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YOU DON'T HAVE TO FOLLOW. YOU CAN LEAD. - BRIAN ANTONEVICH

By: Pop Nerd Lounge




“Be an individual. You don’t have to follow. You can lead.” — BRIAN ANTONEVICH


Whenever your fashion can be custom-made for you, it takes the phrase tailor-made to a whole new level. Brian’s a bold and passionate engineer turned designer based out of Boston. He’s always turned heads and grabbed people’s attention with his custom-made jeans. It wasn’t until 2020 that he decided to leave the engineering field and focus on Frayed Needle full time. Listen as we chat about fashion, originality, and why he’s so passionate about his line – Frayed Needle. As a bonus, we also have a print interview we did with Brian below, check it out!


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Hi, Brian! Thank you so much for chatting with Pop Nerd Lounge. So, tell me… you were working in Engineering full time and then had Frayed Needle on the side. How did you make sure people knew that it wasn’t just a hobby or side hustle but it was your business and your passion?


Well, when I started making my jeans as a hobby and started to get input from others as I wore them, I realized that there was something there and decided to pursue what I like to do. The feedback I got from others was to do something with it and that’s when Frayed Needle was established.


Frayed Needle’s been in existence since 2015, but you went full time with it when the pandemic hit and everyone worked from home. Why did you decide to go full time with Frayed Needle during an unpredictable time?


When the pandemic hit, there was a lot of uncertainty and remote access to everyday work and life was being tested, meaning virtual meetings, which was new to a lot of people and somewhat of a challenge at the time. It was then that I decided to pursue my passion which I could easily do from home and enjoy doing it.


You have a pretty USP (unique selling point) in that everything you make is hand-stitched, which is pretty rare in the fashion industry considering a lot of it is manufactured. What’s your advice to creatives to find what makes them unique in their field/business?


Yes, everything that I do with Frayed Needle is hand-stitched. Each piece is unique, one-of-a-kind, almost like a piece of artwork. So, if your passion is a unique style or feel, go for it! Having confidence in what you do is important. You can certainly excel, that’s the beauty of the creative mind, so go for it.


Instead of going retail with your line, what made you decide to go direct to consumer?


Yes, going retail wasn’t what I had in mind when I started Frayed Needle. I wanted to develop my brand and I have to say I made a call to Dead Horse Branding in Nashville, Tennessee to present my idea, which ultimately created the great team that we have. We created a website, got on social media, and developed some great contacts and things have been progressing ever since.


I think one of the biggest keys to success is to find a really solid team, which looks like you have! How do we creatives make sure we have a tribe we can invest in?


Oh, my team is epic. Rick and Melissa Caballo of Dead Horse Branding have been extraordinary and the Frayed Needle shoot team, Julia Baker, Jess Hampton, Muffius, and the photographer Duncan O’Boyle are rock stars. We did a photoshoot in Boston and the photoshoot team nailed it.

You stated that Frayed Needle is your passion and it’s very evident within your story and your brand. What’s the difference between working and working on something you're passionate about?

I have to say, the difference between work and working on something you're passionate about, is you have to love what you're doing. You can always get a paycheck, however, if you’re not loving what you do what’s the point? Find something you love to do and make that your paycheck. Going to work every day should be a pleasure, not a nuisance, enjoy what you like to do.


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