This post was updated Oct. 5 at 8:31 p.m.

The genesis of Crazy Action Figures Merch is far from simple.

School of the Arts and Architecture alumnus Max Loy said he founded Crazy A.F. Merch after falling in love with embroidered clothing when he moved to the United States. He said his designs are generated using 15,000 stitches from original sketches of action figure characters and are aimed at helping him pay for graduate school.

“When I first came to America, I got an embroidery from my favorite band called Electric Light Orchestra, and I just immediately fell in love with those embroideries,” Loy said. “I love sweaters because for me, it’s a timeless piece of art and there’s a big canvas.”

[Related: UCLA alumnus-founded brand provides affordable streetwear that reflects community]

Loy said he started Crazy A.F. Merch a few months after he graduated. The brand sells caps and sweatshirts with parodies of the Bruin bear mascot and Powell Cat on them. Loy said he started his business because he realized he needed to earn more money than he was getting from working at an architecture firm while moonlighting as a bartender. He added that one of the attractions of starting Crazy A.F. Merch was that it allowed him to be his own boss, granting him job security.

“I remember one time seeing my coworker getting fired, and I had dinner with him later on, and he told me that all the work that he has put in there is not his anymore,” Loy said. “I’ve earned this to be my creation so no one can ever take it away.”

Loy said the most difficult part of starting his business has been finding customers for his clothes. After trying to sell his pieces on Bruin Walk during a lunch break, Loy said he was removed after being told he didn’t have the proper permits to sell. Loy also entered a talent show where he sang and danced to promote his shirt, he said.

Fellow alumnus Alisara Koomthong said she met Loy the first time he was selling his clothes on Bruin Walk. She added that they started talking about Loy’s creative vision while he was packing up. Koomthong said the bright color vibrancy along with the original action figure name is at the center of Loy’s designs. Now, she said she is currently working for Crazy A.F. Merch to help run the business’s social media account and design the merchandise. Working with Loy is fun because of his upbeat personality and his desire to have fun with his designs, Koomthong said.

“On the baseline, we share a similar vision, but the execution might be slightly different just because his art style and my art style are quite different,” she said. “His color scheme is definitely much more brighter and vibrant, and mine is much more muted.”

One recent aspect of Crazy A.F. Merch’s offering has been to create clothing featuring Powell Cat, UCLA’s beloved stray tuxedo cat who recently died, in an attempt to fundraise for a statue on the campus. Loy said the collaboration with Powell Cat’s official Instagram account marks the transition from Crazy A.F. Merch being driven to help him pay for graduate school to trying to contribute to causes at the heart of UCLA.

[Related: ‘Love, personality, home’: Bruin community remembers Powell Cat’s life and legacy]

Kathy Brown, an alumnus who also runs Powell Cat’s official Instagram account, said the campaign will raise money for a statue and donate leftover funds toward a student-selected charity. Powell Cat had brought strangers together to spend time and relax, she said, which is why she thinks the cat should be recognized with a statue. Loy first reached out to Brown via Instagram about Crazy A.F. Merch working on raising money for the statue, she said.

“I think people want to remember Powell Cat and the community that Powell Cat helped create,” she said. “Max was doing a fundraiser, and so we’ve talked and we’re kind of working out details on how to do things.”

While Brown is also an assistant to the university librarian, she said she wasn’t working with the campaign in an official capacity or using official resources. Brown is hoping to build a life-sized statue in Powell Library because she said she thinks it would be the most appropriate since the library is the cat’s namesake, and it would follow other students’ campaigns to honor people by building statues around campus. Ultimately, Loy said he hopes the statue will be a fitting tribute to student volunteers who took care of Powell Cat.

“Powell Cat is the spirit animal that’s always there for UCLA,” Loy said. “It sort of gives an extra magical sense to UCLA, and the more I think about it, the more I realize that Powell Cat needs representation.”