Q&A with Karam Kim // Co-Founder of BlueCut Aprons
ABOUT KARAM
What do David Chang, Chrissy Teigen, and other celebrity chefs all have in common? BlueCut Aprons, founded by Karam Kim. This Korean American designer is part of a duo (with her husband!) behind the LA-based staple found in professional kitchens around the country. But BlueCut is so much more than just a kitchen wear brand – Karam and her husband, Chachi Prasad, serve the needs of those underrepresented.
Last year, through Planting Change, Karam and Chachi brought hundreds of aprons to Black-owned restaurants in need, while taking the hardest hit to their business during the pandemic. At the beginning of this year, Karam kicked off a special collaboration with the team at Regarding Her Food, devoting efforts to the advancement and empowerment of women restaurateurs.
And for this month, which celebrates both AAPI Heritage Month and Mother’s Day, Karam has designed and just launched a beautiful brand new apron, SJ apron, that honors both her Korean heritage and her mother. BlueCut is donating 20% of sales from the SJ apron to The Abundance Setting, helmed by Korean American chef Beverly Kim, supporting working mothers in the restaurant and hospitality industry.
We sat down with this amazing woman to hear about her start, the importance of supporting your community, and her brand new SJ apron. We hope you enjoy, and are as inspired as we are by Karam!
Your business, BlueCut, and story is so amazing and inspiring—can you share a little bit about it for our readers?
My husband Chachi Prasad, and I founded BlueCut in 2014 after being commissioned by some of the brightest names in the culinary industry to handcraft stylish, functional, and form fitting aprons. At the time, we had a successful denim brand called Bishop and we had friends who were chefs and wanted us to make custom aprons for them. We started to receive requests from other restaurants to bring our eye for design to chef wear.
After coming to the United States from Seoul at 21 you decided to get into fashion—how did that decision come about?
I always loved art and fashion when I was growing up. My mother used to bring American Vogue magazines, which she bought from the US Army base shop through a friend. This was the mid 1980’s when it was hard to buy American magazines in Korea. I used to read my mother’s Vogue magazines and fell in love with fashion at the age of 8. I decided to major in Fashion Design in college in Korea, but my ultimate goal was to go to NYC to study fashion design where all the top designers and fashion houses were based. At the age of 21, I decided to withdraw from college in Korea and move to New York City to pursue my dream of becoming a fashion designer. I graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology with a bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design and an associate degree in Fashion Merchandising and Marketing. While at FIT, I interned at Donna Karen and TSE and started a website called Stylo, with the help of my sister. The site featured photographs of New York City’s street fashion and information on American college life and the admission process at FIT for prospective students in Korea. This was in the year 2000, when fashion bloggers did not exist. My first job was at Yigal Azrouel where I met Chachi on a blind date. We both shared a love for fashion and wanted to create our own brand. We decided to start a small line of silk tops and from there, I became a business owner at age 25.
Why aprons? What do they represent for you?
We are big food enthusiasts, whether cooking in our home or exploring new restaurants in the city. Some of our best friends in the industry are chefs and restaurant owners and we were honored when first approached to design aprons that allowed chefs’ personal style to shine. Chefs are artists in their own right. We love how aprons allow us to merge our world of design with the restaurant industry, showcasing how our creativity and design sensibilities can meet the needs of some of the hardest and most talented workers.
You’ve outfitted some of the biggest names in the food space, from Ori Menashe to David Chang to Chrissy Teigen and her Cravings team – what have you learned from being on the operations side of watching how these businesses are run?
We saw the best restaurants in Los Angeles struggle throughout the pandemic, and while they exhibited great creativity and care in adapting to the “new normal,” it was still challenging for most to stay afloat on just take-out. The leaders in the hospitality industry who took care of their crew and made sure their staff stayed safe throughout the pandemic are true heroes. Leaders that exhibit compassion and hold themselves accountable for their staff are the most valuable asset of the business because they’re able to retain great talent and that always comes through in service, and ultimately, the guest experience.
