Students partner with Slingshot to bring student-designed clothing to campus
Student graphic designer Trey Merrill designs fresh merchandise and brings school spirit with launch of clothing collection on campus.
By Sophia Skelton |
Lydia Knobloch and Trey Merrill at the pop-up debut of the Trey Merrill Collection in the Bennett Campus Center.
Wearable. Student Life. Spirit.
For student designer Trey Merrill, a junior graphic design student from Colorado Springs, Colorado, these four words best describe his designs for new Lipscomb merchandise created in collaboration with Lipscomb University and Slingshot, the operator of the on-campus bookstore.
A passion project for both Merrill and Lydia Knobloch, a senior law, justice and society major from Brentwood, Tennessee, who serves as Lipscomb’s student body president, the spring 2026 creation of the Trey Merrill Collection provided an opportunity for a student designer to not only share his skills with the entire student body, but to also fulfill a need on campus.
“One of my campaign promises was to incorporate CEA with the merchandise store,” said Knobloch, who dreamed of design students gaining hands-on experience through the opportunity to design merchandise for the on-campus store.
Motivated by the opportunity, Merrill produced designs that became several clothing items that went on sale on campus and online in March and are now almost sold out.
“I wanted what I made to be wearable… everyday-type clothing. I wanted the designs to reflect athletics and to include ‘Lippy’ (a common nickname for Lipscomb among today’s students),” said Merrill, when sharing his inspiration and vision for the collection.
“From our side, working with Trey was exactly what we hope these partnerships can be,” Nathan Mazellan, Slingshot vice president of retail marketing, said of the first-time collaboration. “He brought a point of view that felt real to campus. When students see something created by one of their own, it connects. It feels more personal, relevant and honestly, more worth wearing.”
When Merrill first began his education at Lipscomb, a decision fueled by his value for a Christian college, he declared an animation major. He switched his major to graphic design, however, after completing various projects, both for his friends and personally.
“Lipscomb and my professors have given me opportunities along the way,” Merrill said. For example, he has been able to work with the fashion department to design promotional materials, such as a poster for the fashion show. This led to other opportunities to do real-life work, he said, such as partnering with other departments to complete promotional designs, which, for Merrill, felt purposeful.
Merrill said his passions and personal interests inspire his designs, including his family, friends and Colorado sports teams, as one of his designs features a hand-drawn image of a basketball swishing through the net, for example.
The Slingshot clothing collection is the largest project he has been a part of so far in his design career, said Merrill. As he looks to the future, he hopes to pursue merchandise design in the music industry or in ministry.
“I want everything I do to be for the glory of God, so that includes graphic design,” said Merrill. “If there’s a way that I can merge design and ministry in the future, that definitely is a priority too.”
Work on the Trey Merrill Collection began this past fall, when Knobloch presented the idea to student designers after a Presidential Student Advisory Council (PSAC) meeting where Slingshot expressed interest in working alongside students.
Knobloch connected Slingshot with design students who pitched ideas. From the beginning, Merrill was proactive and excited about the potential opportunity to bring his visions to life. His ambition and work ethic set him apart, landing him the opportunity to partner with Slingshot.
Jumping right in, Merrill thoughtfully designed the collection from October to November 2025. During Christmas break, Slingshot selected the five designs, and the shirts were printed in February with the official launch planned for March.
Eager to help and intentional about asking the students for their honest feedback, Slingshot’s CEOs, Darren and Nancy Campbell, welcomed and implemented Knobloch and Merrill’s suggestions. Overall, the bookstore and Slingshot CEOs were super willing to help,” said Knobloch.
“What made this project special were the people behind it, and that goes beyond just one person. This came together through Lipscomb, the campus store, friends, family and everyone in between. A community that leaned in to make this special,” said Mazellan.
After his designs went to print, Merrill created the promotionals for the launch, which included Instagram posts and a physical poster for the campus bookstore, he said. A week before spring break, posts on Instagram featuring Lipscomb students wearing pieces from the collection teased the launch, generating excitement on campus for what was to come.
The Slingshot team worked with Knobloch and Merrill to establish a fast turnaround time, taking the collection from idea to life in four months, evidence of how smooth a process can be when “you have a bunch of people who all believe in the same dream or idea, all of them want to work together for the common goal,” Knobloch said.
A key aspect of this project was the March pop-up launch day event, which Knobloch suggested. “Slingshot had told me this was the first time they’ve ever worked with a student artist to collaborate with designs, so I wanted Trey to have his moment,” said Knobloch.
The Trey Merrill Collection pop-up event was a full-circle moment seeing administration and students come together to bring the collection to life, Knobloch said.
“It also got students excited because they got to buy their friend’s merch,” said Knobloch.
“I know we were really excited to finally feature student-designed items,” said Rachel Measell, Slingshot area manager for Lipscomb's campus store. “We loved seeing the reaction from students who either knew Trey or were surprised that a current student made those designs. We would love to regularly feature student-designed collections in the future.”
“In graphic design in general, the most rewarding part is creating something and seeing it come to life—seeing it become something real you can hold in your hands, and it’s not just on the screen,” said Merrill. Students choosing to wear his designs around campus is just as rewarding for him.
Through this partnership, Merrill was presented with the opportunity to intern with Slingshot throughout this semester. Through this remote position, Merrill has designed merchandise and promotional materials, such as stickers and other accessories, for a variety of universities.
Knobloch hopes this provides opportunities for other students on campus. “We have so much more talent on this campus with a variety of different majors, so I’m just hoping it opens the door,” she said.
“The Trey Merrill Collection has been a great opportunity for me to have on my resume, and it has been a huge addition to my portfolio,” said Merrill. “I hope that students in the future get the same knowledge.”