Kelly Funabashi
Designer, artist, and founder of Funabashi Studio.
Kelly Funabashi is a designer and artist based in New York City. She holds a BFA in Fashion Design with a specialization in Knitwear from the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she learned not just design, but how to be a working creative—understanding production, brand strategy, and the business side of making things.
Background
The Fashion Years
After graduating, Kelly spent over a decade in fashion design, primarily working in denim across missy, juniors, contemporary, and mass market. She started at Helmut Lang retail, interned at Marc Jacobs, and worked as a design assistant before moving into full design roles.
In fashion, designing a product meant being involved in every aspect of it, including packaging, photo shoots, website design, brand identity, sales, fit, and production. She learned quickly that good design isn't just about aesthetics—it's about understanding people, systems, and how things actually work.
She also spent ten years in retail—working at Gap, Adidas Originals, and Helmut Lang—which provided an invaluable education in customer behavior, visual merchandising, and what makes people trust a brand.
Over the years, Kelly's work expanded beyond fashion into illustration, branding, and design. During the pandemic, she created botanical illustrations for the RISE in the Rockaways Field Guide, bringing scientific accuracy and artistic detail to the documentation of coastal plants.
She also apprenticed with tattoo artists for a year, learning precision line work, composition on unconventional surfaces, and the importance of collaborating closely with clients on deeply personal projects.
The name Funabashi comes from Kelly's great-grandfather on her father's side. In Japanese, it means "bridge between two ships"—a stabilizing force between two moving objects. It's an apt metaphor for the work: bridging the analog and digital, the technical and creative, helping clients translate their vision into something tangible.
Funabashi Studio
Funabashi Studio launched as a way to bring all of these skills together—fashion design, brand strategy, illustration, and creative direction—into one cohesive practice. The studio offers both original artwork and design services, working with practitioners, creatives, and small businesses who need thoughtful, strategic design.
Current Work & Inspiration
Kelly continues to paint, design, and collaborate with clients who value craft and intention. She's inspired by movement and contrast—lately, skateboarding with her sons, which combines athleticism with artistry in ways that inform her visual work.
Based in NYC, she works with clients locally and remotely, bringing the same meticulous attention to every project, whether it's a hand-painted original or a complete brand system.
