By, The Curator
Although it seems like I’ve found most of the brands I’ve interviewed through Instagram, I actually found this one through Twitter. Seize Every Chance’s owner, Dylan, hit me up and told me to check out his brand. I was confused at first because I couldn’t find much about it, but he told me he was restructuring and holding a photoshoot soon. I figured I might as well offer him an interview since he said he’s been around since 2012. Read more about Seize Every Chance below!
The Curator Blog (TCB): What’s your name and where are you from?
Seize Every Chance (SEC): My name is Dylan and I’m from Chicago, Western suburbs to be exact.
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TCB: How long have you been running SEC?
SEC: I have been running Seize Every Chance since 2012.
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TCB: What does the name mean and what inspired it?
SEC: Seize Every Chance means taking advantage of the opportunities given to you and making the most of what you have. The inspiration behind it is the goal of becoming successful and being able to wear something that portrays the journey.
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TCB: Tell me about how SEC got started.
SEC: Seize Every Chance was really started in high school with one of my friends Andy. At first, we were saying just the phrase. Then we were in a graphic design class and we thought it would be cool to print a couple shirts with the saying and a do a couple designs. After we manually screen printed the shirts, people around school asked about it and started wanting some shirts. That’s when it took off.
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TCB: Do you have a team or is it just you?
SEC: As far as team we have a couple graphic designers that have made some designs through-out the years. As far as day to day website maintenance, marketing and things like that, it’s just me.
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TCB: What aspects of the brand are your favorite to handle/take care of?
SEC: Content creation and seeing product being worn are my favorite aspects of the brand. Seeing the very first mockups of a design, refining it, finalizing the design and then putting it on an article of clothing is a cool process to be a part of.
TCB: What is your design process like?
SEC: The design process is a kind of spur of the moment thing. Once an idea is formulated, the process is started on Illustrator or Photoshop and brought to life.
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TCB: What is your production/manufacturing process like? Do you do it yourself or outsource the work?
SEC: The production/manufacturing is outsourced but I give the production team a lot of input as far as print quality, materials and even the packaging of Seize Every Chance Clothing.
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TCB: What are one or two things that you have learned from your time running SEC?
SEC: I have learned that running a clothing brand is more than a cookie cutter process of putting things into a mockup generator and ordering it. It’s a lot more hands on and seeing what materials satisfy your quality expectations, figuring out what type of printing whether its DTG or Screen printing is right for the product. Something that you learn as you go is that word of mouth and the relationships that come from it are a lot more genuine than running Facebook or Instagram advertised posts.
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TCB: Where do you see yourself and where do you see your brand two years from now?
SEC: Two years from now if everything goes as planned, Seize Every Chance is being worn by anyone who can relate to journey of being the best version of themselves. Whether it be someone lifting in the weight room or someone wearing it for a night out.
TCB: Tell me a bit about yourself outside of SEC. What’s your story?
SEC: I was always into and playing sports, whether it be baseball, basketball, football or golf. This is where I first started to notice what clothing athletes wore, what they wore pregame, postgame, and out to events. This is when I really started to think about making something originally for myself and friends, but eventually other people.
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TCB: Are there any people or brands that you would like to collaborate with?
SEC: As far as people or brands I would like to collaborate with, I would want to collaborate with anyone that wants to create something that aligns with Seize Every Chance’s vision. If I had to pick a couple brands specifically, I would like to collaborate with KITH, APC or Leaders 1354.
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TCB: What did you do before you started SEC and what do you think you would be doing if you hadn’t?
SEC: I was and still am big into sports. I would probably be coaching a basketball team.
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TCB: What’s one of the best experiences you’ve had with SEC so far?
SEC: The best experience with Seize Every Chance is the constant evolving that has taken place. From starting out screen printing it myself on Gildan blanks, to now, being able to choose between screen printing, direct to garment or even embroidery on all types of shirts, hats, etc. Being able to create something organically has been a good experience.
TCB: What would you say is the most interesting aspect of your brand?
SEC: The most interesting aspect about Seize Every Chance is it doesn’t discriminate as far as who can understand the meaning behind it. No matter where a person comes from or what they believe in, Seize Every Chance is something that all types of people can think of during their lives and being able to wear something that symbolizes their journey is something everyone can appreciate.
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TCB: Is there anything else you would like to say/announce or anyone you would like to shoutout?
SEC: Just to keep checking out the website for updated product and to follow us on Instagram (@seizeeverychance) for more content.
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TCB: Tell me more about the first attempt you made at running SEC and what you are doing differently this time around.
SEC: The first couple attempts with Seize Every Chance, outsourcing the work to other websites. Getting the products made for absurdly high prices when I should have researched more cost-efficient manufactures. Figuring out who to use, how to create something that benefits both Seize Every Chance and the customer alike is what I am now doing that I wasn’t when I first started out.
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TCB: What do you think makes your brand stand out the most?
SEC: What makes Seize Every Chance stand out the most is that we have a variety of different niche market apparel created. We have a Nautical inspired shirt, a boxing club shirt, a shirt inspired by the Chicago flag mixed with an SEC logo, and many more that aren’t your typical default logo shirt. This is what makes Seize Every Chance stand out compared to others because we do have apparel for different types of interests.
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TCB: Is SEC something you want to do long term or do you have other future career plans?
SEC: I want Seize Every Chance to keep going as long as it is fun for everyone involved and the creative process doesn’t diminish. When you work with different graphic designers, blogs, magazines, photographers, the creative process is rarely dull. As long as this remains, seizeeverychance.com will be up and running.
Go check out Dylan’s brand and stay tuned for more releases from Seize Every Chance soon!
Website: http://www.seizeeverychance.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seizeeverychance/
The Curator 
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