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A Chat With Andrew Spargo
By: Julie Riedel
Using your college degree to transform a hobby into a career is a dream for many especially when the degree is in something that you are extremely passionate about. Kent State University alum Andrew Spargo has done just that with his company GREI. Then the other half of the dream is he lives and works in Brooklyn. Andrew graduated from KSU in 2009 and in 2011 he co-founded GREI with Larry Paul. GREI started out as the duo creating scarfs and bandanas and has grown to include men’s and women’s clothing. Andrew is more of the creative half to GREI while Larry manages more of the business side, but Andrew did grow up with his mom running a sewing business of her own, and he turns to her for support with GREI. Fashion and being expressive has been Andrew’s passion for a number of years and sitting down with Vignette in Dean & DeLuca he answered some questions about his company and career, plus the fashion industry he also gave advice for current students.
College Experience and Personal Life
How did Kent prepare you for your career?
AS: They [Kent] definitely prepared me on the fashion design side, I think I’m probably one of the few that still pattern makes and still sews and I still make samples, where a lot of the people I went to school with probably took more corporate jobs and they probably do a lot more technical flats and work on the computer. I definitely think Kent on the design side focused really heavily on construction, which has really helped me tremendously.
Why did you go into fashion design?
AS: I was always interested in creative things, I mean originally when I was a little kid I actually wanted to be like an architect, but I kind of moved into sewing and creating things, my mom has always been a sewer and she has a busies as well where she makes stuff with her hands as well, so I think it was more of a creative thing and that was always my interest.
How did the Florence and NYC studios shape you education?
AS: Florence was definitely for a cultural experience was really good I think being able to travel throughout Europe I think kind of just opens up your eyes to what’s going on in the world, I don’t know if it was as beneficial to me as coming to New York because I just think for Kent State students New York is a lot more of a realistic goal than going overseas, but I think being in New York and doing your internships and just walking the streets of New York and seeing it is an awesome experience, I think everyone should do it.
If you got to do it all over again would you?
AS: Yeah it definitely prepared me, I definitely would have done things a little differently.
Like what?
AS: I think now that I have my own business I wish I had focused more on some business classes and running a business or at least learning the industry more, I think that's something I didn’t take advantage of was the business behind fashion it was more about the design side and making things.
Why did you pick NYC?
AS: When you’re in school you kind of think New York is like the fashion mecca of the world, which I think it definitely is, so when you're a designer a lot of times that's where you kind of feel it’s where you’ll end up and I kind of got into that, and that’s why I wanted to come to New York.
What do you love about NYC?
AS: I love the diversity of New York, I love that you can get off the train in one neighborhood and get on the train and ten minutes later and be in a different neighborhood and a lot of the neighborhoods are still very ethnic, and I think having that culture is really awesome.
What do you hate about NYC?
AS: New York can get really exhausting especially in the summer, you're walking through the streets and then you have to get on the train and as commuters you always have so much stuff on you, it’s not like you can open your car door and put your bags in your car and drive away.
How has travel helped you as a designer?
AS: It's a huge part of my inspiration, for GREI especially, the inspiration normally starts with a destination or an idea of a place I want to go, or doing research on a place it could be in the U.S. it could be overseas it could be a building but I think just a place in general.
What inspires you?
AS: Another huge part of inspiration is fabric and texture; we don’t do a lot of crazy colors so texture is definitely a huge part of my inspiration
What are your hobbies, and how do you find inspiration?
AS:I’ve always loved art so art is a huge hobby, I don’t think I do enough of my own creative exploration, but I think for inspiration for me it’s about going places, it’s about exploring places and it’s about culture.
Student Advice
Do you think creative exploration is the best thing for young designers?
AS: I don’t know if it’s the best thing, but it’s a very important thing, I mean if you're a super creative person and you have great ideas but you don’t know how to execute them that’s a problem, so I think it’s a balance; but I think as a young designer it’s your time to really show your creative side because as soon as you get a job it’s going to be the vision of the company or the vision of your boss that you’re going to be executing.
What tips can you give an intern?
AS: Always stay positive, being on time, one of my biggest pet peeves is, and I know I was just as bad when I was in school, but being on your phone it’s like if you’re at an internship you’re there to learn and work, I’m not saying someone who’s working for me isn’t allowed to be on their phone, but like I think it’s important to be there with the people you’re working with.
What’s something you learned as an intern?
AS: I definitely realized how crazy the fashion industry is, it’s not a typical 9 to 5 kind of job, I worked internships where I was working some days to midnight just to finish things, I think doing an internship it’s much more about reality of what the industry is really like.
What’s the best advice you can give to college students?
AS: I think just staying motivated and staying positive, coming out of school it’s not going to be necessarily as easy, but I think it’s all about continued work, even if it’s like you’re doing extra internships just to get in the door or if your volunteering or you’re doing even just entry level work, all of that's going to help you in the end.
