YOUNG CREATOR PROFILE:
EVA KUO
FAST FAVES RIGHT NOW:
City: Monrovia, CA
Smell: matcha green tea
Music: Duffy, Lorde, Amy Winehouse, Frank Ocean
Dessert: Trader Joe’s Mini Ice Cream Cones
Weather: sunny with a breeze
Souvenir: my Despicable Me unicorn slippers
Item of Clothing: thrifted butter yellow t-shirt
SLEEPYTIME CRAZIES
My brand and business is Sleepytime Crazies and I started it in my freshman year of highschool during COVID quarantine. It's named after all the late night creative thoughts that kept me awake at night. I would draw out ideas in the dark and in the morning think of how I could bring them to life. Sleepytime Crazies to me is a way to express myself. My designs have changed a lot over the years because I used to aim to appeal to a certain group, but now I design things that appeal to me! This upcoming collection is all about girliness, adventure, playfulness, and uniqueness because those are all aspects that are big in my life right now. My mission is for Sleepytime Crazies to grow with me, as it has been for the past 4 years. I want others to relate to and see themselves represented by Sleepytime Crazies
EVA in this moment
How would you describe this moment in your life right now?
I would say a little stressed and rushed because I feel like summer is going by so fast so I feel a little unprepared for how soon reality will hit once I have to go to college. I'm trying to take in and appreciate as many experiences as I can with my friends before we all leave each other, kind of with the mindset of "it's our last time doing this specific activity.”
What phase of life are you in, & how do you think your age affects your thoughts, your feelings, your decisions?
I'm in a bit of a growth period since I'm trying to experiment in developing more products, things I have never done before. I've been doing a lot of research and figuring out the best way for myself to go about things, and figuring out how this process will be sustainable for me in the long run. I'm only 17 which is a lot younger than most clothing brand owners so it is hard not to compare myself to all the brands I admire. I feel like I have less resources and less time to pursue what I really want. I have to think about how I can get a collection done before school, how I will be able to produce items in my home, and also how much money I should spend on the collection. But I am still grateful to be a young girl in this space because I feel like I'm doing things others haven't really done before. So with all the frustration and confusion, I have an equal amount of excitement and pride.
What’s the last thing you thought of before you went to bed last night?
What my college experience will be like
The first thing you thought of upon waking this morning?
That I woke up an hour later than planned...
What have you been working on / playing with / scheming this last week?
My new summer collection has consumed me. I have been using Adobe Illustrator nonstop. More recently I have been carving rubber stamps for a new way of printing on clothes that I plan on experimenting with. It's fun but also very time consuming!
If you were to use only three words to describe your current creations, what would they be?
Girly, Innovative, Ambitious (in a scary way)
What is something you’re trying to let go of right now, & how is that going?
I am trying to let go of everything going the way I want it. At the beginning of summer, I had huge aspirations for this year's collection. But as I've continued the process, I had to accept that I am unable to complete a lot of what I hoped and cut down on how many products I was planning. I think now I am better friends with this realization because now I can put more focus on fewer items rather than scattered focus on a lot of items. It still hurts me to let go of the things I wanted so bad but I know that there could be another time for them later. I recently read a book called "Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear" that said Frustration is not only part of the creative process, but it is the creative process itself.
What is something people would be surprised to learn about you?
I am obsessed with Letterboxd, a movie reviewing/tracking app. I literally check it everyday for no reason.
BIO
Hi, I'm Eva Kuo from LA. I am 17 years old about to attend the University of Oregon to study Product Design! I have a clothing brand called Sleepytime Crazies that I started in my freshman year of high school. I design, screenprint, and package everything on my own.
