Illustration Nation - Building The Next Patagonia With AJ Wiley Of Kumawave

Destination Different

I would like to coin a new phrase. It's called the "Holy-shit-thats-cool-factor"

That "Holy-shit-thats-cool-factor" is what sets AJ Wiley apart from a lot of other illustrators and designers. He simply makes amazing work with a unique purpose and style.

AJ is the founder of Kumawave, an outdoor-inspired apparel brand, that brings his art to life across tee shirts, hoodies, stickers, mugs, and more.

AJ never set out with the intention to start his own clothing brand. In fact, his lifelong dream had always been to design for Patagonia. But after creating a few Patagonia-inspired designs and posting them to TikTok with the hopes of landing a job, he started to build a fanbase of his own.

Since then AJ officially launched Kumawave with his brother and it has been off to the races.

In this episode we talked about building a clothing brand from nothing, how he balance his love of art versus the business of his art, and the secrets behind how he amassed a 100K person TikTok following.

Awesome, inspiring episode. If you want to follow along with what AJ is up to check him out on TikTok at @ajwileydesign or on Instagram @ajwiley.design. And if you want to get your hands on some of that new Kumawave merch, check it out at kumawave.com

And if you're not already, you should be keeping up with Destination Different all over the internet...

Twitter - @ry3dunn

Instagram - @destinationdifferent

TikTok - @destinationdifferent