How To Start Your Own T-Shirt Brand

admin    T-Shirt Articles     Start Your Own T-Shirt Brand, T-Shirt Articles, set up t-shirt brand, setting up a t-shirt brand, t-shirt branding

Last summer Ryan Kovac set up Beau Clothing, here’s how he did it:

“I came up with a massive list of things to accomplish in order for Beau to launch. I broke up everything I needed to accomplish and learn into 3 sections: brand, website, and legal.”

Brand: Assuming that you are creating your own brand, you probably have an idea of a niche or target audience. It is key that your brand fills that niche, or offers something unique in it’s own right. Brand development comes in three stages: your brand logo, planning, and shirts.

Logo: When making a logo, you want to create something that depicts your brand, but also incorporates what your brand is about. With Beau, our logo was created to show our minimalist designs and their simplicity. A logo is a key tool for brand recognition, a memorable logo can keep your brand fresh in the consumer’s mind.

Planning: For most Indie start-up lines, finances can be limited. Personally, Beau was brought to life by the two of us working all summer long. A sacrifice has to be made. Currently we are college students and are making ends meet financially out of our own pockets. We put all of our funds towards bringing our fans and customers the best possible product we can. Don’t let it scare you though, it’s a very rewarding feeling to have somebody enjoying what you put a lot of hard work and time into. The key is to create a plan, like I am drawing out here, with your finances. Microsoft Excel is a great tool to keep track of everything. The best tip I can give you is to be as organized as possible.

Shirts: Artistic talent is essential, if you have little you can always sketch your ideas out and use artists to create your designs. But that doesn’t have to stop you. Beau Clothing was lucky enough to use Cameron Hagedon, one hell of an artist and designer and friend. Places like Emptees.com are places where you can find talented artists. If you don’t know any artists personally, they can help you create your clothing’s art. Just remember that there are always resources out there to utilize.

Printing: Do your research, our biggest tool was google. We lived on sites like bandwagonmerch, and t-shirtforums just asking questions and gathering information. Prior to Beau, I knew nothing about Plastisol inks. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Email anybody and everybody whom you think would have valuable information. God knows how many emails I wrote just acquiring information on what material went best with what inks and what tagging sizes were recommended for each size of shirt. One tip for everybody: American Apparel. It is just gold made of fabrics. Everybody loves it and, frankly, if you are selling to somebody who doesn’t know much outside of Gildans and Hanes, they will put your shirt on and fall in love. Most likely, they will never take it off.

Shipping: If you plan on shipping out shirts, which most indie’s do, packaging is the last chance to make a positive impression. If financially possible, make something amazing and memorable. However, for most cases, including Beau, that is hard to accomplish. Just remember, with every penny you earn, put that penny back into your brand. Including packaging. But, until then, make sure your shipping does not hurt your image. Make sure it’s secure, doesn’t fold, and makes it there quickly. Uline.com provides a lot of products for packing, folding, and shipping your shirts nice and neatly.

Website: The first thing a consumer will see is the quality of the site. Bigcartel.com and Storenvy.com provide a great template and a cart. If you know web design at all, you know that building a fully functional cart is kind of a hassle. For Beau, we were forced to pick up a CSS book and learn from scratch in order to make our site stick out from the cookie cutter ‘Bigcartels’ of the world. Jquery is no fun, but there are plenty of tutorials online that help teach. Sohatonaka.com is one of my personally favourites. Soh is a genius and very helpful as well. As for CSS, check out this site; again a lifesaver. If possible, we advise that you leave it to the professional and shell out the dough.

Domain: As far as domain names go, try and purchase one that is unique and memorable. If that happens to be your brand name, perfect. For Beau, we went with thebeautee.com as a little play on words to create the”beauty” in a sense. And if you do decide to use a Bigcartel, the folks over at Indielabs are very helpful at providing set up to link your new domain name.

