How and why did you decide to start Krammer & Stoudt?

Nearburg: Mike and I were living in Orange County. I had been working as a freelance photographer, mostly for small newspapers and magazines, and I started getting interested in fashion photography. So I started doing my best to pursue that, doing some look books, assisting some fashion photographers. And when I was trying to find men to shoot to build my small, inexperienced portfolio, I was like, "Mike, you have the coolest style. You have a closet full of the coolest clothes. You should style the men I shoot for my book. Bring your own clothes and dress them."

Eventually he said, "Maybe I’ll teach myself to sew and make some clothes," and we set about educating ourselves about what that would mean. This was maybe 2009, 2010. I was following Fashionista and some other blogs, and they posted a thing that SVA was doing this one-year graduate photo program. By this time Mike and I were pretty bored with Orange County and about a year into this experiment. So I said, "I'll apply, and if I get in we'll take it as a sign to move to New York and really pursue this."

Courtenay, your MPS Fashion Photography class collaborated with designers in the CFDA's Fashion Incubator program. Did you take part in that? And did you use the opportunity to get any insider advice?

N: Yeah, I requested the Burkman Bros. It worked out really well. I got to shoot a video and hang out in their studio and do a lifestyle shoot that they ended up using for an Urban Outfitters collaboration they were doing. I told them all about what we were doing and they were super lovely.

We've met so many people in the industry who have been really supportive, like [Brooklyn Circus founder] Ouigi Theodore. We met him at the Northern Grade fair in Minneapolis and he invited us to be part of this thing he was doing for a Liberty Fairs event at Pitti Uomo. His endorsement, just going around and promoting us, this tiny little brand with no accounts that nobody's ever heard of, got us embraced in a way that you can't really pay for.

Though your business is relatively young, you've gone through several seasons by now. What do you think Krammer & Stoudt does best?

N: I think it's Mike's choice of fabrics. He's drawn to unique fabrics that smaller brands like us would normally shy away from. Even a basic piece like a pocket shirt can look really elevated and beautiful and mature when you apply a color or fabric that you've never seen used for it before.

Rubin: I spend a lot of time mixing colors. Fabric is like painting for me.

N: Fall is when you can really go nuts. There are so many types of pieces you can do and layer, and Mike puts together a beautiful palette.

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