NFL Fashion Maven Kristin Juszczyk Makes Super Bowl Debut
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Just to get one thing straight: Kristin Juszczyk’s husband, San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk, was not in Super Bowl LIX. Kristin’s mark, on the other hand, was everywhere.
The self-taught fashion designer, who grew up “crocheting with my grandma while watching Wheel of Fortune,” started sewing about seven years ago so that she could create her own game-day outfits, using Kyle’s old jerseys and other fan gear as materials.
At this year’s big game, she not only made a cameo in an “attention-getting” Super Bowl commercial spot, but also her fan apparel brand, Off Season, which launched in January, made its Super Bowl debut at the in-venue NFL shop.
We spotted Off Season’s puffer vests on the Instagram stories of Super Bowl attendees Martha Stewart, Randi Mahomes (Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Patrick Mahomes’s mom), and TV personality Paige DeSorbo—and lots of other fans too, which is actually the more significant part. Not too long ago, only NFL players and their significant others (Taylor Swift, Simone Biles) might be lucky enough to snag a custom handmade piece by Kristin.
Now that she has scaled up her small business, her designs can reach a wider audience—and she’s teamed up with Verizon Business to spread the word about how she did it. For example, she found the perfect partner in Emma Grede, an entrepreneur and occasional “guest shark” on the show Shark Tank.
Even if you are nowhere near beginning a business, but are simply interested in learning to sew like Kristin, she has advice for that too. She tells Country Living: “This is definitely a hobby that requires a lot of tools and it’s easy to be overwhelmed. But you can also just start with exactly what you need for one project and then it just naturally grows.”
Here’s what else we learned from our chat with Kristin, including the sewing machine brand she learned on (and remains loyal to), her easy storage solution for the tools of her craft, and how she had to rethink materials when she expanded her business.
Her Ride-or-Die Sewing Machine
“I have always been drawn towards the Brother machines. That’s really just because it truly was the machine that I first bought. I’ve always loved using those. I find them to be the easiest with tutorials online, and they’re really user friendly for first-time sewers,” Kristin says. And, no, she’s not sponsored by the brand, she clarifies, in case you were wondering. “I just really love their machines!”
Brother sewing machines run from around $130 for a basic model that’s a highly rated best-seller on Amazon, to upwards of $1,000 for a computerized sewing and embroidery machine similar to the one I scoped out on Kristin’s Instagram.
How She Corrals Her Tools and Thread
“I completely organized my office right before football season, which I needed—a complete reset,” Kristin says. “Anybody who sews knows that things just pile up. Thread piles up and chalk—everything. I really wanted to get completely organized.”
Her solution: “I now have a bar cart that I transformed into a sewing cart. I can take it from room to room with me so I can stay organized with my chalk and my needles,” Kristin says. “It’s the best. I highly recommend.”
Kristin’s cart, which you can catch a quick glimpse of in this Instagram post, is from the Container Store. “They have the most amazing organization stuff,” she says.
Her Quest for the Perfect Scissors
Kristin surprised me with this one because on her Instagram videos I’ve seen her shiny shears emblazoned with her initials. I was certain she would have a favorite brand, but, she told me, “You know what? I haven’t found my perfect scissor yet.”
“My scissors are, of course, my everything, I can never have enough of them. They can never be sharp enough, so I’m always buying new scissors and sharpening them. … I’m still searching for my perfect scissors. If anyone has recommendations for me, that would be great.”
You heard it here, sewing enthusiasts and pros. Drop your scissor recs in the comments. (Check out Country Living’s Food and Crafts Director Charlyne Mattox’s preferred pair here.)
How She Sources Materials for Her Line vs. Custom One-Offs
Inside Kristin’s home office, she has jerseys and T-shirts everywhere that she’s sourced individually for her one-off pieces. She might find pieces thrifting throughout Brooklyn or spy something she likes on Depop. “I’m always looking for a really cool graphic that I know that I can transform into a different silhouette,” she says.
“I wanted to make sure that my line felt that way,” she adds, but there were other considerations too—like how fabrics handle the elements.
“With sourcing different fabrics, there’s countless fabrics that you can choose from. I think we did a really good job making sure that the fabric really keeps you warm. I’m sure if you guys saw the last playoff games—there were two major snowy games [as illustrated in her hilarious Instagram post]. It was great to see people wearing the puffers and them telling me that it kept them warm,” Kristin says. “Then also durability is super important. You’re at a game, you’re going through weather, you’re possibly getting drinks spilled on you, food spilled on you. You need something that’s durable.”
How She Keeps Her Business Moving When on the Go
With the launch of Off Season this year, Kristin took her sewing and fashion design business to a whole new level. Along the way, she says, it’s been crucial to have the tools to communicate and keep things moving even when not in her office.
“Verizon Business has been super important in my journey,” Kristin says. “With a small business, you have to stay connected 24/7. There’s no off days and there’s no off hours. So whether I’m traveling to Kyle’s games or I’m sourcing materials at different manufacturers, I always make sure that I stay connected. Verizon has played such a huge role in making sure that my business has been successful. Being able to count on such a reliable network just puts my mind at ease so I can focus on other tasks.”
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