Legal: At first we thought this would be one of the most difficult parts, it turns out it was the opposite. Make sure to get a hold of people who know something about business law – an accountant, lawyer or, in our case, your business professor. You can figure out a lot of the basics via Google and forums, but legalities are not something you want to mess up. It would be the biggest buzz kill to have to shut down everything you have worked so hard for just because you didn’t fill out the right paperwork. From our experiences we have learned a little. You should be alright with just a DBA, but you’re much better off filing for a Limited Liability Corp. (LLC). But again, check with a pro. In the UK this would be a Limited Company, check other countries for legalities.

The biggest thing to take out of all of this is to sit on your computer and do hours upon hours of research. Become an expert in your niche and field. We are not saying we are, but we are striving to be. And another thing, there are tons of people willing to help you. When you tell anybody in your community that you’re going on this adventure, they will do almost anything to help along the way. Don’t waste that help, it’s a life saver. Never be afraid to email and ask questions!

Ryan Kovach,
Beau (http://www.thebeautee.com/)

Customize Your Old Tees

admin    T-Shirt Articles     Francesca Menichelli, Italian fashion, customise your t-shirt, customization, customize, designer fashion, recycled tees, street fashion

This post is for the ladies out there who’d love to simultaneously rid themselves of a few tired old tees whilst making a big bold fashion statement on a seriously low budget. The idea came from Italian fashion designer Francesca Menichelli.

If you want to replicate the above effect all you need asides a little time and some basic sewing skills is a pair of old tights and some elastic. Form tiny balls and attach them together with elastic then arrange them on the inside of your tee in a pattern of your choice; harlequin, grid, or even random and get sewing! It doesn’t sound like much, but with these simple materials you can end up with something rather stunning! If you like the effect then why not go mad and do the same to some leggings too!

Check out Menichelli’s sketches if you have the time… www.francescamenichelli.com.

Host Your Own T-Shirt Design Contest?

admin    T-Shirt Articles, T-Shirt Contests, T-Shirt News     99designs, T-Shirt Contests, Threadless, t-shirt design, t-shirt design competition

I received a rather exciting email from Eddie Miles at 99designs.com yesterday and it didn’t take me long to clock what all the commotion is about. 99designs is offering anyone the chance to hold their own t-shirt design contest starting at the very reasonable price of $211 per project. 99designs.com is already big on the net, they’re way up there in traffic ratings, but even they’ve noticed a massive spike since introducing the service.

“We’ve been having several tee designers and tee stores crowdsourcing their ideas and inspiration through our design community instead of doing it themselves. ..now that anyone with a general idea of business (not creativity) can start a tee line.”

There’s the beauty of the service, anyone can start a highly popular t-shirt brand, no more begging to commission top designers from sites like Threadless, now they will come to you! 99designs will help you host a “design contest” where thousands of designers compete to create a design you love, or your money back! Here’s how it all works:-

Are T-Shirt Communities A Rip-Off?

admin    T-Shirt Articles     Design By Humans, T-Shirt Designers, Teextile, Threadless, cafepress, crowdsourcing, spreadshirt, t-shirt communities

I love t-shirts, that should be pretty much apparent to anyone who reads this blog, and I alongside a vast majority of fans of t-shirt arts was excited by the development of Threadless and other t-shirt communities out there across the world. But, and it’s a big but, as with almost all business sectors, there’s good practice, bad practice, and quite a wide range in between. Now, I know how it feels to be ripped off, we have all, in our lives from time to time, experienced a “poor deal” at the very least, and sometimes downright theft. There are charlatans across the globe, pervading all kinds of product and service based industries, who’s sole intention is to grab your money and run. Fortunately the vast majority of companies realise that without long term customer loyalty there’s little chance of them going on a “rip off” rampage and getting away with it, not including those that have almost sole or shared monopoly of a retail sector, banking being a good example of bad practice.

