Designing pastor
Kevin John, wife Haley and their two children. (Courtesy photos)
An array of shirts for children designed by Kevin John of Simple Elms.
Kevin and Haley John’s children wear their dad’s designs.
‘Pacific Northwest’ shirt designed by Kevin John of Simple Elms.
This shirt designed and sold by Kevin John suggests the outdoors are waiting to be explored.
It was one thing that led to another that brought Kevin John to his small business, Simple Elms, where he sells children’s clothes on Etsy featuring designs he created.
“I started kind of hobbying at home,” he said. “I have two kids. I wanted to put them in really cute clothes, so I did. It just kind of grew from there.”
He started the business in 2016 when he unexpectedly found himself as a stay at home dad. He was a youth pastor at New Life Church before being laid off. His wife Haley worked and he stayed home with the kids. That’s when John, who has a background in graphic design, got the idea to learn how screen printing worked.
“I had free time,” he said. “At that point I wasn’t making many sales and wasn’t making much money. I liked being home with the kids. It’s fun.”
His designs focus on the Northwest and he also partners with local artists who create their own designs. The designs are outdoorsy, he said.
“We’re going for that kind of adventure kid,” he said. “I love design. It’s been fun to be able to use that in my clothing line.”
At its peak the business brought in between six and eight orders a week. “It wasn’t too much,” he said. “It was doable.”
John buys his clothes from Lat Apparel and screen prints his designs on them. “They’re made in the U.S. and they do a good job,” he said. “They have a toddler line.”
He keeps a small stock on hand and orders more as needed. Recently John has added a few adult items to his online store, including sweatshirts. “We’re just getting more into that because there were requests for it,” he said.
His online shop is at www.simpleelms.com.
There are currently five different designs available, but John has been working on new designs and plans a relaunch in October. “We’re excited to relaunch and really hit it hard,” he said.
John plans to debut the new designs at the Coeur d’Alene Makers Market on Oct. 14 at the Coeur d’Alene Resort. The market is something John and his wife created to give small businesses like theirs a place to sell their products.
“We have a ton of local small businesses who are just rocking it and making great stuff,” he said.
John doesn’t have a storefront and said he chose to sell online because his products didn’t really fit in anywhere. The lack of a brick-and-mortar selling space is one of the reasons he and his wife started the market, which runs once a quarter with a special Christmas sale added in. It gives everyone the opportunity to get their products in front of shoppers. The market typically draws about 60 or 70 small businesses.
“We want to help other businesses do the same,” he said.
John grew up in Clark Fork, Idaho, and came to Coeur d’Alene to study graphic design at North Idaho College. He got an internship at New Life Church, where he also volunteered his skills as a graphic designer when needed. That’s where he met his wife, who had the same internship.
The couple married five years ago and have a 4-year-old son and an 18-month-old daughter. While he was launching Simple Elms, John also ran a graphic design business, Kevin John Designs. He said he hasn’t really focused on it and primarily does jobs for people he knows.
“I do it when I have time,” he said. “If I don’t have the time I recommend someone who is awesome.”
John will have less free time going forward as he was recently rehired by New Life Church to be their administrative pastor, but he intends to keep Simple Elms going.
“It’s going to be my side thing,” he said. “We’ll just see how things go. If we have to hire someone to help, we’re down for that too.”