Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaylor Harris.
Hi Kaylor, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Fashion has always been apart of my life ever since I was little girl. I was raised in a family where all the women loved all things beauty and fashion. My great grandmother was the start of it all. She was a hat, purse and shoes kind of woman. Everything had to coordinate. She instilled in us to always put your best foot forward, be aware of how you carry yourself and always look presentable anytime you step out of the house. She passed her fashion sense down to my grandmother, who worked as a seamstress for many years. It then became somewhat of a family tradition because my grandmother then taught my mother how to sew at a young age. My mother went on to study fashion merchandising at Texas Southern, then later, she passed down the tradition and taught me how to sew. I was gifted my first sewing machine at 11 years old and ever since then, I fell in love with creating my own style. Sewing gave me the opportunity to bring my originality to life.
My sense of fashion also played a huge role in everything I did/do, including sports. Being an athlete wasn’t always seemed as the “girly” thing to do growing up but I made sure to always keep in mind the values my great grandmother passed down. Anytime I step out to compete, I love to be dressed well from my hair, to my makeup, to my nails and to my outfit because ever since I was younger, I noticed when I look good, I run good. So every track uniform I ran in was strategically planned out. I even had my mom make me a couple uniforms to run in because being original was something that meant a lot to me. All these aspects played a huge role in starting my business. The thought of starting my business came about a couple years ago when I got injured for the first time.
The injury showed me that my sport won’t be here forever so having something else to fall back on would be a great idea. I always knew I wanted to start a brand that embraced my love for fashion. I just didn’t know when to start it because being a student-athlete is very time-consuming. But the opportunity presented itself in the midst of the pandemic. Due to our season being cut short because of COVID-19, I had to move back home for several months. This was the first time in my life that I had this much free time so I decided this would be the perfect time to jumpstart my business. I started out making and selling swimwear, then added glasses to my line. Fast forward a couple months, I decided to expand my brand and make dope merchandise, which includes hats, beanies, T-shirts and hoodies. In the future, I hope to expand my brand with more signature clothing items as well as tapping into the beauty industry.
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?
I personally haven’t faced that many difficulties being that my business is fairly new. But the hardest part about my business is that it’s ran by mainly myself with the help of my mother. So the workload can often be difficult at times.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
KaylorKiannaLLC is a signature brand. I specialize in KiannaKinis, which is custom swimsuits for the women that like to look bomb and stand out. These swimsuits are perfect for boat parties, pool parties and even vacation. I also specialize unisex merchandise. My KK21 Merch gives the option for both men and women to purchase these calligraphy style items. I feel as though my style and originality sets me apart from others because my brand is my name and everything done through my brand is done by me and my mother. I am mostly proud of the fact that I am able to run a business as well as keep up with my studies and continue my athletic career. Everything you would like to purchase is on KaylorKiannaLLC.com and if you spend a certain amount with us we will offer free shipping. I will also be dropping a new swimsuit line coming this summer!
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Honestly, networking isn’t my strong point because I am surprisingly a shy person. This is definitely something I will be working on this year because networking can play a huge role in your business. My family owns Harris House of Heroes on McKinney Ave so I was fortunate enough to have my brother, who is the head CEO of the restaurant, as my mentor.
Pricing:
- Swimwear range from $50-$65
- Hoodies $45
- Hats $25
- Beanies $20
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: KaylorKiannaLLC.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaylorkiannallc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kaylorr.kianna
- Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/kaylorkianna_?lang=en
Image Credits
EyecatchingMedia *pink picture* ElijahxIkstudios *MERCH photos*
