Photo courtesy of Chanel Kennebrew

Brooklyn Designer Rocks our Socks… and Tees and Hoodies and Jackets and…

A year and a half ago, Chanel Kennebrew had to make a crucial decision. The 26-year-old Art Director worked at a design firm in New York City. When the two partners who ran the firm decided to split, Kennebrew had to choose sides. “I was faced with going with one or the other.”

She picked neither. Instead, the bubbly Brooklynite decided it was time to embark on her own business venture. Plus, she really liked making things. In 2007, Kennebrew launched Junk Prints, a colorful clothing line, which includes funky tees, tops, dresses, bags, hoodies, jackets and wallets. “Junk Prints is an evolution from a lot of graphic work that I was doing – [including] graphic photos,” says Kennebrew, originally from Pomona, California. Think, “crack for the eyes,” she explains.

Kennebrew came up with the concept in college. A photography major, she graduated from Ryerson University, way up in Toronto, Canada. “Junk Prints was kind of the anti,” explains Kennebrew. “I started running with the theme of junk, and making art that didn’t fit the norms. I like to damage things.” Her artwork also sends a message: “There’s a little bit of thought behind it. It’s something that I cosign and stand behind as far as social awareness goes,” she says. “A lot has to do with finding commonality in people. I deal with a lot of stereotypes. I deal with the way we view ourselves, and each other.”

The line was successful from jump. First, she started selling items on www.etsy.com, an online marketplace for buying and selling handmade goods. Within her first month, she had a buyer. “It was driven organically by demand and not spending your whole life savings on something.” Next thing she knew, her work was featured in the New York Post, New York Sun and “Good Morning America”. Not bad for someone who taught herself how to sew. Her items can now be found in stores all over the world, including Russia, Texas, Japan, Brooklyn and Wisconsin.

Looking back, Kennebrew says her biggest struggle getting started was not having a steady paycheck. “A lot of it was faith – trying to keep faith in what I do,” she says. “I pretty much am learning while I’m going.” She now works from a studio in Red Hook, Brooklyn, between the hours of 8am and 6pm. “I got my first helper in here, that’s been pretty fun.”

As for the future, Kennebrew says three things are certain: “More of the same, more traveling [and] definitely more junk.”

For your Junk fix, click here.