Originally posted on www.livethescene.com. Thanks to Ernie at Toaster Br00tal Clothing for this interview. <img src="http://livethescene.com/lifestyle/images/promo%20picture%202.jpg" /><img height="255" src="http://livethescene.com/lifestyle/images/promo%20picture%201.jpg"> How long has the clothing company been going? How did it all start? TB: The company is relatively new. It started in the summer of 2008 as an interest to start a clothing company with a different approach to things. What were your main goals when you first set out? TB: To get the name out as much as possible, sponsor a few bands, and get a decent amount of shirts printed. Have you achieved or surpassed these? I have achieved some and surpassed others.Promoting the company and getting the name out will always be a progressing goal. As for sponsoring bands, we now have over 100 bands that we partially sponsor. What message do your clothes give out? TB: Stay br00tal. Don’t let anything get you down. Stay strong. What is the ethos behind your company? TB: Although the company is mostly about heavy music such as hardcore or metal, we are all about supporting every style and type of music. A motivation that drives the company is giving underground bands the ability to be sponsored by a clothing company. How do you make sure you stand out from the crowd? TB: We strive to create something that is original, tasteful, and different. With eye-catching designs, we want the shirts to pop out and send a positive message while being stylish and having vibrant color schemes. How do you come up with designs?</b. TB: Designs tend to hit me when I least expect it. Sometimes they are inspired by personal experiences or ideas that get thrown around. When they do hit me, I go straight to a computer and draw out rough versions of the designs to work with. If I’m not at a computer, I sketch it out on paper. I always keep an open mind and I’m always glad to hear ideas and suggestions. Could you please explain the design process from idea to product shipment? TB: First I design the shirt which is the hardest part of this process. The designing stage takes anywhere from 8 hours to a few months. After the design is done, it is sent off to our printers and they print it on blank shirts. Then they send the finalized shirts back to us ready to ship out. Do you feel band endorsements are key to getting you noticed? TB: Yes they sure are. Having an endorsement relationship with a band is a great way to promote both the company and the band. It’s a useful way to get exposure by having the bands wear our shirts or pass out fliers at shows. Which of your current or past ranges has been most popular? TB: So far it would be the Spring Line and now the Summer Line. It’s interesting to see some of our shirts posted up on various clothing reviewing sites by supporters of the company. Have you found anyone trying to copy your designs, if so what have you done about it? TB: Nothing major has happened yet. I’ve noticed slight details that others have copied, but nothing major. What would you say to people thinking about starting their own clothing range? TB: It’s a lot of very hard work. It takes a lot of time and dedication. Just don’t give up on it if you’re really passionate about it. But in the end, it’s very rewarding. Anything they need to watch out for? TB: People that ask you for free shirts!!! Finally, plug your current range: TB: The latest line out is our Summer Line! We’ve got three exciting shirts, including our first V-neck! All printed on American Apparel, this current and diverse line can satisfy virtually anybody’s taste. So pick one up, rock it, and keep it brutal! 2009-10-29T08:30:34-04:00 LiveTheScene.com "Thread Heads" Interview Feature by Shane Richardson

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1531 Interview with Ernie Slenkovich of Toaster Br00tal Clothing

69151

2009-11-21T20:00:34-05:00

760

I noticed several people on here that used <a href="http://nodbod.com/">nodbod.com</a>, but i never heard anything about their printing quality. My little brother is a big star wars fan, so i decided to get him something a little more unique this year. (crappy pics) <img src="http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj42/birdie3431/storm-trooper-test-print-1.png" /> Their stock shirt is a little wider than i prefer, and has a kind of silky feel. (cotton/high-tech poly blend) <img src="http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj42/birdie3431/storm-trooper-test-print-2.png" /> The artwork uploading center on their site isn't very good, which made it hard to line up the front and back designs. <img src="http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj42/birdie3431/storm-trooper-test-print-3.png" /> Some discoloration around the collar on the back. <img src="http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj42/birdie3431/storm-trooper-test-print-4.png" /> Small smears around the armpits and shoulder seams. <img src="http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj42/birdie3431/storm-trooper-test-print-5.png" /> Overall, $29 for a single all over print is a great deal. It's not perfect, but i guess im pretty picky. I would recommend <a href="http://nodbod.com/">nodbod</a> to anyone that needs a small run of an all over print design. 2009-10-26T21:31:18-04:00 A review of the on demand all over printing company, nodbod. (with pics)

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1491 Nodbod Review

1876

2009-11-21T14:45:09-05:00

668

Yes the economy has seen signs of improvement but nobody is in the clear just yet. Clothing retailers and brands across the globe have felt the effects from what has occurred over the last year and a half. Lots of clothing lines are thinking of ways to shave costs right now just to keep their head above water. Most of you will be tempted to make drastic changes but remember that decreasing the quality of your product in order to save some money will be detrimental to your brand in the long run. As a clothing brand owner you will be enticed to plunge in quality with your clothing items knowing you can save a few bucks per piece, is it really worth it? Take a step back and think about what this can do for your brand in the long run. Sure you might be able to see some short gains quickly but over time even your loyal shoppers will abandon your product. There is most likely a good reason why they became loyal shoppers in the first place, because they loved your clothing. Do you know how difficult it will be to win these customers back if they leave due to shotty material used for your tees or other clothing items? It is not easy to keep a commodity selling in rough times but it is important as a designer and clothing entrepreneur to continue to stay true to your word even during a recession. There are other creative ways to shave costs for your company but your product is your golden egg and once your customer feels that they have been cheated it will take double the cost to actually get them back. As an entrepreneur you will figure out where to shave these costs in other areas. Most of the time when a customer leaves because they just washed your tee and half the screen is faded out they will not come back no matter how much new marketing you throw at them. Remember, don’t piss where you eat. The internet has allowed everyone to have a voice and you better believe that a few customers who feel your product has gone downhill will kick and scream online through one of the many outlets available. When consumers make a decision to start spending again they will keep in mind the brands that they trusted. All it takes is one or two bad experiences shopping and many will turn towards your nearest competitor. Don’t give them a reason to head in the other direction. It is all about the fine points that keep customers coming back to your brand. There are some products that consumers will continue to purchase even when times get really difficult because of the fine points. Some customers know that no matter how bad things get they will still enjoy buying themselves a new t-shirt to put on their back from your brand. As long as you keep these customers happy your brand will continue to grow. Continue to keep your customers blissful through this period of time and when things get well again their devotion will tag along as well. By focusing on growing your clothing brand through any means possible and by keeping things distinctive your brand will thrive during dreadful economic times. As a business owner you need to keep things moving forward at all times, stalling never leads to anything good. If a products packaging could get your shopper excited and smiling before they unwrap the package than you’re that much closer to having a lifelong customer. For any company who sells a commodity like t-shirts you have to figure out ways to really stand out from the crowd. The more you stand out the higher your chance of surviving any downturn in the economy. About the Author: <img src="http://bostonknucklehead.com/wp-content/themes/foliotastic2/graphics/topimage.jpg" /> Maciej (ma-chi) Fita is a 20 year skateboard veteran who has launched a Boston based urban clothing brand representing the pride, history and culture of all aspects of Boston life. Products include cleverly themed t-shirts and hoodies but they will be launching many new things in the future. To learn more please visit the <a href="http://www.bostonknucklehead.com">Boston Knucklehead Clothing website</a>. 2009-10-13T20:49:07-04:00 An article dedicated to staying true to your clothing brand during a rough economy.

