Isaiah Lipscomb models his first shirt, 4SEASONS he made in March 2019. Photo by Kilikena Jordan
How did a junior engineer major get interested in created a clothing brand?
Isaiah Lipscomb, a student at Western Carolina University, began his own line of clothing, iblcustoms, in March 2019.
Lipscomb is currently a junior majoring in engineering technology with a minor in art. He considers himself to be more artistic than mathematic and wants to apply his knowledge gained in engineering towards technical skills needed for animation and special effects.
“Art is very competitive so I chose a more generalized field,” said Lipscomb.
In his free time Lipscomb enjoys drawing, a hobby he’s had his whole life. In February 2019, Lipscomb was sketching a design on a drawing tablet and created what would be his first t-shirt design. The design was a block split into four sections, each one depicting a specific season in the style of an old video game. It was then named 4SEASONS.
“It’s the one that inspired me to keep making new designs, without the first one there wouldn’t be all the other ones,” said Lipscomb.
In total there are eight different iblcustoms designs offered on different colored t-shirts in both short-sleeved and long-sleeved options. Lipscomb plans to offer hoodies in the winter when he releases his next design.
WCU junior Bryce Mitchell models iblcustoms KING t-shirt in Asheville NC in September 2020. Photo by Chance Holmes-Snowden
“I can potentially make money doing something that I find enjoyable, so I was like why not? I don’t lose anything by doing it,” said Lipscomb.
Lipscomb began by finding a website that worked best for him and chose Printful because it had the best reviews and he doesn’t have to print his designs on the clothes himself. The site makes the clothes when an order is placed and ships it out to the customer.
“That’s where I get the different color designs [for the shirts],” said Lipscomb.
Friends and family have helped Lipscomb by modeling his clothing. Lipscomb uses these pictures to promote his products on Instagram and his website.
Bryce Mitchell, a junior at WCU and a friend of Lipscomb, modeled a few iblcustoms t-shirts and describes Lipscomb as “hard-working” when it comes to his clothing. “[The photo shoot] went pretty well, he tries his best to be professional,” said Mitchell.
Lipscomb has only sold four shirts but is hopeful that he will gain more revenue in the future. He’s learned that “you shouldn’t rush production because then you start lowering your standards as to what is a profitable product. Quality over quantity.”
“[Some people will] feel like they’re failing because they’re not super successful at the start. You’re gonna have a couple of months or even years where you’re not where you want to be,” said Lipscomb. He believes it’s important to keep at your goals and don’t compare your success to others.
Right now Lipscomb is running iblcustoms for fun, “If it blows up and I start making a significant amount of money I’ll invest more time into it,” said Lipscomb. If he makes enough to “make a living off of,” then he will happily quit his job.
