Q&A with Nicole Musselman
I am beyond exited to be interviewing one of my favorite people today, Nicole Musselman, Creative Director and Owner of KOCH. Nicole is such an inspiration to me and truly spreads sunshine everywhere she goes. Over the past few years, Nicole has been mentoring me on design and style, and has taught me so much about running a business. I CAN’T WAIT for you to read my interview with Nicole below… and check out… Shop KOCH here.
Q: Where are you from?
A:I grew up a bit of a nomad living the majority of my existence on the west coast in La Jolla and spent my high school years in the midwest before coming to Texas to go to SMU. My parents both encouraged me to work hard, try and use the gifts god gave me and believe in myself no matter what circumstances life handed me. This philosophy coupled with my experiences growing up in different cities and learning to adapt have helped guide me through life.
Q:Where did you go to college?
A:I went to SMU and I will forever be thankful for life bringing me to Texas. Not only because of the people I have met but because I got to be exposed to the incredible entrepreneurial spirit running through the fabric of the state. It helped form the value system and culture at KOCH. I would describe myself as an entrepreneur rather than a fashion designer. I believe this came from my experience at SMU and being surrounded with people from all over the country who had incredible imagination and went on to build really interesting companies. Coming to SMU and in turn Texas also introduced me to the incredible manufacturing infrastructure that we have in Dallas/Ft. Worth. If I had not lived here and had access to this community of workrooms I would not have been able to build my company in the same way. Steve Jobs gave a great speech at Stanford that I would recommend listening to where he talks about connecting the dots in life. It is true that as we look back over life we understand how things all start to make sense. Steve Jobs uses the example about auditing a calligraphy class at Reed college and how this later became the basis for all of the beautiful typography on the first Mac. It is through looking back at my experience at SMU that I have clear understanding of how impactful coming to Texas has been on my life.
Q:Tell us about your first job out of school?
A:My first job out of school is one of my favorite things to discuss because is was such a challenge. It was filled with humor, tears and was not at all what I expected. My family had been in the Pepsi business and my uncle helped me get a job at PepsiCo. In my mind I thought I would have a corner office filled with sunlight that I would wear cute suits and high heels to every morning, basically a corporate version of the movie, Legally Blonde. Instead I got a weight belt, a white button-down shirt with a Pepsi patch and I had to be at grocery stores at 5:00am which meant getting up at 3:30 to build Pepsi pyramids and shelve product at grocery stores. I learned how to work a fork lift and move palates, I learned the guy that invented the palate made a lot of money and I learned grocery store real estate is like regular real estate, very valuable depending on the location. I learned about hard work, the kind that required manual labor. Most of all I learned about people. I bonded with the guys that I drove the Pepsi trucks with who were much older than I was and were trying to send their kids to college and make a better life for their families. Of course at the time I was just bemoaning the fact that I didn’t have a more glamorous job, but in hindsight this job shaped everything about me. It shaped my relationships and my belief that every experience is about life working for us, to help us find meaning in our journey because the goal is to use your specific gifts to find purpose and try in some small way to make the world a better place.
Q:Share a few things that give you inspiration…
A:My main inspiration in life comes from reading. I have a masters in Liberal Arts with an emphasis in Literature so I love disappearing into novels and worlds created through the imagination and the written world. I also believe reading inspires you to want to travel to new places and through travel your mind opens up to new ideas, cultures, and traditions. My other main source of inspiration comes from walking with podcasts and music. My best ideas come from taking long walks in nature. No matter what the temperature is: freezing, hot, or perfect, when I walk and listen to music I get a sense of clarity and strength. My other favorite source of inspiration comes from podcasts. Being an entrepreneur and building a company can at times be lonely but listening to podcasts, specifically from CEO’s allows me to hear about similar experiences and inspires me to continue growing. There seems to be a common thread in people who have found purpose in life. They all seem to possess curiosity, perseverance, and the courage to fail.
♡Some of my favorite podcasts are…
- Tim Ferris with Tobi Lutke
- Tim Ferris with Safi Bahcall
- Tim Ferris with Bob Iger
- Tim Ferris’s with Chip Conley
- Joe Rogan with Kevin Hart
Q:What is the most iconic item you have designed?
A:The most iconic item I have designed is the Erica skirt and the Whitman sweater paired with our graphic tees, it is the KOCH look. KOCH is made in America, and we are proud to be part of the 2% of all clothing here. We do it because it is sustainable, ethical manufacturing that connects us to our community and we get to work along side of the people making our product which gives us joy! We believe in effortless casual clothing that is made for living life in and we believe the girl in the clothing is what counts. Everyday I feel lucky to be creating an American fashion brand that women wear and the real joy comes from watching them go out into the world and experience joy, give joy, take risks and believe in themselves.
Q:What does Joymaker and Risktaker mean to you?
A:KOCH is a brand for joymakers and risktakers. We believe in joymaking and risktaking and we are on a pursuit to get girls to face their fears and have a sense of humor while doing it. We believe when you make friends with your fear of failure and start with small acts of courage like being first to say hi on an elevator you are on the road to feeling a sense of joy. We are letting go of fashions quest for perfection and giving girls permission to take risks, fail, laugh and repeat. We are on a mission to get girls to push themselves out of their comfort zone and try new things.
xx.Nicole!
Much love
Sophie
