Q&A: Alumnus discusses building his clothing company, filmmaking endeavors

“Dream. Create. Repeat.” UCLA alumnus Kelly Li lives by this motto every day. He owns a clothing company that promotes the motto, in hopes of inspiring others to do what they love.

In August 2015, Kelly Li founded Studio K Apparel Co., a clothing company that promotes positive messages on T-shirts. Now, he continues to promote and expand his clothing company by creating new designs and building new business connections. In fall 2016, his company will expand to include hats, hoodies and button-ups.

He is also currently working towards his filmmaking career aspirations by writing his own movie scripts. Li is the CEO for Kelly Li Productions, an independent production company that is involved in creating commercials, music videos and short films. The production company has worked with brands like MTV, Lenovo, Virgin America, and Sony Music Entertainment on various projects.

The Daily Bruin’s Sally Lee spoke with Li about the start of Studio K, how he has been living his own motto and why he wants to inspire others.

Daily Bruin: What was your inspiration to start Studio K Apparel Co.?

Li: Studio K Apparel came about because of my drive, my purpose, to figure out a way to inspire other people. Whether it’s through fashion, whether it’s through film, I try to figure out ways to put out positivity throughout the world. …

I’m from a small town in Ohio. This might sound cheesy, but it’s one of those towns that everyone knows one another. Then I come here in LA. There’s just so much opportunity here. So many people are here because they have that dream that they want to make into reality. … (I know) how difficult sometimes it is to do something you love.

DB: How did you come up with the idea of starting a clothing company?

KL: I’d been writing my 20th (screenplay) draft by then, and I needed a creative outlet … My friend and I have been wanting to build something together and we were just talking one day about what inspires us, what we want to do and what we really love. We thought it’d be so cool to represent yourself through fashion, and so we talked about and worked on (it) and we thought, ‘Let’s do it, why not?’

At the end of the day, if it’s something you really love, you should go do it. Life is so short. The older I get the more I realize that life is so short. When we’re 80 or 90 years old, we’re going to look back and wonder what it would be like if we tried it out. Even if you fail, at least you’ll know.

DB: What kind of style clothes does Studio K Apparel offer, and why did you choose that particular style?

KL: Our style right now is the motto “Dream. Create. Repeat.” The reason we chose that motto is that whether you want to be a writer, or director, or whatever your dream is, after you accomplish that goal, there is no end. Just because you accomplished one thing doesn’t mean you should just be like, ‘Oh, I’m happy with that!’ Continue to create what you love, set that challenge for yourself.

DB: Besides Studio K Apparel, are you also working on other things in your career?

KL: I work in business development at DC Entertainment. I’ve also been writing a lot, to be honest. My passion is telling stories, whether it’s through creating a new clothing line or through film or directing a new film, and thinking about telling a story that people can relate to.

DB: What is your ultimate goal for yourself?

KL: I want to tell stories that have universal themes but through a universal lens. I want to tell stories whether you’re Asian, white, black, I want to tell stories that everyone can relate to like, ‘Yo, I get that!’ These stories can be shown through film and through fashion. … My ultimate goal is to get my first feature film by the time I’m 30.

I’ve always been goal-oriented, in which I wanted to go from point A to point B. But for the past four or five years, I’ve realized that it’s about that journey of getting there. If I were to win an Oscar, like yeah, that would be amazing, but at the end of the day, it’s just a statue. So it’s that process of getting to that statue that I would really appreciate.