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1451 Don’t Sacrifice the Quality of your Clothing Brand because of the Economy

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2009-11-21T20:36:40-05:00

1657

how to be a good client; A step by step by step guide by Keaton Henson 1. clear your mind of any image you have built up. A designer cannot read your mind so the finished product will never ever look exactly how you see it. And they will not spend the next year revising the design over and over in the hope that it might. Put your ideas in the designers hands, and be excited to see something completely unique by a creative professional. 2. look carefully at your chosen designers work, develop their brief in accordance with their personal style. stop asking me to draw sexy chicks. 3. Remember that a professional designer is not a way for you to exercise your artistic frustrations, They are not just a pair of hands for you to feel creative with. A professional designer does so because of an ability to come up with ideas not just realize them, and their ideas may well be better than yours. 4. If you are wanting a specific idea try to keep the brief as simple as possible. an example of a bad brief would be: "like a giant spider but with like a skull face and hes on top of a mountain made up of jam, but not really jam. and then in the sky there's clouds that kind of look like Mel Gibson. and then written out in loads of dolls arms is my company name... but i trust you so its up to you." But equally, do not be obscenely vague another example of a bad brief would be: "something really rad, with like slime and stuff or blood or vomit or bison urine. i like the idea of robots, or ballet dancers, or maybe cowboys. im also into ninjas and japanese artwork, and early 18th century french poetry... etc etc" I find the best way to show the kind of style your after, is to show the artist a selection of images you like, and tell them some (related) themes and images your into. 5. Once the designer has sent you the artwork take a while and keep coming back to it. Remember step one and remember that its always going to be that artists version of your idea, and not your idea made exactly as you see it, and that this is a good thing. When requesting amendments be aware of the issues your addressing, try to think about whether they would actually affect sales, of if your just trying to get involved in the creative process some more. Some changes can seem small but take up a huge amount of the designers time. 6. Be careful with what colours you put designs on, and don't be afraid to ask your designers advice when it comes to printing. 7. Dont wait 5 months to pay the man. and make sure you do. or he will take you to court. 2009-10-05T06:24:03-04:00 A step by step guide

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1401 How To be a good client