As with the rest of the business world, the t-shirt sector has its “bad apples”, one of the first to come to my attention following an initially positive review here at Buy Tees was Teextile.com. They still remain the worst offenders in poor if not non-existent customer service, sending out t-shirts late, sometimes never at all, and even neglecting to pay their designers. Today I received another comment at my post Teextile – A Rip Off? which highlights all the crimes and misdemeanours of this relatively young venture into the world of t-shirt crowdsourcing. Here’s what the designer Warren Hart had to say on the matter:

“I let them use one of my designs ( SLF ryu shirt ) (http://www.fourninjas.com/shop/product/1006828) to sell in January of 2010. They have yet to pay me a dime for the amount of shirts they sold. In total they owe me about $300. For months I’ve asked and asked for my money and nothing. Just one sob story after another. They were quite rude to me as well. Now they don’t even respond. P.S. Tanga.com have ripped off my design as well.“

A few days ago I also received a comment from a reader complaining about the French t-shirt community site Wordans.com:

“Wordans has very poor business skills! I ordered shirts for a festival I was attending, their web-site claimed it would take 5-10 days and it took my shirts over 16 business days to reach me. When I cancelled my order they said they would not give my money back and I should have put a rush on my order even though I ordered with more than sufficient time!“

Now, despite the awful example of Teextile, perhaps the most crooked and conceited t-shirt community on record (read these comments to see why!), I might be blowing things out of proportion. Although I have a suspicion that most t-shirt buyers experiencing problems with customer service and shipping times may simply be on the receiving end of companies that are a victim of their own success. For every Threadless, Design By Humans, Cafepress and Spreadshirt out there, obversely there are dozens (if not hundreds) of failing t-shirt companies and ‘Print On Demand’ t-shirt sites, and it’s simply a matter of under-manning and underfunding. Without enough staff and a decent contingency fund there’s little most t-shirt companies, or any company for that matter, can do when demand outstrips supply.

Then again, I’d like to see a single instance of say a car designer, a commercial architect, or a governmental advisor in a quango who hasn’t received monies for their services. The truth is that certain t-shirt communities out there are getting a very bad reputation amongst designers, far worse than they will have garnered through a dissatisfied clientèle. Without design, the lifeblood of all t-shirt communities, there is no community, there are no t-shirts, no customers, no profits, absolutely zilch. It seems extremely short-sighted for any company, no matter what they sell, to cheat their own designers, do they think we are all fools?

The time is at hand, I believe, to stand up against the commercial bullies, the cheats, the crooks and the thieves in the t-shirt industry, and the best place to start is with the current worst offenders, Teextile.com.

Above is a button to include on your own blog, site, or social network page if you want to help stop this ever pervading problem. If you wish you can link to this post or http://buy-tees.net/2010/03/teextile-a-rip-off

or not, the choice is yours. I simply think it would be a good idea to make it clear that we’re not going to take this s*** off any t-shirt community again. In the UK we have something called Trading Standards that to a degree can guarantee customer rights, along with our own Statutory rights. In America the best they can offer is the Better Business Bureau which seems to be something of a voluntary organisation with little legal clout and a tendency to ignore those companies that haven’t signed up to their register. Useless.

What we really need is an independent body, funded by all the major t-shirt sites as mentioned before, i.e Threadless, DBH, Cafepress, Spreadshirt etc. This body would essentially provide a seal of approval for new and old t-shirt communities, including a ratings system that is recognised world-wide by the industry and the buying public. The ball is in their court now, who knows, if we all stand together on this it might just happen.

Make Or Amen Break It Tee

admin    T-Shirt Articles     Make Or Amen Break It, hip hop, loops, sampling, t-post, t-shirt magazine

Make Or Amen Break It Tee

It’s available when you subscribe to the world’s only wearable t-shirt magazine… yes it’s printed on a t-shirt! I’ve written about T-Post.se before, Buy Tees and T-Post have even run a competition in the past. But if you’re still confused you should check out their rather amusing video here. But what’s most fascinating about the Make Or Amen Break It tee is the story behind the design.

It all starts with a 1960′s band called ‘The Winstons‘, they had an enormous hit – it was a Grammy winner – but on the B-Side was a song called ‘Amen Brother‘ which lay dormant and ignored by the masses for decades, literally decades. When Hip Hop came along so did the dubious art of sampling, a backbone of the sound of many major players in the scene by the 1980′s.

