With a campus of over 40,000 students, you never know what talents or personalities you may come across. IU freshman and Bloomington native Korbin Clark is no newcomer to the artsy vibe of the college town. From screen printing to embroidery to vinyl, he knows the ins and outs of custom T-shirt printing and design. Taking these skills to the next level, he shares his future plans, his inspiration and his personal approach to combining his love for art and fashion.
Name: Korbin Clark
Role: Entrepreneur
CollegeFashionista: How did your T-shirt printing begin?
Korbin Clark: It started in 7th grade. My dad has a small print shop here [in Bloomington] and prints paper products. In our basement there’s a small, one-head printing press. I was in middle school at the time and I wanted to print shirts for our middle school volleyball team to sell. We dusted it off and tried to figure out how to use it and then it gradually expanded and we got better equipment as it went on. He has a company, KC Designs Custom Printing, and I’m just finishing branching off into my own company West Bristol Screen Printing.
CF: What will your own company entail?
KC: Original designs are what I’m doing now. Normally with screen printing you’re just printing what’s on the screen. But for my newer shirts, I’ve been applying the ink like it’s water-based. I apply it by brush so that it’s done by hand. Basically like it’s painted on, but it’s ink instead of paint. (The shirt he is wearing above is an original that reads “Not produced in Paris” in French.)
CF: How will your designs differ from those of other T-shirt companies on the market?
KC: Another thing that will be kind of unique about these is that I’m only going to do limited runs of each one. When an artist does prints, they might do 100 and then each one is labeled 1/100, 2/100, etc., so on the back of each shirt suede will be sewn on and then each will be labeled 1 out of however many I do. Because it’s done by hand it’ll cost more. None of the stuff is for sale yet. If you go to Urban Outfitters or something and buy a shirt, you’ll see 15 other people walking around campus with the same shirt. I wasn’t planning on making it a company, but I was approached by a charity fashion show in Bloomington and I was asked to donate some stuff. So after that, I thought I might as well.
CF: How would you describe your personal style?
KC: Expressive. I try to have a variety of stuff. I don’t really shop in Bloomington unless it’s a secondhand shop. You can get more unique stuff. In Chicago I like places like Zara and Topman.
CF: What about art inspires you?
KC: I’ve been interested in art for a long time, and it seems like it’s hard to find something that bridges fashion and art exactly together. I like art for two reasons. Everything aesthetic: how the painting actually looks, like the brush strokes and colors. And everything symbolic: what it actually represents. That’s the goal with this–to combine aesthetics with symbolism so you can enjoy it either way. Ideally you can do both.
Learn More: You can visit Korbin’s websites, launching soon, at www.artbrut.co and www.westbristolprinting.com. Although his shirts are not yet available to the public, you can start this look with red sneakers, a nice watch and a classic pair of dark-wash jeans.