11982

2009-11-21T17:26:46-05:00

1576

Originally posted on <a href="http://www.tshirtfashion.blogspot.com">tshirtfashion.blogspot.com</a> Special thanks to Reese Imhof at <a href="http://www.410bc.com">410 BC</a> for this interview and the rest of the 410 BC team <img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3536/3813476688_ef523b579d.jpg"> 1. Let’s start off with the basics, how and when and why did you start 410 BC? 410 BC is almost 2 years old and this is the basic story behind how we started. About three and a half years ago, I got into diy/screen printing with my friends. I was just designing tees and screen printing them by hand – very simple stuff. I wasn’t too great at it at first, but I kept practicing and got better. I started doing this because I’d always want a specific tee that I couldn’t find. I had all these ideas in my head for designs that I could never get anywhere. I just wasn’t happy with a lot of the selections at big name brands and stores. When I did find something that I liked it was usually too expensive, being a college student you have to learn to scrimp and save (at least I did). Also, I’ve always been into conscious consumerism and I’m very picky about which companies I support, I just don’t want to spend my money on a company I don’t respect and I hate buying things that everyone else has. Sometimes I’d get a tee and then see five different people at school wearing the same thing as me. All of these reasons prompted me to start making my own designs. Then a few of my friends got into it too. People found out about what we were doing and liked our designs, so they asked us to make them tees. Eventually we started getting random e-mails and requests from strangers who heard about us or saw a tee somewhere and wanted one. It was really unexpected and at that point we realized we could make a business out of this. It has always been fun since day one. Being able to make designs with your friends and meet and network with other artists and commission designs and give back to the art community is the best, I could spend my whole life doing this and be very happy. We’ve always been an artist collective and the thought of being an artist collective/business seemed so awesome because we knew we’d be able to do even more. At the end of August in 2007 was when we decided to become a full-fledged business and we created 410bc.com, which went live in September 2007. Ever since then we’ve been growing and pushing to expand and improve every way we can. 2. I read somewhere that you guys started out screen printing everything by hand in your college dorm room. Did you find it difficult to make the transition from completely diy to an actual professional company and brand? Not really, it came pretty naturally. Of course we’ve faced a lot of obstacles since establishing ourselves as a business, pretty much the obstacles that most small businesses face. In terms of just transitioning it was a fairly slow process, but a very natural change. Becoming a business just seemed like the next step and it always felt right and has been so rewarding. I’ve always felt very comfortable with this and although I know this isn’t the same for everyone at 410 BC, personally I love the business side of things. I do most of the business side and it’s probably my favorite work, which is saying a lot because I also really love the art/creative side. Ever since I was a kid I’ve been into business and entrepreneurship although I didn’t recognize it as such. When I was in elementary school I used to go door to door on my block selling my old toys and other things I made. Then when I got into middle school, I made my own magazine and Xeroxed copies at the library and sold it to kids in school/my parents (my parents bought about 20 copies each, haha). 3. What were some obstacles you’ve faced as a business? What was the hardest part of starting up? Finances, haha. Never having enough money. We’re all college students and none of us come from money, so that’s been really difficult. Every business needs money to start up, that’s just the way it goes. That old saying “you need to spend money to make money” is true. In the beginning most companies don’t even break even for a few years. Most small businesses fail because they can’t make ends meet. We literally had hardly any startup money, the only money I had was a tiny bit of savings from my summer job. Even though I’m young, I’ve been self-sufficient since graduating high school. I pay all my own bills, bought my own car, etc, so saving for the business was tough on top of bills. That goes for the rest of 410 BC as well; we all have a lot of personal expenses, mostly related to the high costs of college. Everything we make from 410 BC goes back into the company. We haven’t taken out any business loans yet or anything like that, so for now it’s just recycling our profit. We want to expand the business more, but that is going to take time and a lot more money. There are just so many expenses. The amount we’ve spent on accountants and lawyers alone this year makes my head hurt. 4. How do you manage running this business while being in college full time? Did you ever just want to drop out and focus entirely on the business? What would you tell someone who is trying to decide between being a college student or opening their own business? I’m going to be completely honest, yes, it has been extremely difficult being in college full time and doing this. There have been too many sleepless nights staying up to work on 410 BC while studying for an exam or writing a 20 page paper. I missed out on the typical college experience for sure. I had to give up a large part of my social life to keep my grades up and run 410 BC at the same time. Sure I’ve made close friends at school, but I never drink and hardly ever go to parties because I’m just way too busy. I always have 410 BC stuff to do on the weekends and I always have to turn down friends or be the one who has to leave things early. There were times when doing the business and school felt like too much, they are both so time consuming. I had thought seriously about giving one up. I kept at it and I have never regretted my decision. I am lucky enough that I have other people helping out so much with the company, some other students run businesses without any help at all. But again, everyone else at 410 BC is in the same boat as me. Nicole (Nicole Giambalvo = one of 410 BC’s co-founders) probably has it the toughest right now because she is applying to law school, taking the LSATs and doing 410 BC. She does so much, I don’t even know how she does it, she really amazes/inspires me. She is a Philosophy major at Mount Holyoke College, so 20 page papers are nothing for her, she gets crazy long papers all the time. A typical day at school last year she was updating the 410 BC site/blog, responding to e-mails, working on design stuff, working on marketing, student teaching a philosophy course at a school in Springfield, taking classes, doing school work (keeping up a 3.7 GPA!) and all the other things she does like volunteering and working in Mount Holyoke’s art department. She is probably going to be really embarrassed that I told you all this because she is super modest, but seriously all that work makes Harvard Law look like a walk in the park. I am really happy that I stayed in school and did not drop out. You never know where life is going to take you and if you are lucky enough to have the opportunity to go to college, you should take it because a college degree is so important. My experience at college has been amazing. Especially with networking, I have been able to meet and network with so many people and learn so much about business. And although it will be tough work, if you are dedicated and have passion, you can definitely run a business and do college at the same time. 5. Your website design has always intrigued me. It’s very clean and unique, one of my favorite site designs. Tell me a little more about that and how the actual site evolved. We have Luis Lucas (www.lalucas.com) to thank for that. Luis does a lot of work with ALIFE and Married to the Mob, which is how we first got in contact with him, when we found out about the awesome site design he did for MOB. He has been so great to work with. When we met him he was such a genuinely nice guy, so enthusiastic and made us feel so comfortable. He was really excited about the project and our brand, he gave so much feedback and industry tips and thought it was cool that we were so young and doing this. Sometimes people will patronize you when you’re young and breaking into the industry and Luis was just the opposite of this. He is truly gifted, a design genius and I cannot say enough good things about him. Working with him has truly been an honor and a privilege. Our re-design is still pretty new, before that we had gone through a bunch of different site designs. One by Elena Gallen, another person we have worked with a lot and love (www.elenagallen.com). The rest were all done by us using adobe dreamweaver, we probably went through about 6 different designs in total. 6. Have you guys ever gotten really bad feedback? What did you do? Of course, anyone who puts their stuff out there for the world to see will get some negative feedback! If it’s constructive criticism and you can use it, then it’s great. I actually really like getting constructive criticism because it’s helpful. If it’s something that is just malicious or negative for the sake of being negative and doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, well you just shrug it off. You learn to not pay attention to certain things and you develop thick skin. I remember in some community or blog someone once said they hated, no “loathed”, 410 BC. I was a little bummed at first, not going to lie, but then I just realized how silly that sounded. Who has that much hatred in them that they actually spend time and energy on “loathing” some clothing brand that has no effect on them? It didn’t make sense to me. We’re just doing our thing, trying to do a good thing and giving back to our community any way we can. I mean you might not like our stuff, you might never buy it or wear it, but what is there to hate really? It’s not like we’re using sweatshop labor or killing people in the process of our tee shirt making, haha. There will always be people who never have anything good to say, there will always be people walking around with a lot of hate towards everything and everyone and you just have to accept it and you can’t let it get to you. Most of the time people will just say they hate something because they’re mad they didn’t come up with it first. Also, it’s always good to look at the ratio of people saying they like your stuff versus people saying they hate your stuff. If you’ve got tons of people saying they love your stuff and only one or two people saying they hate it, then you don’t have anything to worry about. 7. You guys have been coming out with more and more skate decks. What prompted that decision and how have the decks been doing sales wise? We started producing skate decks because a lot of our art has been influenced by skate culture and a few of us skate, so it just made sense for us to make decks. A lot of our customers and friends skate as well so we were constantly being asked to make decks. We always wanted to eventually do decks since day one, but we couldn’t afford it for a while. The first run we only released two decks. Those did really well and we made enough money from those sales to release an artist series of 3 decks. Then after that we did another very limited artist series deck. This line we have released 5 skate decks and they have all been selling well so far. People seem to really like the artwork on these, which is awesome. We do sponsor skaters and reach out to the skate community. We’ve sponsored skate competitions at local skate parks and we’ve gone to parks and had giveaways, so I think all that has helped us to get out there so people know we make boards. Our decks are very high quality and also sweatshop free/made in the US and they hold up for a long time, so that’s another reason people like our boards. 8. What are some other clothing brands you like? Obey, Ben Sherman, Cheap Monday, Obesity and Speed, Supreme and Mishka are a few of my personal favorites. We really like a bunch of the other indie tee brands out there as well. We’ve got so much respect for other brands doing their thing. Any brand that can get themselves out there and bring something unique to the industry is good by us. Got a lot of respect for Electric Zombie, Snakes and Suits, Seibei, Pyknic, Paper Root, Linty Fresh, all those guys and many more are doing awesome things. I’m actually wearing an EZ tee right now haha. 9. I was impressed by the cut and sew you guys came out with for this line, very strong pieces. I especially love the 410 BC varsity jacket. You usually don’t see such a young brand doing cut and sew. How did you make that happen? Are you planning to do more cut and sew in the future? Thanks! We were honestly planning this for a while. We just saved and saved for a long time to be able to afford it. It got a bit frustrating at times because it took so long to get everything together. We saved money that we made from previous lines and cut down on a bunch of costs in order to do the jackets, those were especially expensive. We’ve already made almost everything back from the jackets though, we’ve been selling those a lot. We were actually really surprised at how quickly people started buying those. We were a bit worried that people might not like them or might not want to spend money on them and then we’d be out the costs, but luckily that’s not the case. You can expect to see a lot more cut and sew pieces from us in the future. I don’t want to give away too much, but right now we’re working on some Oxford button down shirts and more sweaters, to be released in the winter in time for the holidays. We also have 410 BC books coming out with the winter line. They are commemorative books for our two-year anniversary. They’re hardcover, “coffee table” style. We’re really happy with how they came out and hopefully other people will like them. 10. What are your plans for the (near) future? After graduating this year, we’re going to get a new office space and hire 1 or 2 new full time employees and hopefully a few part-timers as well. We’ve also been looking at retail space. We definitely do want to open up a flagship store as soon as possible. That’s been a dream of ours for a long time and we’re going to do everything we can to make it happen. Whether or not it happens depends a lot upon things that are out of our control though. Hopefully our customers will continue to support us and make this dream a reality. Whether or not the economy improves soon will also be a factor. We definitely are not going to give up on this though, so at some point it will happen! 11. What do you think of all the new brands popping up? Do you think the market is over saturated? How many of these brands will actually end up being successful? Do you think there are too many brands doing the same thing? I think there are too many brands doing the same thing, yes, particularly young brands. I’ve noticed a lot of brands that are just starting up and they take ideas from more established successful brands. Now I’m not just talking about inspiration because in my opinion, that is totally fine and a natural part of the creative process. What I’m talking about is straight up copying of ideas and not brining anything new in terms of concept or execution. For a brand to be successful they must bring something new to the market. I admire unique and original ideas even if the design or product isn’t my style or aesthetic, I can appreciate it. Now I’m not saying that there aren’t any new brands that are unique, there certainly are many! But a lot definitely need to be more creative and make a conscious effort to do something different. You may sell tees and you may make money in the beginning by doing something that’s already been done many times before, but you won’t make it in the long run. You can’t build a memorable brand when you’re basing things off another brand. This can often be a really big issue and I don’t think there are enough open discussions and debates about it. There have been times that I’ve looked at sites of certain brands and their entire line is identical to something that another brand did six months ago. I want to make it clear though that I’m not even talking about brands that have similar styles or themes, rather I’m referring to an established and unique brand versus a brand that has yet to find it’s own niche, so instead directly copies designs from other brands. 12. I’ve read that 410 BC donates money to different charity organizations and gives back to the community in various ways. Can you tell us about some of the ways your company has given back? Why is this important to your brand? We’ve supported various non-profit organizations in different ways. Sometimes we’ll just release a specific tee and donate a percentage of the proceeds. Other times we are more hands on. For example we raised a lot of money for a local non-profit organization called Hands Up For Kidz (a group that supports children and families in underserved communities who are impacted by HIV/AIDS and alcoholism/substance abuse). Hands Up For Kidz had a fashion show recently where 410 BC was a main sponsor. The fashion show raised enough money to send 50 needy children from addicted families to a therapeutic summer camp environment with no expense to the family. That was through tickets to the fashion show and a raffle. That was definitely one of our big charitable contributions as of late. This is important to our brand because we promote ethical consumerism and a lot of our customers, especially ones who have followed us since the beginning, have always known us for that. We’ve been planning to do an entire line of shirts soon that all go to specific causes. I know Nicole wants to do something with the Guide Dog Foundation as well since she volunteered there over the summer. 13. What do you think are some necessary components to creating a successful clothing brand? Creativity, passion, a unique vision, a business plan or some knowledge of business management (I don’t mean you need to go out and get an MBA, but having an understanding of how you plan to run your business and make it successful is important. While some people have a natural inclination or talent with entrepreneurship, it’s still good to do some reading and research), patience. You also need to be a bit of a risk taker, especially in the beginning when you are starting your brand and investing your own money in it. It’s a risk all entrepreneurs take, but the thought of losing a lot of money is really scary to most people, which is why they don’t start their own business even if they have a great idea. Specifically in terms of a clothing brand, it’s definitely necessary to take professional product shots (photography is so important, especially if you’re web based, but so many young brands overlook this), creating quality products (you won’t get customers to come back to you if they buy a tee from you and then after getting it in the mail they find that the fit, cut or print are bad), going the extra mile with packaging and presentation so that customers are really surprised and excited the day they get your package in the mail. Although I don’t think it’s necessary, having a blog has been very beneficial for us. We update the blog regularly and we have various people who work for/with 410 BC blogging on a number of subjects. We get e-mails regularly from our blog readers, so it’s been a great tool for us to stay connected to our customers. 14. What advice would you give to a new brand or someone who wants to start their own clothing line? It’s so imperative to have something that will make your brand stand out, to offer something to customers that they can’t get from somewhere else. You need to really ask yourself “what is going to make my brand unique?” and think, “why will people want to buy something from my brand?” Then go from there. Having some sort of a business plan is important, even if it’s not a traditional business plan. It can be very helpful to just write your ideas out. I got a journal and forced myself to use it and that has been so helpful with generating and remembering ideas I have for 410 BC. 15. There have been a number of well known bands and musicians seen sporting 410 BC such as Tegan and Sara, M.I.A., Hayley Williams of Paramore, Beirut, etc. How important has this type of publicity been for your business? Do you think it is necessary for a brand to have popular bands wear their clothes if they want to be successful? I’m not sure if it’s necessary, but it definitely helps. We’re just grateful that some of the bands and artists we admire like our stuff. We were sort of in awe when we found out about all these bands wearing 410 BC, we would get messages from customers and people started sending us photos, most of the time we had no idea and it was just a huge shock. In running 410 BC we’ve been able to meet different bands and musicians, interview them for our blog, work out sponsorships and it’s just been so awesome, we’ve been really lucky. 2009-09-28T19:52:54-04:00 Q & A with one of the 410 BC owners. Good resource for start up clothing brands.

