Amy Voloshin: Entrepreneur, Textile Master, and Print Aficionado
Written by: Lydia Lepping
Amy Voloshin is a self-titled entrepreneur, designer, textile master, and fashion entrepreneur; she’s also the majority-owner of PrintFresh, a Philadelphia-based brand specializing in sleepwear and lifestyle items. Walk into the bright, airy, and colorful PrintFresh office, and you can see that she is all those things and more wrapped in a perfect little bow, but it didn’t all happen overnight.
Amy Voloshin has always been creative. Her love of fashion started early, though she never quite knew where that would lead her. From graphic design to illustration, photography, and fashion, her wide variety of interests made it difficult to figure out exactly what she wanted to pursue. She had many opportunities to follow these passions through high school and college, which worked out for the better and came in handy when running her business. “Once I got to college, I saw the senior show by the textile department and knew that majoring in that was the right move for me. I loved getting to work with color and texture for fashion,” that was the moment it clicked.
One of her first jobs was with Liz Collins, a fantastic knit designer and artist “[I] learned a lot about color and working for a small innovative company,” Voloshin notes. Continuing to grow her skills and resume, she entered the corporate world, working for Urban Outfitters and Free People when the company was still small. She gained priceless experience, “[I] got to design prints, embroideries, and garments for those lines, which was an amazing experience and taught me so much about the industry.”
These priceless experiences paved the way for Voloshin to become the successful entrepreneur she is today. Starting the company in 2017, she attributes much of her success to her leadership abilities, “I think having a clear vision really helps. My team knows I’m pretty opinionated about what I like and don’t like - but that really helps with the design side and being able to make choices that create a consistent brand and style for the collections.” She also notes how hard it is to be an entrepreneur, having worth ethic is so important, “and being willing to work incredibly hard, entrepreneurship is a really tough journey, and it takes relentless effort and focus to push things through especially in the early days of starting a brand.”
One of the most extraordinary things about being a business owner is having your brand’s values reflect your own. Using PrintFresh for good is essential to Voloshin, and she notes that it is one of her favorite things about running her brand saying. “I love being able to exercise my values through our brand.” Voloshin strives to ensure these values are stitched through every product, “using organic fabrics and being size inclusive were things that oftentimes are hard to achieve in traditional fashion brands. I really enjoy being able to have a firm stance on what our brand is about - and getting to put that out into the world.” In an industry where these things seem so few and far between, Voloshin must stay true to these values, “Sustainability is really important to me. There is so much waste in the fashion industry, and choosing natural and organic materials is an important part of our process. Cotton is biodegradable - which is critical for reducing how long something may sit in a landfill.” But it’s not just the product’s ethical materials; it’s vital to ensure they are made well too, “creating high-quality designs that are well sewn and will hold up over time, and actually get softer and more comfortable over time is a big part of our process and prolongs the life cycle of our products.” Voloshin wanted to ensure that the clothing she made was for everyone, leading PrintFresh to be size-inclusive, “Size inclusivity was important to us from the very beginning. I wanted to make a clothing line that all of my friends and family could wear. We worked really hard to learn about how to do a broad range of sizes. Our line features sizes XXS-6X and petites and talls.”
Since sustainability is a value at the forefront of PrintFresh, it’s no surprise that nature works its way into many of the prints featured in the brand’s designs. Their designs start in-house as hand-painted gouache paintings translated into digital illustrations, giving PrintFresh their signature hand-painted look. Voloshin notes, “We find inspiration everywhere; I love combining unexpected elements to make our prints especially unique. Plants and animals are always a favorite of mine - so concepting unexpected pairings or finding motif inspiration in vintage ceramics, objects, or textiles helps kick off initial ideas. Then we combine a bunch of things you might not normally see together, and the painting and coloring process then begins!”
Seeing how she was able to find something she was passionate about so early in her college career and cling to it is inspiring. That moment when it all just clicks is so magical. Voloshin shared some advice for young people working to make their way into the fashion industry, “I think internships and seeking out mentors is so incredibly important. Learning from different workplaces and people can really help you identify what kind of workplace you thrive in, and what specific part of the industry you have the most passion for and strong abilities in.” She also mentioned that it’s also important to draw inspiration from those who inspire you professionally, “It’s so important to get feedback and advice from people that have been through the industry you aspire to be in.”
PrintFresh is quickly growing and expanding, with many exciting new things coming out this year, “This year, we are launching dresses which I’m really excited about. Our customers have been asking for dress styles from us for a while - and I can’t wait to launch them in March!”
Check them out online at https://printfresh.com/, on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/printfresh/, and at the store at 1019 Lexington Ave, New York, NY.