Students Living the Double Life

Jeff Ajxup-Ajxup with Kalani Brown, September 10, 2024 at Lucky Dog for avalanche_resell’s first ever in-person pop-up. Photo Credits: avalanche_resell on Instagram

Sofia Peviani, Staff Writer for The Powderhorn

Can you turn your passion, whether it’s bead jewelry, sewing, or even thrifting, into a full time side hustle? For students Jeff Axjup-Axjup, Nate Farrington and Sita Lee that isn’t only a possibility, it's a reality. While most students are busy with classes and sports, the desks of these teen entrepreneurs are covered by beads, vintage jackets, and packaged orders, proving ambition doesn’t have to wait until graduation. 

Ajxup-Axjup isn’t only a high school student juggling AP classes and football games, he is running a reselling business that reaches followers around the world. Through social media, he has been able to connect with customers from New York, LA, and even Japan.

“My business is selling and reselling vintage clothes. I just really enjoyed thrifting and being able to afford clothes that aren’t marked higher priced,” said Axjup-Axjup.

Taking a problem he faced, he saw a gap in the market and made a solution he was passionate about. Never taking a moment for granted, a day in the life of Ajxup is non-stop.

“When I don’t have to be [at school], I usually go home and package the orders from last night, and then I come back for a second block and go to class, and third block I go ship whatever I sold,” said Ajxup-Axjup. “After football practice, I go home and do all my schoolwork and list things that I took pictures of during the weekend. It's a little hard. I wish I could put more time and effort into it sometimes, even though I'm doing pretty good with my time management. It can be a lot, but I enjoy it, so I try to have a good time.”

The workload is constant, but his passion for his work keeps him motivated-- a pattern seen in all these students. The love for their work lowers the burden of their responsibilities, making their commitment not only more feasible but also enjoyable.

“Just the idea of finding these clothes, once you get deeper into the history of where these clothes came from, it’s super interesting and keeps me going,” said Axjup-Axjup.

Sita Cooper, a junior at Watauga, also decided to expand her hobby after encouragement from her family. Her passion for making jewelry and support from her family motivated Lee to start a business.

“I started it because all I do in my free time is make jewelry. I’ve been doing jewelry since I was little because my grandma used to make jewelry. One of my parents suggested that I start selling it. It takes time and effort, but it's worth it,” said Cooper.

Cooper sells her jewelry at a local business and plans to expand her career on Etsy, an online website. Due to the nature of her business, she has more flexibility with her schedule. 

“I am not having to make jewelry every single day, just whenever I know that I need to take more into [the store] because I know it will last for a few months,” said Cooper.

After being in business for a year and a half, Cooper has expanded her knowledge in entrepreneurship. Through her independence, Cooper has developed a skillset that will assist her as she moves forward. 

“The hardest part is figuring out how to price things,” said Cooper. “You spend money on supplies before making money back.” 

Despite the challenges of Cooper’s business, she remains optimistic about the future of her business. Her passion drives her towards success.

“I definitely want to keep growing Simply Sita Jewelry, maybe even open a store one day,” said Cooper. 

Nate Farrington, a senior at Watauga, started his business a year and a half ago. Curating collections by thrifting, Farrington has built connections, learned valuable lessons, and followed his passion.

While both Farrington and Axjup-Axjup both share an interest in the fashion industry, Farrington’s business has a key difference. 

“I got an industrial sewing machine 8 months ago, so I’ll make handmade stuff sometimes,” said Farrington. 

Farrington shows that you can follow your passion even before joining the workforce of getting a degree. Getting a head start, he has had the chance to form meaningful relationships in his field of interest. 

“I’ve met a lot of people from reselling and thrifting. I’ll get connected with brands that inspired me to make my own,” said Farrington.

Working in this sector has only strengthened Farrington’s career choice. In the future, Farrington sees opportunities offered at the school of Fashion Institute Technology in New York.

“My number one choice is FIT in New York, The Fashion Institute of Technology. I’m very interested in textiles, so I’d go to New York since they have a lot of good art and fashion schools up there,” Farrington said.

When asked if they planned on pursuing a career related to their businesses, these students all had different answers. However, each of them prove that if you plan to expand, go in a different direction, or are still undecided you will learn something no matter what. Having a business has taught these students valuable lessons hard to teach in school.

“It taught me time management, how to manage money, how to invest and save, skills you don’t usually think about,” said Axjup-Axjup. “I never thought I’d be able to get to where I am today, and even though it was hard sometimes if I had to start over I’d do it in a heartbeat.”