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1351 Interview with Reese Imhof of 410 BC

11553

2009-11-21T17:17:39-05:00

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<h3>Bands, you need to print t-shirts and other unique merch items if you're going to make it in today's music business.</h3> It isn't about album sales anymore, kids. Simply put, the music business has changed. The days of bands going gold and platinum with their album sales are soon going to be nothing but a memory. With the invention of the internet, digital music, and the ease of ripping music from CD's and sharing it online, album sales for bands and artists are down significantly. <h3>What can you do?</h3> It is too difficult to track and discourage people from sharing your music with others for free. Fighting it is futile, so why not take heed to the new business plan for the music industry -- give the music away for free, and make your money selling merch! I am in no way defending the theft of music here, but offering a plausible and realistic solution to face the rampant online exploitation of music sharing. Don't get me wrong, you should still sell your music on a CD. There will always be people who want to support you who will buy anything you put out. However, there are far more people who don't really care about your band's well being and hard work enough to go out and buy the album. Besides, sharing your music for free online could be a good thing. Think about it. The more people who hear your music, the more likely they are to become a fan of your band. If you're offering some of your music for free, the odds of people hearing your music increases. If they really like you, they're going to want to buy the CD so they have the album artwork, and all of the nostalgia that goes with it. With more ears listening belonging to more bodies, if your band doesn't suck, you're going to gain some regular listeners, some real fans, and probably a stalker or two. <h3>So let's say you have the ears and the hearts of a few people.</h3> The natural reaction for people when they have an affinity towards something is to broadcast their pleasure in whatever it is that is making them happy -- in this case, your band. This is where many bands miss a step. Don't let the fact that you have fans willing to invest money and time into your band pass you up! By making shirts to sell, you're giving them something while earning some much needed dough to fund your (potential) career. You can get started for just over $100 and bankroll your band into a merch-making machine! First off, if $100 sounds like a lot of dough for your band, you're wrong. You've got how many dudes in your band? A $25 contribution from each of four band members is nothing. Anyway, I am going to show you how to turn that 100 bones into double, or maybe even triple. The ideal way for your band to get shirts done is to find a screen printing company that will do 24 shirts 1-Color shirts for around $4-5 each. A lot of companies have a price point that is pretty close to that, so it shouldn't be difficult to find. At most, you're looking at $125-140 with setup and taxes. I would recommend printing a white design on black shirts. It is a tried and true standard. <h3>If you're in need of a design</h3> For your first run of shirts, I would recommend trying to do one yourself, or finding a friend who is willing to do one for you. This way, you don't have to pay a bunch of money hiring a designer to do your shirt design for you. The design isn't really important, you're going to sell out of your first 24 shirts even if your artwork sucks. Why? Because you have at least 24 friends, family members, and fans who are going to want the first shirt your band makes. Hiring a designer to do something really cool for you isn't super important on the first run. Take this design to your printer, and get your shirts done! Normal turn around time for printers can be a couple weeks, so plan ahead if you have a show coming up. <h3>While you're waiting for your shirts to come in...</h3> Book some shows. Even if you're playing at a house party, you're still getting people to watch you play, which is important. Sell your shirts! Don't feel weird about it, you're promoting your band and getting your name out there. Bring a few shirts with you in your car wherever you go, just in case someone mentions seeing one and wants to buy one. You'd be surprised at how often this happens. Conveniently saying, "Oh, I have some in my car right now -- want one?", will get you some sales. If you sell your shirts for $10 each, you'll end up with $240. If you sell them for $15 each, you'll end up with $360. That's a decent chunk of change! Re-invest in doing some more shirts, and possibly getting a proper design done by a professional designer. Print more shirts, sell them, and repeat. Keep making music and playing shows so you can sell your shirts. Doing this will put you on the right track to successful band funding. You will be able to buy gas and go on tour, possibly buy new equipment and a van and trailer. You might even have enough to get out of your shitty town for months at a time! Get on the right track and get some shirts done! It is paramount to the success of your band in todays music industry. The author, Jimmy Breen (aka Jimmy Heartcore) lives in Tampa, FL and runs a design blog at www.wakedesignsleep.com 2009-09-26T22:32:21-04:00 Article for bands to break into merchandising. Originally posted on wakedesignsleep.com

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1331 Print Shirts or Die! : A simple formula for getting out of your shitty town.

