Presley Bergmooser, a junior transfer student in Advertising Management, is a blossoming artist who has added a unique twist to her creative portfolio and painting business, PresleyMadeIt. In high school, she began painting designs on jean shorts. This progressed into MSU-themed jean jackets, which are now some of her storefront’s most popular items.
Painting is nothing new to Presley Bergmooser. “I really started painting around the 7th or 8th grade,” she said. “I had always done art but just in different forms.” Bergmooser used to submit clay art to her local fair and even created duct tape wallets. Now she is known for her portraits and jean jackets.
She credits her Type A personality, ComArtSci classes, and her physical and mental health for managing PresleyMadeIt.
Exercise is essential to Bergmooser, who completed the Detroit Marathon last October with aspirations for her first triathlon this summer. A typical day for Presley begins at 5 a.m. when she goes to a local gym. Following her early morning sweat session, she begins her painting. Bergmooser paints around 20 hours a week, getting her orders fulfilled in a timely manner.
New beginnings
Bergmooser’s journey at MSU started in August 2022, carrying over an associate's degree she completed in the spring from Monroe Community College. While living at home for her first two years, Bergmooser worked full-time at a nearby bakery while also growing her own business. Many of her friends were already starting their MSU lives while she gave life to PresleyMadeIt.
“Starting in my hometown and making a base name for myself there was super important for me. It was really the blossom of all of my business,” she said.
When choosing a major, Bergmooser knew she was creative but wanted to learn the business side of her operation, which led her to choose Advertising Management.
“Taking small things from the advertising classes and applying them to PresleyMadeIt has been super helpful. As far as how to set up my website, how to talk to people, how to manage different customers, how to manage clients, and talk to people about what they think they want versus what they actually want,” said Bergmooser. “I didn’t want a business degree, and I didn’t want an art degree, so I felt like this was the perfect middle ground.” Coming to MSU brought a new challenge for the 20-year-old, which also meant bringing PresleyMadeIt along for the ride.
Some of PresleyMadeIt’s most popular items are her MSU-themed jean jackets, such as one with a painting of MSU Head Football Coach Mel Tucker — which was purchased by Tucker himself.
Photo: An Instagram post from @presleymadeit.
This semester, in addition to her portraits and jean jackets, she will be working two other jobs — one with 42° North, a student-run integrated marketing and communications agency housed in the department of AD+PR, and the other with fitness drink Celsius.
“There are so many students, so many activities and organizations, it's very easy to just fall into the crowd, but on the other hand, it’s also super easy to get involved, so that is what I am definitely trying to do more of this semester.”
Vagabond artist
Despite other pursuits, Bergmooser remains committed to her business and plans on continuing PresleyMadeIt post-graduation in May 2024.
“It has definitely changed over the past six months as far as what I envisioned my life after college. I kind of always thought that I would just be this vagabond artist who worked for herself the rest of her life,” she said. “I’ve just been exposed to a lot of new things since I’ve been at MSU. I realized there might be some corporate opportunities I would like to take advantage of. I have a lot of different interests and passions and art isn’t my whole life, but I will definitely be doing art my whole life no matter what it looks like.”
Presley Bergmooser is living out her passion and hopes others can do the same. As a young entrepreneur, she advised, “Just start. I didn’t hold myself back, but I questioned myself a little bit too long before starting, and I have learned that there are plenty of people who will tell you ‘no’ — so don’t tell yourself no.”
By Matt Dwyer
Learn more about the Advertising Management Major