So here’s what happened, NWA discovered this little known gem and exploited it for all it’s worth. It’s a minuscule 6 second break by The Winstons’ drummer G.C. Coleman who died in 2006 and it changed the face of Hip Hop forever. If you think of all the DJs and bands that have sampled this track it makes you wonder. If only Coleman had had a decent lawyer he’d have probably been able to buy out the whole of the music industry with all the royalties. The man who created the most famous drum loop in history died as a virtually obscure musician.

You can read all about this story on T-Post’s latest t-shirt issue or take a look at their article at http://t-post.se/past-issues/item/root/make-or-amen-break-it.

Mind blowing.

REAL Vintage Tees

admin    T-Shirt Articles     pre-owned tees, retro, retro t-shirts, vintage t-shirts

‘Scuse the uppercase but I just wanted to make sure you got the message loud and clear. This quickie post is only for the eyes of true t-shirt fanatics. If your money is burning a hole in your pocket and you lay awake at night wondering how on earth you’ll find another t-shirt exactly like the Simpsons tee you had as a kid in the 80s (only in a larger size), or if you’re desperate to get another original 1981 Pac Man t-shirt after your dog ate the last one, then listen up!

VintagePimps.com has been selling vintage t-shirts since 2004 and enjoy every second of it, if anyone is in love with retro chic and cornball nostalgia, across the board mind you, it has to be these guys. They sell their finds at Ebay and remember these aren’t reprints, in fact they may be the last of their kind in the world, so you’re going to have to pay through the nose for a slice of T-history. Here’s one of theirs I’ve picked out…

Vintage Prince T-Shirt (1982)

Totally mad original Prince tee, way before he became ‘symbol’, you know, back when he knocked out stompers like 1999 and When Doves Cry. This ultra rare, and take it from me almost all of them for sale at Vintage Pimps are, excellent condition Prince ’1999′ Tour t-shirt will set you back a massive $200 and only in a small size!!! Yes for Prince fanatics and potential stalkers only. Okay maybe not, but he is open to offers, not sure how much anyone can knock him down, but I bet that in the next few years this one will end up at a retro/vintage store in a trendy quarter of a city somewhere with a price tag at double that amount.

I thought whilst I was roaming around Ebay land I’d check out what else was on offer there and realised it wasn’t so easy to find genuine originals. You have to watch out, the word ‘style’ is a big giveaway, it means it’s a reprint, some might be fakes too, if they include a photo of the tag and it looks genuine or you know your t-shirt history you might even snap up a few vintage bargains without the seller even realising what they had! For mere mortals you will most likely come a cropper from time to time, so many merchandise t-shirts have been reprinted time after time, still if it’s obscure you’re probably safer.

Still I did find another major Ebay seller who specialises in genuine vintage tees, their feedback is superb and they try wherever possible to include all the info they can on each shirt including photographing labels and any defects. Labels give you a big clue, it doesn’t take long to realise if a t-shirt printers was even established a few decades ago, let alone if they had a license to print at the time of the original license. Sounds tricky but if you do your research you could make a tidy packet from selling on used tees just like Black Rebel Vintage.

Vintage ‘The Runaways’/Joan Jett ‘School Days’ European Tour T-Shirt (1977)

This seems to be the real deal, especially when you look at tag and the price, which is a record-breaking $1,499! Yes it’s rare but I can’t ever imagine paying that much for a tee, and I have a horrible feeling that someone probably dropped it off in a local charity store without even knowing the value. The fact is there are people willing to pay this much, imagine what an original official 1950′s Elvis T-shirt in mint condition would for? Probably enough to buy a new car at the very least.