59851

2009-11-21T20:55:01-05:00

2744

There is no doubt about, times are tough right now. It seems like whenever you fire up your laptop or even the TV there is some sort of broadcast of a new business or organization crumbling that will somehow affect your daily life or business. With today’s economy owning or starting a clothing line could get tricky and require bringing in the big guns. Don’t worry though! There is a lot you can do as a clothing line owner to really market yourself. There are many different ways to really bring new website visitors to your brand you just have to think outside the box and sleep a little less. Here are some sure fire ways to further your reach online. <h3>1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)</h3> – Optimize your clothing brands website for search engines. If you have a physical store, there is a good probability that there are specific keywords that people use every day that will help find your store or website. It is time to sprinkle those specific keywords tastefully throughout your web site so your audience can find you. SEO works like a powerful magnet for your targeted audience. The broader the keywords the longer it will take to be visible, but if you have some products that cater towards a “niche” audience then SEO will be your best pal. <h3>2. Launch a Blog</h3> – Launch a blog immediately on your website. The blog will be your brands voice. Depending on what you choose to write about will determine the type of audience you are looking to attract. Don’t expect riches after you launch though. Writing in a blog takes time, patience and quality. You can write about anything and everything linked to your clothing brand. Do you have a physical location with employees or new products launching? The blog is where you can show everything from who stops by your office to Jimmy falling out of the office chair. The choice is yours. <h3>3. Learn to Write</h3> – You are going to have to learn how to write, and well. If you want others to see your vision, you will have to be able to convey that vision through words and text. The reason for this is that you will most likely be broke when you start your brand, most of us are tapped for funds when we first launch. You will find yourself trying to do as much as possible for the least amount of cash spend. Writing articles and press releases will be one great way for others in the community along with the press to start recognizing your brand. <h3>4. Social Networking</h3> – There are many diverse ways to find individuals or groups online. The best part is that most of them are free to use! Setting away sometime every day to grow your presence online through websites such as Twitter and Facebook are so vital it is not even funny. Neglecting them will cause a delay in your success. This is where your audience is hanging out. Make sure you leave your social networking profile links on your website so your web traffic can come over and connect with you. Just start looking for people to connect with and interact. Over time you will see this approach open many doors for your new brand. All it takes is connecting to that one right person and all of a sudden you have an article in a magazine, cool huh? <h3>5. Send Emails!</h3> – Your website visitors need to be able to leave behind their information if they want. Have an email sign up form on your website and start brain storming how you can communicate with these people through email marketing campaigns. A weekly or biweekly newsletter to your list is a great way to remind them that you are not gone and still thriving. <h3>6. Brand Video</h3> – Making a video for your brand might sound like a lot of work and money but if you think outside the box there are ways to get it done on the cheap without sacrificing quality. A one minute video that describes your brand is perfect. Pushing that video through all the various video marketing websites is a great way to bring in some new traffic to your brands website. It is also nice to have a video appear in the search results when someone searches for your brands name. There are inexpensive software’s out there that can help you put together a sick little video representing your clothing line. You don’t have to hire a big film crew, just grab someone’s handheld camera and get creative. <h3>7. Stick Out</h3> – The last thing you want is for your brand to be like everyone else’s. Don’t be scared by being too different. Too different is what sells. It is important to be distinctive by putting your clothing brand into a whole new category. Instead of shipping in a brown bag get some custom boxes made. If you don’t have the money get some stickers made and cover the shipping packages with them. This is just one creative inexpensive way to market your brand. When times are tough and money is tight, you can always get creative with packaging! People don’t want to receive a dirty FedEx bag with their tee stuffed in it. <h3>8. Education, Education and more Education</h3> – When you first launching your brand you are not going to know everything, not even close. There will be times where you have to get your hands dirty and learn how to do some things yourself. It costs a great deal of money to be constantly hiring contractors to do work for you. <h3>9. Exchange of Services</h3> – Once you start educating yourself, you will know things others don’t. When first launching your clothing line, offering exchange of goods will be important. Don’t go giving away your gear to just everyone; but if you know a photographer and you need some professional photos taken for your website; offering free clothes for kick butt photos is worth it! You will have to gauge when it is appropriate for your budget. <h3>10. Learn to Sleep Less</h3> – For every minute you want to sleep in that is one minute less you could be building your brand. That doesn’t mean you have to sleep two hours per day but your clothing brand will not build itself. If you launch your business when you have a day job you will absolutely have to wake up early in the morning and stay up late working to get things done. You have to hustle, work hard and eat, breathe and sleep your clothing brand. Businesses do not build themselves! You can sleep when you retire… until then it is balls to the wall!!! <h3>About the Author:</h3> Maciej (ma-chi) Fita is a 20 year skateboard veteran who has launched a Boston based urban clothing brand representing the pride, history and culture of all aspects of Boston life. Products include cleverly themed t-shirts and hoodies but they will be launching many new things in the future. To learn more please visit the <a href="http://www.bostonknucklehead.com">Boston Knucklehead Clothing website</a>. <img src="http://bostonknucklehead.com/wp-content/themes/foliotastic2/graphics/topimage.jpg" /> 2009-09-25T06:57:17-04:00 A top ten things you must do when launching your own t-shirt or clothing brand.

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1291 Ten Things You Must do When Starting Any Clothing Brand

