Community Highlights: Meet Sami Nguyen of The Unexpected Type

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sami Nguyen.

Hi Sami, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
The idea for our brand began on an ill-prepared camping trip with my husband, Nathan. We immediately froze our butts off in a tent with only one sleeping bag in very cold coastal weather. While it was a rude awakening to how much we had to learn, unzipping our tent flap to the view of our Big Sur campground changed everything. It was at that moment I fell unexpectedly in love with the outdoors on a completely new level.

My husband and I became ridiculously passionate about being outside that we wanted to figure out a way to inspire others to experience the great outdoors and lead an unexpected life, too. I began illustrating all of the places we explored and camped at for fun. A few trips in, Nathan surprised her by turning one of his favorite illustrations into a patch and popping them on Etsy.

After selling out in a few days and with lots of encouraging words from their friends, one patch design turned into dozens. Artwork turned into stickers and keychains and finally, apparel. Our continued goal is to capture the special moments we all experience when we’re outside and turn them into pieces of artwork meant for sharing.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely not! Like any business, there is no point A to point B or straight lines, it’s a bit of a scribbly mess. I struggled a lot internally with imposter syndrome – I thought that my designs weren’t good enough and didn’t see why anyone would want to buy these items I was making. Luckily I had an amazing support system who helped me work past all of that and find confidence in my work.

We’ve also had our fair share of learnings, from the best way to ship things to dealing with customers, artwork details and inventory fun. I would say every day there is some sort of bump, but how we handle it – how any business owner handles them – is a true testament to moving forward and growing your business.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We’re still a small team that has an intentional thought towards every step of our business. I touch every design aspect, from the type of paper we choose to what we share on social. More importantly, every one of our designs is still 100% completely hand-drawn by myself.

I’m also this girl who unexpectedly (ha!) fell into what I’m doing and have found inspiration and community through the outdoors, which is what we want to continue to help build out and spread through our brand. We knew nothing about camping but tried something new and stepped out of our comfort zone. If we can be the brand that helps inspire someone to push their own boundaries one day and start their own relationship with nature, that’s all we can ask!

In terms of product, we’re also a little unique in the way we started selling patches first because we were part of an offroad community. We then grew into other accessories and finally just launched apparel. We’re really proud and humbled to just be where we are and have the support group we have!

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
If you have a dream, don’t be afraid to go after it because there is no expiration date for that dream. Don’t be afraid to push your boundaries and try something new, even if it’s just once. Lastly, go at your own pace. Just because we live in a fast-paced hustle focused society doesn’t mean every day has to be so intense!

Pricing:

• Our patches start at $7
• Our keychains start at $9
• Our t-shirts + apparel start at $28
• Our hats + beanies start at $20

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.theunexpectedtype.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theunexpectedtype/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unexpectedtype

Image Credits:
Tiffany Wang, @4xploration