You and your husband are very involved in the restaurant industry—can you tell us why that’s important for you and what you do?
The restaurant industry is not just the heart of our business, but our community and our family. We want to help our community and even sub-communities that go underrepresented. Everything starts small as we are still a small business; however, we have learned that when we each put in an effort, we can collectively make a large impact.
Your company, BlueCut, has provided aprons to underserved communities through many amazing non-profit organizations like Planting Change, and Regarding Her Food - how did you decide to give back to the community, and what is the most rewarding part of the philanthropy aspect of BlueCut for you personally?
We always strive to be a responsible and compassionate company. Whenever we see an opportunity to help non-profit organizations, we are all in. When we see our contributions bring happiness to people, it is so rewarding. We created Planting Change because we wanted to use our platform of art and design to bring honor and recognition to BIPOC chefs and farmers across the country. Through Planting Change, we were able to bring hundreds of aprons to Black-owned restaurants in need, during an extremely difficult and heartbreaking time for the community. Planting Change is just one effort to spark a productive dialogue, change perspectives, and show up to make a difference. It was moving to see the public’s response in supporting this initiative and we look forward to continuing to uplift the BIPOC community in a variety of impactful ways.
You just launched your newest apron, the SJ Apron, in honor of your mother for Mother’s Day and AAPI heritage month—which we love! How did you go about designing this apron and what does it mean to you?
The SJ apron inspired by a beloved tradition I practiced as a child in Seoul, Korea for Parents Day. Koreans dedicate the entire month of May to family and have designated days for both children and parents. On Parents Day, children place paper red carnations on their parents chest as a sign of their love and appreciation for their parents’ sacrifices, love, and care. For parents, it’s a badge of honor.
Given our current climate, I felt it was important to bring my heritage to the forefront of design. There are so few Asian American designers seen as the “face” of the brand and I want to change that, starting with my own company. This is a beautiful practice that can be appreciated by families of any ethnicity. At BlueCut, we believe that we grow as individuals when we learn. Our mission is to continue to bring light to underrepresented communities and right now, we want to give a voice and vision to Asian culture.
Take Ten: My Favorite…
Food: I love spicy and flavorful food, which is prominent in both Korean and Indian cuisine (my husband is Indian). My favorite Korean food is spicy kimchi jjigae and as for Indian, I love the fish curry that my mother-in-law makes.
Drink: Mojito. I love the combination of mint and lime.
Kitchen Must-Have: My BlueCut apron and iron skillet!
Ingredient: I love air frying sweet potatoes! They come out crispy and caramelized like the ones I enjoyed as a child from street vendors in Seoul.
Hotel: Shilla Stay Haeundae in Busan, Korea is my favorite. When I visit my family in Seoul, we usually take a weekend trip to Haeundae Beach in Busan and enjoy staying at Shilla Stay.
City: New York City will always be my favorite city in the world. It’s always been my muse for design and my motivation to leave my home country to pursue my passion for fashion and design. The hustle and bustle of the city makes me excited and feel alive!
Tea or Coffee (and how do you take it): I am a coffee person and can’t function without my morning cup. My favorite is the Seabright House blend from Verve. I enjoy it with whole milk and 1 teaspoon of honey.
Playlist: I love hip hop from The Notorious B.I.G to Jay-Z, but these days I have been getting into deep house music and love listening to Tiesto.
Weekend Activity: The weekend is family time, plain and simple! I find the outdoors to be rejuvenating and enjoy finding new outdoor activities for my daughter and husband and I to experience. I even enjoy watching my five-year old learn how to play tennis. I try to squeeze in personal time during an early morning walk, which gives me a moment of peace and clarity to reflect on the past week and the week ahead.
Cookbook: Bestia: Italian Recipes Created in the Heart of L.A. Bestia is my favorite restaurant in Los Angeles.