What advice for do you have for applying for jobs and internships?
AS: There are so many people looking for jobs that I think it’s important when you submit a resume or a cover letter, especially for someone who is a designer, just submit work right away if you can, and when people request work they want to know that you have the ability to learn and the ability to grow.
What do you think is the most important characteristic to be successful as a professional?
AS: I think just being a team player, I think people don’t want to work with people who aren’t willing to work together, I think in school group projects were one of the things you hated doing the most, but that is the most realistic thing about any job, not even just fashion, but any job is going to be. So learning to work together, but also being a little bit of a leader you know taking tasks you might feel like you might excel in and taking responsibility for them.
Do you have any networking advice?
AS: Networking is hard. With networking it definitely is a lot about whom you know, but I think there’s a lot of networking that just going to certain fashion events and certain parties and stuff like that is not necessarily going to help you with networking. I think the best networking is going to be at jobs. I think people think that if they do networking at big events they’re going to catch their break, and I think it’s kind of like finding a needle in a haystack to meet people at those kind of things, so I think it’s just about working hard and meeting the people that you’re working with.
Do you think it is better to work for a small business or a corporate company?
AS: I think that’s totally a personal thing, I mean some people thrive in a much smaller setting where you're a little more one on one with people. It's a smaller team you have a little bit more say, but you also have a lot more work because it's a smaller team you’re all doing a lot more tasks than in a corporate job, where you have a very specific task and you grow within a department doing a specific category.
Company/Industry
What changes do you see happening in the fashion industry?
AS: There’s a lot that’s going to be changing. I think mass market there’s going to be less of it, the price of producing overseas is going up so I think a lot of people are starting to produce in America again. I think the industry in general is so consumer oriented that it’s really going to be how consumers react, and right now I think consumers are looking for less mass market products and wanting more specialty things.
How should students prepare for these changes?
AS: I think for students learning about smaller brands that you could work with is definitely a positive thing to do. I think learning about other markets other than just the U.S. market because overall the fashion industry in the U.S. is not necessary going up, but countries like Japan and Australia those kind of industries are booming and working for companies that sell to those kind of countries are going to have an easier time than brands that are only selling to the U.S. or even European countries right now.
What do you like about the fashion industry?
AS: I like that it is always changing. I mean, even now I’m learning something new everyday like when I go to the factories that we work with in New York it’s like they’re teaching me things that I don’t even know, and I think that’s awesome. You’re going to learn things from people everyday here.
Is there anything about the fashion industry you don’t like or wish was different?
AS: Ya, I think a lot of the fashion industry right now it’s very, I mean there’s so much right now and I think with consumer spending down people are being much more selective of what they buy and I think for a lot of brands it’s about more is more and it’s not about being more selective and being more decisive. I think the U.S. in general is not a decisive country, they would rather see more is more is more than be able to pick that down, but that’s not going to help grow the fashion industry that’s just going to make the fashion industry less profitable.
What does the fashion industry look like on a global stage?
AS: It’s all about Asian countries, so I think especially in the U.S. a lot of those more contemporary brands are thriving in Asian countries. Like for GREI Japan is one of our best countries, besides the U.S., we spend more time trying to get the brand awareness out in Japan because it’s thriving in fashion.
How would you describe GREI?
AS: GREI it definitely has a more casual sensibility, it’s definitely someone who likes fashion but doesn’t necessary like too much flash, we love things that are overly washed, things that are comfortable, we love texture, textile are a huge part of GREI. When my design sensibility is a lot more minimal but I love tactile textiles, like a lot of crinkle fabrics and a lot of weights.
How did GREI start?
AS: We were only making accessories and we weren't even making them to sell, like we were making bananas and scarves and we had a couple friends who owned some stores and they liked them and then we showed them to a couple other stores and it started from there.
Why did you start GREI?
AS: I had no intention of starting a brand I was actually working more as a stylist at the time and we had one board that we had some mood and fabric swatches on it and then a couple months later we had a collection, it kind of grew organically.
Anything else you would like to add?
AS: I think as a designer it’s important to log your inspiration. I have sketch books and other like notebooks that are all about just things I find, it’s almost like a creative scrapbook and it’s just things I find that I might be inspired by, and I probably have more of them then I should, but they are things that I like and I feel I’ll be inspired but I think it’s important to log that information.
Find him on Linkedin and check out GREI at:
What do you look for in an intern?
AS:I look at someone who is hardworking and willing to take on any kind of task. We’re a really small team so I know that an intern isn’t going to be good at everything and you’re going to have something you definitely thrive better in and I would much rather them be able to do the things they’re passionate about. But just someone who is really willing to do things, I mean I’ve had interns in the past which they feel like maybe they’re too good to be an intern and it’s their first opportunity to be in the industry and it’s like you’re only going to grow from the experience you have.