As you peruse the One Stop Trev Shop’s goods or offerings, you will see a clothing rack displayed with senior Gracyn Chessen’s loungewear.

The popularity of her clothing has especially benefited the One Stop Trev Shop. Since the beginning of Chessen’s collaboration with the school shop, she has made a profit and sold more than 50 items. Duffy said her clothing doesn’t stay on the shelf long.

“It has definitely been beneficial for both of us because I post her stuff on Instagram or when she’ll post something, I’ll do a repost and vice versa with her too. I think people have followed us because they follow her or because they see her merchandise,” said Duffy, “I hope that we’ve been able to get her some new followers from the exposure that she’s had either on our social media or in the store.”

Balancing school with her small business became much more difficult once students transitioned from remote to in-person school, especially during her senior year with college applications. 

“I have to make time for it in the same way I would with homework or if I had a normal job. I just work after school for a few hours each day,” said Chessen.

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As a one-person business, the work takes constant commitment.

“Sometimes it gets really overwhelming during the holidays. During graduation last year, I had a ton of custom orders and as nice as it would be to teach someone how to do what I’m doing and to have help, I don’t need it all the time and it’s not really worth it. But, sometimes it does get really overwhelming,” said Chessen.

Even in times where she is overwhelmed, she still manages to put effort into packaging her clothing. 

“Something that really sets loungebyg apart from other businesses is the true personal touch she adds to every order. Both of my orders and my sister’s came with a handwritten note and washing instructions, which was so helpful,” said senior Sam Fellinger.

Sophie Bartels, a senior who has bought Chessen’s clothing for herself and as gifts for her cousin, appreciates her devotion. “Gracyn is always so sweet and works hard to get her orders done as soon as she can. I don’t know anyone else her age who is so motivated to further their small business.”

While running the business solo can be difficult at times, Chessen finds passion in designing clothing products for others.

“Being able to make clothes myself has been really fun. All my friends have to work in restaurants and that kind of thing and being able to work my own hours while doing something creative that I like to do is really fun,” said Chessen.

During remote learning in March 2020, Chessen began to create tie dye tops after seeing them online. Her business teacher, Bob Bollweg, encouraged students to do something business-related while being remote. With this in mind, she decided to start selling a variety of tie dye tank tops, sweatshirts, and sweatpants for her friends to purchase on instagram.

“A lot of people ended up wanting to buy them so then I made an Instagram. I started by selling tank tops and then invested in some more inventory and started selling more, and that’s kind of just how it started,” said Chessen. 

Chessen expanded her inventory from tie dye to other designs. She started using a graphic design app and seeking out more inspiration from Pinterest and inspirational quotes found online.

“Her website is very user friendly, and she has a wide variety of styles and designs. This makes picking out and buying a sweatshirt or sweatpants really easy and fun,” said senior Sydney Goldman.

Students in Melissa Duffy’s Marketing in Merchandising Fashion class mentioned Chessen’s small business, which led to the collaboration of her loungewear and the school shop in March 2021. She first sent a couple of prototypes and images of logos, and Duffy approved them.

“Initially, we weren’t sure how much of it we would sell so she made a couple designs,” said Duffy. “Because of the popularity and items selling out, we created a QR code upstairs where people could submit orders for other styles or sizes.”

Duffy is open to giving this same opportunity to other student entrepreneurs who come forward if anyone has something they would like to sell.

“It’s a great space for it, good exposure, and being able to support students to help them build a business in school is awesome,” said Duffy.