Vintage Harley Davidson/Evel Knievel Tee

Supposedly 30 years old, it looks new because it’s ‘deadstock’ as in stored in a box or crate for decades without being sold to the public. It’s an incredible $999, again a mad mad price, but obviously it’s real slice of  Americana. Who knows, you might see one like this crop up at your local thrift store one day. You know what to do if it does ;)

If you’re thinking of retailing genuine vintage tees through your own store or site you might want to check out the British fashion sourcing company The Vintage Clothing Company. They sell real vintage tees by the pound (as in weight) to vintage fashion shops around the world. They grade them by quality and rarity, essentially nothing new gets through. Well worth a think if you’re tempted to set up shop.

But as always when it comes to real vintage bargains, the first place to check out is TeeCycle.org – they donate $1 from every sale to charity and even if their tees aren’t as rare they’re cool and affordable!

Vintage Beastie Boys Tee (Ladies)

Original Beastie Boys tee for women in a large size for just $15 + $3 shipping here!

Here are a few more worthy mentions:

Thriftstore Cowboy

Ghetto Vintage

Stormcrow Vintage

But to be honest you’re better off popping down your local boot fair, thift store, charity shop, flea market, you name it, if it’s cheap and local the effort of finding a rare vintage tee is worth it!

The Zen Of T-Shirt Design

admin    T-Shirt Articles     abstract t-shirts, abstract tees, geometic t-shirts, pattern t-shirts, patterned tees, shapes, stripes

Not everyone loves illustrated graphic t-shirts, I can’t think why, but it’s true. I suppose it might all be part of a plan to live a simpler less cluttered life, sporting stylish modular and expressive abstract tees might constitute part of training to be a Zen master these days. Who knows, I know Tibetan monks wear Nikes these days? So get ready for a glimpse at a few labels that try to eschew the mainstream t-shirt graphic scene and focus purely on the calm trance-like shapes and patterns of the abstract t-shirt deign. Yes… The Zen of T-Shirt Design.

Kenzo Minami has to be one of my all-time favourite abstract artist/designers, he’s worked with some very big names such as Nike, MTV, Reebok and the Sci-Fi Channel. Murals, backdrops, graphic design, packaging and of course t-shirt design are just some of his talents. Here’s what he has to say about his astounding work. “It makes sense that I studied both philosophy and industrial design, one is ergonomics, the functioning of humans in a physical environment, and the other is the functioning of humans in the social and metaphysical environment. As much as they seem to be polar opposites, there is a place they can coexist and cooperate.”

Prism T-Shirt by Kenzo Minami

This incredible piece of t-shirt design comes at a price, not only is Kenzo Minami’s work very popular but it’s usually very expensive and hard to get hold of too. The beautiful Prism tee is available at Blackbird in black in a large size for $118.99 and this was reduced from an incredibly pricey $199! Not something I can afford but at least I can admire it from afar :/

Symbolika are old friends of Buy Tees, a French t-shirt label that’s heavily involved in meditation and trance. Their designs are sketched and then rendered in beautifully precise detail using CAD. Here’s one of my faves by Symbolika.

Time T-Shirt

Here’s what Symbolika have to say on the design… “a thirteen moon phase inside a flower of life grid with a skull and a foetus, representing the passage of time.” I think I’m having one of those 2001 moments, definitely worth wearing if you think you might be attaining Nirvahna in the near future (not the band btw but the transcendental state) then this is probably the t-shirt to wear. Before you sneer at my hippy ideals take a look at the back!

Wowzers. Anyway get this tee for €25 here.

Pattern and Shape t-shirts do exactly what it says in the logo, they create abstract pattern and shape tees for those looking for something simpler yet iconic. Check out this one:

Parallelogram T-Shirt

Definitely not a word to repeat quickly when you’re drunk, you’ll probably something similar when you see this tee. I’m sure that Pattern and Shape’s Parallelogram t-shirt could be used to test for 20/20 vision, or some form of mild psychosis, but I love it. It frazzles my brain, and unlike certain illicit substances, you pay once and can trip out forever. Lol. This superbly simple Andrio Abero t-shirt is available for $23 here.

Jiménez Jurado – Tijuana based designer and illustrator has a great style, I particularly like this tee for the girls available in Volcom‘s featured artists collection.