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2009-11-21T20:37:01-05:00

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If you like this interview please visit <a href="http://www.complexfashion.com/blog">Complex Fashion</a> <img class="alignnone" src="http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo76/talktomrwilliams/wallpaper.jpg" alt="" width="440" height="250" /> Simply Complicated is not just any other company. Each design they produce has a message tied into it. Grant Tucker and Monray Penny were inspired to create a clothing line because of the serious lack of any kind of thought or purpose behind the designs in the clothing industry now. We sat down with Grant Tucker 1/2 of Simply Complicated Apparel or better known as SCapparel for a interview How did you come up with the name SCapparel? SC actually stands for Simply Complicated, we really only go by SC because some people can't say our real name without completely screwing it up. Who are the owners/creators of SCapparel ? SC is owned by Grant Tucker and Monray Penny. What are each of your roles in the company? Grant handles all of the design side of the company and some business accounts. Ray is in charge of all sales in the company as well as finding new and creative ways to market the line. <img class="alignnone" src="http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo76/talktomrwilliams/300-6.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" /> What inspired you guys to start a clothing line ? The fact that most "streetwear" in the market today has a serious lack of any kind of thought or purpose behind it. With SC, we try to put as much possible symbolism and meaning into every aspect of the company. No matter what design you look at or even our website for that matter, every small detail is completely thought out and has an overall purpose. How has the clothing line been doing ? We debuted Simply Complicated with 4 solid tees and ended up snatching up 2 premier Houston accounts right off the bat. At the H-town Sneaker Summit on August 2nd we will be releasing 7 new tees as well as selling 3 of our old designs for a lower price. It should be fun considering the average turnout at this event is 1500+ people from all over Texas and parts of Louisiana. Are you guys just sticking to shirts or will you expand ? We have a nice surprise for the Winter, that's all I am saying on that matter right now. :) <img class="alignnone" src="http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo76/talktomrwilliams/300-2-1.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" /> What type of people are your target market ? Even our target market in itself is Simply Complicated, the type of designs that we release can be seen in stores from Urban Outfitters to Commonwealth. It's the kind of aesthetic that I feel more brands should adopt. If you work so hard on your products, there is absolutely no reason that you should segment the consumer base. I want people of all walks of life to enjoy SC, just as any company should. This being said...a certain, but very small degree of segmentation should be taken into account to ensure the growth of the brand. What is the best seller out of your collection ? Global View is by far our best seller, the black version sold out within 2 weeks of release and the reprint on Purple went just as fast. The design in itself is very complex. The astronaut is comprised of several nebulae and starfields. Most people don't notice this upon first glance of the design but the more you stare at this shirt, the more you fall in love with it. Period. Do you have any sales going on ? We ran a special for preorders but that is over now. <img class="alignnone" src="http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo76/talktomrwilliams/300-1-1.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" /> What sets you guys apart from other brands ? The amount of detail, thought, and symbolism that goes into each and every tee definitely sets us apart from the crowd. I don't think I have ever seen another brand out there that is doing anything like what we are doing. What do you have planned for the future of the company ? If I told you that, I might have to kill you. Do you have any advice to give aspiring clothing designers ? Put your heart into everything you do and learn to take criticism. If you don't strive to be the best and use every resource to your advantage..ethically of course; you have no reason doing what you are doing. Grant <img class="alignnone" src="http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo76/talktomrwilliams/300-3-1.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" /> Connect With SCapparel <a href="http://www.scapparel.net/" target="_blank"><img class="alignnone" src="http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo76/talktomrwilliams/Untitled-1.gif" alt="" width="100" height="100" /></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Simply-Complicated-Apparel/94241326680?ref=ts" target="_blank"><img class="alignnone" src="http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo76/talktomrwilliams/sidebar1-facebook.png" alt="" width="130" height="56" /></a> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/scapparel" target="_blank"><img class="alignnone" src="http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo76/talktomrwilliams/sidebar1-myspace.png" alt="" width="130" height="56" /></a> <a href="http://twitter.com/scapparel" target="_blank"><img class="alignnone" src="http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/oo76/talktomrwilliams/sidebar1-twitter.png" alt="" width="130" height="56" /></a> 2009-08-29T20:38:10-04:00 We sat down with Grant Tucker 1/2 of Simply Complicated Apparel or better known as SCapparel

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1121 Simply Complicated | SCapparel Interview

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2009-11-21T21:08:02-05:00

1765

If you enjoyed this interview make sure to check out our interviews each week at: <a href="http://www.iamthetrend.com">iamthetrend.com</a> Website: <a href="http://www.stheartclothing.com">Stheartclothing.com</a> <img src="http://www.fight-design.com/iamthetrend/FEATURES/STHEART/Stheart_201.jpg" alt="stheart clothing"> So when and why did you decide to start STHEART Clothing? The first tees I ever printed were back in the summer of 2005. Yes, they were horrible and I have no clue as to why I chose the clothing industry, haha. I guess it just seemed really cool! It was something I always thought about doing & figured I’d give it a shot. Lets get this out of the way. I have to be honest when I first saw the name STHEART, I thought it was Saint Heart, but now I know Im wrong! How do you pronounce the name and where did you come up with it? Haha, I get that all the time! So many people ask for the correct pronunciation. It’s fairly simple, just say “start”. My older brother was actually the one who suggested it way back when & I loved it. It’s simple, yet effective. The word is a combination of “start” & “heart”, it’s all about the beginning of something new & following your dreams. Basically, do something with your life & make sure to give it your all! <img src="http://www.fight-design.com/iamthetrend/FEATURES/STHEART/Stheart_202.jpg" alt="stheart clothing"> So do you do all the artwork or do you hire artists to create your line? I have done all the design work up to this point. Between doing the shirts for every line and setting up files for the website & myspace it gets pretty hectic. I have two designers helping with Stheart’s fall line. I’m pretty excited to add a few shirts to the mix that I haven’t done myself, and they look pretty awesome so far! <img src="http://www.fight-design.com/iamthetrend/FEATURES/STHEART/Stheart_203.jpg" alt="stheart clothing"> It seems the hot trend right now is very loud illustrations and colors on tees, I have noticed that you guys have a very good balance of simple designs as well as very loud designs. Was this a conscious decision and where do you see future STHEART lines going? Honestly, my favorite shirts to wear are the simple ones. When I began the company a few years ago, all of my designs were cartoon-ish & colorful. There’s always a time for change & I’ve been loving the bold & straight-forward designs lately. I think keeping both aspects of art in our line is really important, everyone has their own taste of style and in the end I want to make something I love as well. You’ll definitely see Stheart venturing more & more into the bold aspect of art with future releases, but the loud & colorful designs will still have it‘s contribution. I actually had the pleasure of checking out your booth at Warped Tour! How was your experience and what did you take away from it? Warped Tour was so much work, yet a lot of fun! Waking up at 7am, setting up our booth/tent, then working until 9pm everyday was rough (not to mention the driving aspect). The two and a half weeks we did this year was a great learning experience. For the most part everyone was super helpful. Everyone seemed to work together & help out when needed, it wasn’t all just a competition on who’s the best or can sell the most. I couldn’t be more pleased with the response I received this year, definitely surpassed my expectations. Look for Stheart to be on the entire tour next year! <img src="http://www.fight-design.com/iamthetrend/FEATURES/STHEART/stheart3.jpg"> I have really started to see a lot of bands wearing STHEART clothing. Im sure you get a ton of requests from bands for sponsorships and I'm sure a lot people are wondering how to get sponsored and what you look for when sponsoring. Of course. I never really sat back and looked at the direction Stheart was headed into the music industry, things just kind of happened. Stheart seems to now be a part of the indie music culture. With that being attached to the name, I get requests daily about sponsorship. I currently have 15 bands on our roster & couldn’t be happier with the ones I’ve chosen so far! The guys that are a part of the team really represent Stheart well from wearing it live, in promos, and just telling people about it. As far as how to become a member of the stheart family, just put yourself out there & do something original. When our sponsorship program opens up, I personally go and seek out a new band to wear the threads. It’s all about timing & making sure we’re both ready. Again, never be afraid to put your name out there, email: <a href="mailto:support@stheartclothing..com">support@stheartclothing..com</a> I wrote an article awhile back on the importance of taking professional pictures. I just came across a bunch of promo pics for your summer line and I must say these are some of the best looking product shots I have seen! What was your thought process with that shoot and can you give any advice about shooting a clothing line? I have to give 99% of the credit to our photograper Joe Gall! I really emphasize a lot on our photography, I mean, image & the way you present your work is everything. I try to give some advice for every photoshoot, but I let Joe do his thing for the most part. Joe does an amazing job at capturing what Stheart is about. I’ve always made sure to present Stheart in a professional manner & to do so you need great photographer check out <a href="http://www.joegallphotography.blogspot.com">www.joegallphotography.blogspot.com</a> <img src="http://www.fight-design.com/iamthetrend/FEATURES/STHEART/Stheart_JG_1.jpg"> From what I have seen lately STHEART really looks to be gaining some steam! What are your plans for the future and where do you hope to see STHEART going in the next year? There’s a lot to look forward within the next year. It’s hard to process it all at once, I’m just going to keep focused on getting our customers what they want. Expect to see some new ideas & even bigger releases! I do plan on setting up at Bamboozle, the entire Warped Tour, and as many other events I can to continue spreading the name. I haven’t put any emphasis on any retail stores/outlets yet, I’ve still got some decisions to make with that. Do you guys have any sales or discount codes our readers should know about? Yep, go ahead & use the code: iatt809 to get 15% off your entire order! Expiration: August 31st <img src="http://www.fight-design.com/iamthetrend/FEATURES/STHEART/Stheart_JG_2.jpg"> 2009-08-10T13:12:23-04:00 Iamthetrend.com interviews Aaron from Stheart Clothing

