Exploring Life & Business with Kimberlee Mazzari of Kimberlee’s Trendy Boutique

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimberlee Mazzari.

Hi Kimberlee, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Ever since I was little, I’ve had a passion for design. Whenever I was asked the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I always answered, “A cartoonist at Disney World.” I thought it would be incredible to see my sketches come to life on the big screen.

I majored in graphic design in college, and it confirmed my passion for design. One of my favorite jobs out of college was being a graphic designer for NBC Sports. This was such a cool experience because I got to design promotional graphics and other materials for various professional sports teams.

While working as a graphic designer, I started having family friends and friends of friends reach out to me about designing logos, websites, business cards, invitations and more.

This is where I had my A-ha moment!

While it was and still is an honor to be a graphic designer for some incredible companies, I found this extra sense of excitement from creating a design from complete scratch that was based off of another person’s dream vision coupled with my own creativity.

A defining experience was when my fiancé asked me to design customized pink soccer jerseys (for breast cancer awareness) for his girl’s varsity high school soccer team that he coached. I absolutely loved the whole creative process of working with the team and designing them a t-shirt that they loved and cherished for their special game. They loved it so much that they also asked for new custom senior day t-shirts and the moms asked for customized soccer mom t-shirts. Word got around and I found myself designing t-shirts for the boy’s soccer team and girl’s field hockey team at the same school that my fiancé coached at.

That’s when I decided to start my Etsy shop, Kimberlee’s Trendy Boutique, and ever since then, I’ve been so blessed to work with some amazing people in making their unique ideas come to life.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
While the overall experience has been enjoyable and rewarding, there have definitely been some struggles along the way.

I think one of the biggest struggles is dealing with things you can’t control, like the shipping taking longer than expected or your printing partner randomly running out of stock of various products that they just had in stock a couple of days ago.

When I first started out, I was using my Cricut to cut out the vinyl designs. I would then proceed to heat-press the design onto the t-shirt. That process was frustrating at times mostly because of how time-consuming it was.

In searching for a better solution, I found a fulfillment center that was able to streamline my process more quickly and efficiently.

Another struggle has been learning the logistics of running a business. While my college education in graphic design was very beneficial, it did not cover aspects of running a business. I had to learn about the logistics of forming an LLC, the importance of hiring an accountant, how to thoroughly check that certain designs or phrases aren’t trademarked, among other things.

While it definitely was a struggle, I feel that these struggles I’ve gone through have helped make me a stronger and more confident business owner.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Kimberlee’s Trendy Boutique?
I sell trendy apparel and accessories catered toward women and men (children’s collection coming soon). I wear so many hats as a business owner, but I have to say creating new trendy designs and offering my customers the best customer service are my favorite jobs.

What sets me apart from the competition is that I’m a professional graphic designer. I feel like my designs emotionally connect with my customers and the products I print on are very high quality.

Right now, I have a Colorado and Nurse collection in my shop and I’m adding new designs and products every day. I sell t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies and tote bags. I’m looking forward to having a children’s apparel collection, mugs, stickers, home goods and more added to my shop very soon! I also plan on designing cards, invitations and more.

I’m so proud of where my shop is today and all the hard work I put into it to make it the best it can be.

Please check out my Etsy shop, KimberleesTrendyBtq 🙂

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I think it’s good to take risks, as long as the risks are within reason.

I connect with the well-known quote, “With great risk often comes great reward.” If you don’t try you’ll never know what could have been!

Also, sometimes things just don’t work out as you planned. I try to always look at the glass half full. There’s always something valuable to learn from taking risks within reason.

I think I’ve taken a big risk by starting my own business and putting my name on it. I pride myself in being the only person who the customer interacts with every step of the way. This is certainly risky because if things don’t work out, I am the only person to blame. However, I do believe that every customer who has worked with me has had a positive experience.

I’m very proud of my decision to open a business, and I couldn’t be happier!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/KimberleesTrendyBtq
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimberleestrendyboutique/