Naman Shrestha
If you want your apparel to be family-oriented and reflect your familial love, KaAn’s Designs has got you covered with their creative and unique designs and prints. In the sixth episode of ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’ season 16, Kenny and Ashley Green pitched their family apparel brand — KaAn’s Designs — to the Sharks in front of them, hoping to get at least one of them on board with their business and take it to the next level.
KaAn’s Designs: Who Are They And What Do They Do?
With the aim of preserving precious family memories through clothing, KaAn’s Designs was established in 2014 by Ashley and Kenny Green. After Ashley’s mother passed away, she realized the importance of capturing moments with one’s loved ones while they are still in their lives. Inspired by the loss of her mother, high school English teacher Ashley was on the lookout for opportunities to spend more time with her two sons. Thus, while she was on maternity leave, she decided that she would find a way to document all the special moments with her children and not make the same mistake again.
Around the same time, she noticed multiple message tees on her Instagram feed, which sparked a light bulb in her mind. Although there were hundreds of merch shops online, she couldn’t find any of them relatable to what she felt or what represented her and her family. Thus, she took it upon herself to come up with a product that reflected her love for family and her creativity. After sketching out a tee design and putting relatable words on it for her four-year-old son, Aiden, she pitched the idea to her husband, Kenny, who helped her take the idea to the next level. Thanks to a $200 loan she received from her father, KaAn’s Designs was born. It was named after the combination of her own family’s names — Kenny, Ashley, Aiden, and Noah.
Initially, Ashley and Kenny ran their business from their garage, where they printed creative tees with relatable write-ups and sold them on Instagram. By May 2019, they gave birth to their first daughter, Kensley, and with their family, their business also grew in size. The couple had shifted from a home office to a home warehouse and employed a small team of assistants to help them with the shipping and fulfillment of the orders. However, before KaAn’s Designs, their lives were totally different. After earning a BEd in Secondary Education and Teaching from Indiana University Bloomington and an MEd in Educational Leadership and Administration from Indiana University Fort Wayne, Ashley became an English teacher at a local high school.
Meanwhile, after earning his Bachelor’s degree from Indiana University Bloomington in 2008, Kenny graduated with an MBA degree from Indiana Wesleyan University. He was then employed as a Digital Marketing Associate at Annie’s from January 2023 to July 2024. Ever since KaAn’s Designs came into the picture, he has been serving as a Marketing Coordinator at the company while also working as a freelance content creator on the side. By featuring printed family-related messages and texts, KaAn’s Designs preserve family memories. Although parents are the target consumers, many celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Tori Spelling, and professional football players have also purchased one or the other creative products designed by Ashley and Kenny Green.
KaAn’s Designs: Where Are They Now?
2017 turned out to be a big year for KaAn’s Designs, as the company was featured on Positively Fort Wayne. Not only that, they also turned to Amazon in the same year, allowing them to grow by more than 300% in sales over the years. By 2020, the business had become so successful that their product was one of the 72 gifts featured on Oprah’s Favorite Things List 2020 in O, The Oprah Magazine. Following their recognition, they planned to use their $500 grant to buy a hat heat-press machine in order to meet their customer demand more efficiently.
Since its inception, KaAn’s Designs has expanded its inventory by introducing many kinds of products to its consumers, including toddler bags, mom bags, key chains, pajamas, and t-shirts. Apart from the original designs — The Original (for the parents), The Remix (for the oldest child), The Encore (for a younger sibling), and The Mic Drop (for a baby) — the t-shirt category also saw an expansion over the years as they launched the “Shorty,” “Shorter Shorty,” and “Shortest Shorty,” collection, “Dope Mom,” “Dope Dad,” and “Dope Babe” set, and baby-sized tees for a family’s “Newbae.” Available in a variety of sizes for adults and kids, the apparel and accessories can be purchased on the official website of the company, Amazon, and Etsy.
According to reports, they also plan to take their business in offline markets across the country. In 2023, they shared another achievement of KaAn’s Designs on social media, saying, “God is awesome! Sometimes cool things happen and then they happen AGAIN! We are so happy to share that we made Oprah’s Favorite Things List 2023! @oprahdaily 🎄 I’ve always been transparent about the ups and downs of business, but this past season I’ve been so close to giving up and then God’s “love notes” come right in time!” In August 2024, Ashley and Kenny were invited to visit the Fort Wayne Amazon Fulfillment Center. Be it Thanksgiving or Halloween, they tend to come up with something fresh and creative to match the festive vibes.
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