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1001 Stheart Clothing Interview

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2009-11-21T18:02:13-05:00

2526

Just posted another great article from Bo Makavibul! This week she shows us how to make your very own spray painted shirts! Read below or view this article and the rest of our articles in our <a href="http://iamthetrend.com/featured/stenciling-101-a-do-it-yourself-guide-to-spray-painting-a-t-shirt">ARTILES SECTION</a> Stenciling 101: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Spray Painting a T-shirt By Bo Mekavibul Although there are many unique products that you can purchase, what better way is there to be the trend than to create some of your very own tees? There are many different techniques to customize a blank t-shirt, and this week I’m going to show you how to make yourself a spray painted tee. Creating a fun and creative stencil shirt is not as difficult as it may sound. Materials: - t-shirt - paper for stencil(s) - drawing tools - spray paint - scissors or X-Acto knife - piece of cardboard (about the width and length of your shirt) - double-sided tape or repositionable adhesive - scrap paper - big trash bag - objects to use as weights Step 1: Get some spray paint. I use Krylon Indoor/Outdoor paint, but other brands may work too. I haven’t seen too much fading with Krylon, and the directions say that it can be used on fabric. <img src="http://www.fight-design.com/iamthetrend/ARTICLEIMAGES/STEP1.jpg"> Step 2: Draw a design on a piece of paper to make a stencil. Then cut out the portions where you would like ink to go within the design. I find that it helps to use thicker paper for the stencil. For this project, I’m using 80 lb. paper from a drawing pad, but cardstock should work too. The design that I will be painting is the IATT logo. <img src="http://www.fight-design.com/iamthetrend/ARTICLEIMAGES/STEP2.jpg"> Step 3: Place a piece of cardboard in your shirt. I found a large box and cut it up so that it would fit inside of my shirt. This step helps to ensure that your shirt maintains flat and that paint does not go through to the other side of the shirt. <img src="http://www.fight-design.com/iamthetrend/ARTICLEIMAGES/STEP3.jpg"> Step 4: Put double-sided tape or repositionable adhesive on the back of your stencil so that it sticks to and stays on the shirt. If you’re taping, the tape should line along the edges of the design so that you will get a sharp finish in your spray painted design. If the design is very intricate, it will be easier to use a repositionable adhesive, since cutting up double-sided tape would take a great deal of time. Step 5: Select and prepare your work area. This means picking a well-ventilated space and laying down a trash bag if you don’t want to spray paint the ground or floor that your tee will be resting on. Step 6: Take your shirt, stencil(s), and spray paint to your work area, along with many pieces of scrap paper. You will be covering up the areas of the shirt that you do not want painted with this scrap paper. It also helps to have small weighted objects to hold down the paper to ensure that no paint goes underneath. I found some pine cones to use as weights when painting outdoors. Step 7: Now that you have your design on the shirt and have covered up non-painted areas with scrap paper, you can begin to spray paint. Follow the painting directions seen on the can and reapply as many coats as necessary. However, do not apply too many coats, as the paint will be stiff on the shirt. <img src="http://www.fight-design.com/iamthetrend/ARTICLEIMAGES/STEP7.jpg"> Step 8: Remove the scrap paper and reposition the stencil if you will be painting other areas. I have created smaller stencils to use to paint around the big IATT logo. Remember to put scrap paper around the stencil if you don’t want other areas of the tee to be affected by your spray painting. <img src="http://www.fight-design.com/iamthetrend/ARTICLEIMAGES/STEP8.jpg"> Step 9: When you’re done with spray painting, remove scrap sheets of paper along with your stencil. Properly dispose of the materials that you will not be reusing. Let the t-shirt dry for at least 24 hours before you wash it. <img src="http://www.fight-design.com/iamthetrend/ARTICLEIMAGES/STEP9.jpg"> And there you have it. You have now created a one-of-a-kind shirt! No one else will have an exact copy of your tee, and you will surely catch people’s attention with your exclusive design. There are tons of stencils that you can create and there are many spray paint colors available in stores. The possibilities are endless! So what are you waiting for? Go out and make a fashionable tee of your own and proudly say “I am the trend!” <img src="http://www.fight-design.com/iamthetrend/ARTICLEIMAGES/STEP10.jpg"> Check out our other articles at: <a href="http://www.iamthetrend.com" title="iamthetrend indie clothing blog">iamthetrend.com</a> 2009-08-06T15:38:47-04:00 Fun summertime t-shirt spray painting project!

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961 Stenciling 101: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Spray Painting a T-shirt

10347

2009-11-21T20:52:17-05:00

3649

Want You to Want Me: The Art of Liking and Persuasion By Bo Mekavibul for <a href="http://www.iamthetrend.com" title="indie clothing indie art">www.iamthetrend.com</a> People either like you or they don’t and there is nothing that you can do about it, right? Wrong! In this second installment of psychology-related articles, I will be discussing the importance of liking and the power of persuasion. Although it is impossible to come up with a formula that will get everyone to like your company because each individual is simply too unique, it is still possible to increase your store’s likeability factor along with boosting sales. Your life experiences may have already led you to these conclusions: we like people who are similar to us and we like people who are attractive. But what do these statements have to do with anything, you ask? Even though they may sound simple, these generalities are the key factors in getting people to like your company. Since we like those who are similar to us, we also like companies that carry products that fit our specific lifestyles. Because of this, it is important to have a target audience. The specificity of this target audience is up to you, but you should have a cohesive line that fits the audience that you’re trying to cater. If people cannot identify with your brand, then it is likely that they will seek other brands. For example, if you run a clothing shop and your audience consists of pop-punk loving teenagers, then it would be wise to show that with your clothing and advertisements. Just as we like people who are attractive, we also like products that are attractive. No matter what type of products you sell, you should take good-looking photos. This means taking professional-looking product pictures that are clear and large enough for your customers to see details. If you choose to have models, they should also look presentable. Photogenic models will definitely add to the quality of your photos. If people see nice pictures of models that look good in your apparel and look like they enjoy wearing your gear, chances are that they will purchase these threads for themselves. We say “yes” to people we like. By selecting specific brands to purchase when we go shopping, we are each saying “yes” to that brand and “no” to other brands offering the same type of product. If a consumer likes you and your store, then they are more likely to say “yes” to your products and prefer them over what other stores carry. You will also be more successful in persuading consumers to purchase your products if they are having trouble coming to a decision of whether or not to make a purchase. Because of this, it is extremely important to produce high-quality products and provide exceptional customer service. If you can maintain your customers’ satisfaction, then they will surely continue to say “yes” to your store. A real-life example of this is when we only shop at one or two stores regularly for clothes and don’t branch out of that comfort zone too often. Along with liking, you also need the power of persuasion. Why should we buy your stuff? What makes your company better than the rest? To answer these questions, you must have effective sources of persuasion. An effective source of persuasion is one that is credible. To be credible, this source must have competence and expertise, be trustworthy, and also be likeable. Celebrity endorsements, blog reviews, and customer reviews are some good sources of persuasion. While you may not be able to get high-profile celebrities to publicly use your product or wear your apparel, there are still other individuals you can go to. Let’s set this up specifically for a t-shirt company. For example, if you run a clothing shop, you can send out some free tees to bands. If they like what they receive, they may wear your apparel onstage at shows. Bands are credible sources for new fashions and their audience may see what they wear at concerts and want to purchase the same shirts that their favorite members are wearing. T-shirt bloggers are also credible sources, as many of them are always on the lookout for fresh new tees and have been exposed to a vast array of t-shirt companies throughout the years. Keep in touch with these bloggers and see if you can get a review in exchange for sending them a free sample of your work. Their expertise in the t-shirt world could be very helpful for your company. Customer photos, comments, and/or reviews may also prove to be helpful for up-and-coming t-shirt vendors. Creating a community on your site and letting your customers talk about your products could help persuade new customers into making their first purchase at your shop. No matter which route you choose, you will be helping your store by showing your prospective customers that your brand is highly regarded in the industry. In tying this knowledge to successful real-world applications, let us take a look at companies like Glamour Kills and Threadless. Getting its start in 2005, Glamour Kills is a brand that is huge in the alternative music scene. It sells its clothing online, at music festivals (such as Bamboozle and Warped Tour), and recently began selling items in Zumiez stores. What got this brand such a large following is its connection with many of the bands that perform at Bamboozle and Warped Tour. Glamour Kills’ clothing is worn onstage by many artists and this is an especially effective way of advertising when these bands go on tour. Threadless, on the other hand, is a great example of a successful company that focuses on a broader target audience. Many shirt blogs constantly write reviews about Threadless tees, and their shirts can be spotted all over the web and in the media. As you can see, effective sources of persuasion are at work for these companies. They are both likeable and have well-known individuals supporting them, whether they are celebrities, bloggers, or frequent forum participants. You, too, can apply the basic rules of liking and persuasion to your company. It’s much simpler than you may have thought! 2009-07-01T12:01:25-04:00 People either like you or they don’t and there is nothing that you can do about it, right? Wrong!