Foi Jiminez F.A Sheer T-Shirt

Volcom Sliders Jersey Tee

Nope this one has nothing to do with the awful 90s US TV series, loving the 80s pixelated graphic style, oh so retro. Cleverly the design is based on their logo – ooh sneaky. Volcom’s Sliders Jersey Tee is available for girls in XS-XL black for £16.42 here.

Rain Drops & Rhombuses T-Shirt

Here’s a cool tee by Plink Design, reminds me a little of the wallpaper we used to have in the 1970s, it was nice wallpaper, not at all cheap. Probably from Habitat. I miss that wallpaper. Get this superb abstract shirt for $20 in all sizes here.

Red Valentino Ribbon Bow Jersey T-Shirt

I was in two minds about including this tee, the thing is the embroidery is actually an abstract representation of embroidery, or at least that’s the theory from the part of my brain that can remember art college. It’s quirky and according to the nearest females of the species in my vicinity, “gorgeous!” Ah well, we’ll say this one crosses the boundaries of decorative and abstract, still, cute. Get the Red Valentino Ribbon Bow Jersey Tee at Net a Porter for a ridiculously whopping £85. Ouch.

Richard Altman is a designer that believes that “the closer we live our lives in harmony with our innate creative abilities, the happier, healthier and more productive we will become”. Who knows, he could be right, still his shirts are nice and jazzy.

Bipolar T-Shirt

Bipolar by Richard Altman (no relation to Robert I suppose?) is cool, crazy but cool… daddio. Get it for $22 here.

Two lovely isometric t-shirts from Babble Tees.

Isometric Green T-Shirt

Isometric Orange T-Shirt

Here are a few more to keep you going ;)

http://www.thegrandsocial.com.au/das-monk/t-shirts/mount-hexx—white

http://www.daviddavid.co.uk/t-shirt/index.html – London based fashion designer who makes a mint in Japan.

A Spongebob Tee …but a little bit Picasso too!

Planning a Clothing Photoshoot

admin    T-Shirt Articles     catalogue, fashion, fashion business, fashion photography, t-shirt business advice, t-shirt photography

Photo shoots are a fun experience from your first to your 100th (if you are to be so lucky) so you should treat it as such, and plan for it to be a good time that results in great photos for promotion of your collection. This document has bits and pieces that can be used for “monthly release” photo shoots although the approach is gear more towards seasonal releases. Topics 1-4 can be completed in almost any order although the listed order is recommended. read more

Boiling Down A Brand With Cubicoola

admin    T-Shirt Articles     Cubicoola, Cubicoola.com, UK t-shirts, UK tees, advice on t-shirt design, illustrated t-shirts, starting a t-shirt label, t-shirt branding

I was recently approached by a young and enthusiastic t-shirt label Cubicoola, they seem like a great bunch, happy in their work, determined in their creative vision with plenty of ideas for the future, and that’s when I know I have to tread carefully, the fact is I felt there positives and negatives in their brand, their store, designs and label in general that would need to be tackled. read more

Fera Fera – What Could Be Fairer?

admin    T-Shirt Articles     Fera Fera, FeraFera.com, T-Shirts

OK, OK, it’s very very early days for Fera Fera, they have a very limited range of tees on offer, but we’ve had a very friendly email from Shawn who runs the label, and Christina likes at least one of their designs so we think it only fair to give the company a boost and feature what is currently their best t-shirt on offer.

We’d like to feature more of them but in all honesty we think the label needs a little work all round, starting with the site/store/shop – it’s a real plain Jane and it’s crying out for some graphic finesse. That asides there are at least a few t-shirts that need to be abandoned pronto, it’s hard for every designer to get off the ground, but take a look around our blog, you can all see what the competition are up to, and for the main part they are masters of the tee universe. Essentially great fashion design (which is in all honesty what t-shirt design is) relies on two main factors. Concept and Conception. You can’t just have a good idea, you have to deliver it too. That is most likely why at least one of their designs has some appeal. read more