Syracuse sophomore Aidan Turner, has brought his clothing brand, “Grater Things”, to the Syracuse Campus
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — For Syracuse sophomore Aidan Turner, a fun clothing brand he started for his hometown grew and grew and eventually traveled with him up to college. Turner, an architecture major, didn’t realize what his other hobby had in store. This hobby led to, https://graterthings.com/
“I started producing clothes for fun, and people started enjoying the designs, they liked what I was doing,” said Turner.
There was only so many options on how Turner would grow the brand on campus. He tried to sell the brand out of his dorm room and advertise heavily through social media, but needed a place on campus to call “home” for his brand. He landed where most would expect, Marshall Street.
“I walked in to J. Michaels, and had a conversation with him, and we talked about if there was a way for me to get my clothes in there or look for any medium to sell my clothes and grow my brand and he (J. Michaels manager Erik Hitch), loved the idea of having a Syracuse students brand in the store,” Turner said.
For Hitch, something stood out about Turner and Grater Things. Hitch said the store gets approached very often about possible clothing deals with students, but most don’t seem like the right fit.
“Aidan brought a certain enthusiasm, he’s a great energetic guy and has great energy for his brand and that goes a long way with me” Hitch said.
Turner emphasized bringing joy to those who may need it is more important than any money the brand brings in. On the Grater Things website, it says “Grater Things is devoted to a life of persistence and positivity. We encourage you to always reach further than you ever thought you could. Moving forward through your daily struggles is the only way to make your dreams a reality.” Recently, Turner has let customers donate part of their purchase to a charity of their choice.
“We did a charity promotion, where we donated to Feeding America, which deals with hunger and food issues in our country, Suicide Prevention, for those dealing with the effects of mental health, and Oceania, which is the wildlife and nature charity,” Turner said.