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781 I Want You to Want Me: The Art of Liking and Persuasion

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Maybe not the best option but it works nice for me: <ol> <li>First of all open your tshirt image.</li> <li>With the pen tool cut out the tshirt from the background.</li> <li>Duplicate the tshirt layer and desaturate it (control+shift+U).</li> <li>Go to Edit > Adjustments > Levels, and there make the duplicated tshirt layer have more black than white, but be careful not so saturated, just a little more black.</li> <li>When you've achieved the desired effect put that layer on top of your design layer and set the blending mode to multiply and you have your quick shadows.</li> </ol> 2009-06-25T14:39:19-04:00 A quick guide to amateur mocking.

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741 Mock up flat tees with shadows in 5 minutes

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It's a front and back V-neck, 20 inches by 20 inches, 72 dpi, and has all the Threadless colors on separate layers. All the masking is done for the tee and for the design layer. <img src="http://i726.photobucket.com/albums/ww261/GrapheinDesign/Front.jpg" /> <img src="http://i726.photobucket.com/albums/ww261/GrapheinDesign/Back.jpg" /> Here you go! <a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=30b20c5da0a49f4d67cd7f7bd65f7eefe04e75f6e8ebb871">http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=30b20c5da0a49f4d67cd7f7bd65f7eefe04e75f6e8ebb871</a> 2009-06-12T23:54:36-04:00 Free front and back v neck mockup

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651 V Neck Mockup

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2009-11-21T19:17:39-05:00

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<img src="http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q129/shredcity/CATALYST_printtechniques-1.jpg" /> <img src="http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q129/shredcity/CATALYST_printtechniques-2.jpg" /> <img src="http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q129/shredcity/CATALYST_printtechniques-3.jpg" /> <img src="http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q129/shredcity/CATALYST_printtechniques-4.jpg" /> <img src="http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q129/shredcity/CATALYST_printtechniques-5.jpg" /> <img src="http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q129/shredcity/CATALYST_printtechniques-6.jpg" /> <img src="http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q129/shredcity/CATALYST_printtechniques-7.jpg" /> 2009-06-09T15:20:07-04:00 A guide covering different printing techniques used to make shirts and other clothing.

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621 Apparel Printing Techniques

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Operant Conditioning: What is it and How Does it Apply to My Business? By Bo Mekavibul for <a href="http://www.iamthetrend.com" title="iamthetrend indie clothing indie art">iamthetrend.com</a> This is the first in a series of articles that will delve into one concept or theory in the field of psychology and explore the ways in which it applies to your business. Because the knowledge that we have gained from psychology is based on general human behavior, it may be applied to the population at large and used to better your company and the relationships with your customers. One of the most well-known theories of psychology is that of operant conditioning. Operant conditioning applies to the process of learning and describes how reinforcement or punishment modifies an individual’s behavior. A behavior increases in frequency if the outcome of performing this behavior is positive, a reinforcement. In the same fashion, a behavior occurs less often if the result is negative, a punishment. Now this all may seem like common sense, yet there are still companies that provide subpar goods and/or customer service. For example, if someone purchases a t-shirt from your online store, only to receive it and see that the design is unintentionally off-center and the seams have fallen out, they will regret their decision to buy from your company. These defects in the shirt can be seen as a punishment, since the individual spent his or her money and basically traded it for something that was simply not worth it. Likewise, if a customer comes to your company with important concerns and your customer department staff member is rude and unhelpful, he or she will feel a sense of bitterness and frustration (I am quite positive everyone reading this article knows exactly what I’m talking about). Before you know it, these customers will no longer want to have anything to do with your company because they fear the disappointment of losing their time, their money, and even their spirit when they rely on your company. On the other hand, if you and your company go above and beyond with your products and customer service, you will see much better results with your business! Receiving a t-shirt that you’ve purchased and having it be what you expected for it to be is good, but opening up a package and seeing that the contents are 10 times better than you predicted is even better. Although you may have spent a good amount of money on this product, you may end up feeling rewarded because you got more for your money than what you had anticipated. We all know this feeling. This rewarding feeling as a consequence of purchasing from your company is a reason for consumers to want to stick with your company to fulfill their need for the type of product that you offer, whatever the product may be. Not giving customers what they truly deserve for their money’s worth is a big no-no. If you punish your customers with bad products and services, they will indubitably shop elsewhere, especially if their first purchase from your store or their first time contacting your customer service representative has left them with a second-rate product and/or negative emotions. As consumers, we like getting what we pay for and having our purchases meet or exceed our expectations. No one likes to be let down. Treat your customers as though you are building a relationship with them. You cannot build a relationship if you do not put in the effort to earn the other party’s trust and respect. Since you are building a symbiotic relationship with each consumer, your company benefits from having customers purchase your goods, and your customers benefit from receiving products that fulfill their needs. Do what it takes to please each and every one of your customers, because these relationships need to be mutual and reciprocal if you want your customers to keep coming back for more. In short, you should always focus on your customers and their needs in order to reward them for taking an interest in your company. This reward is a reinforcement that will help you secure a community of consumers. More consumers means more business, and more business means more profits. Never forget that by rewarding your customers, you, in turn, are rewarding yourself. Make sure to check out <a href="http://www.iamthetrend.com" title="iamthetrend indie clothing indie art">iamthetrend.com</a> for weekly articles and features! Also if you like this article please take a second to <a href="http://digg.com/d1smdf">DIGG</a> it! 2009-06-02T17:18:57-04:00 Article explaining what Operant Conditioning is and how to use it to help your business!

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561 Operant Conditioning: What is it and How Does it Apply to My Business?

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2009-11-20T15:06:55-05:00

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