asking for more.
Starting a business in Covid was not easy whatsoever. The manufacturers and printers that we decided to use were all local but busy from everything building up and workers being cut short. We wanted to be consistent with our work and release things every month or so. Like I said, easier said than done. Sample colors would come out the wrong color, and screen prints would fail to look how we wanted. As we continued to build our brand and image, things became more manageable, especially with COVID becoming less of an issue for businesses.
I started a fashion minor the returning semester and finally felt passionate about my classes. Every homework assignment seemed like an exciting challenge, which also helped me grow as a designer in my own company. We continued to release things during the school year, which was more challenging for me because I was so far from the hands-on aspect. Instead, I focused on social media and designs from afar.
Recently, we took a short break and switched all of our manufacturing to create even better clothing. I am so lucky to get to do what I love at such a young age and get to see people all over wear what we create. I’m constantly learning new things in the business and can’t wait to watch it grow. My best piece of advice is to do what you love, have no expectations, and let success be your happiness.
By Samantha Hrncir, Syracuse University ‘23