Taking a gamble, Kris Kasmer of Palos Heights opened her own business called Watch Me, featuring custom-designed shirts, jackets and accessories.
Each article is hand-painted and decorated by Kasmer, who works in her home. She got the inspiration at a gift show and built on it, decorating shirts with Austrian crystals and paint.
”I was fascinated. I started fooling around,” she said. ”Now it has turned into this.”
Rather than borrowing from the family coffers, she financed her endeavor of three years with her earnings from a local pizza restaurant. Many of her original designs are inspired by trips to Las Vegas. Though Studio 5 & Nails Plus, 6854 W. 111th St., Worth, carries her designs, ”most of my business currently has been by word of mouth,” Kasmer said. ”I also wear my stuff everywhere and carry my business card.”
”When I was in high school, I focused on academics and college prep classes but I was always doodling,” she said. ”I`ve never had art training, but I consider myself artistic.”
After the initial shock, Kasmer adds her family has become supportive of her endeavor. Her three sons help her when she attends craft shows throughout the Chicago metropolitan area.
”They`ve been real encouraging, and they`ve accepted living in a mess,” she said. ”Right now my working conditions are not the best. I`ve been working off a pool table in the basement.”
Kasmer said she has affordability in mind when she sets her prices. A decorated tuxedo shirt costs $37. Accessories range from $10 to $20.
”Most of my prices are under $50. I`ve priced my things for the average person who likes to dress glitzy,” Kasmer said. On display in her home are her samples, from which a customer can work with Kasmer to design a unique item.
She believes she can offer a customer more personal service than a retail store. ”With the service, people feel real good,” she said. ”Most of my clients have turned into friends.”
To arrange an appointment with Kasmer`s Watch Me, call her at 708-385-9034.
