Let’s start with the conclusion, which is that simple prints done well sell best. I coordinate the merchandise for Farm Aid (farmaid.org) every year, Farm Aid works to support family farmers and they put on a yearly concert that features Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp and other artists who this year included…
My buddy KC Hruby has created a few imaginary designs in order to protect the innocent. Today’s subject relates to mock ups of designs and how one must imagine all the folks that might be eventually wearing the shirts. We have run into quite a number of instances where a perfectly innocent design was going…
We print a lot of canvas bags and in particular for made in USA companies who send us the canvas to print before they are sewn. We have printed everything from 6 ounce to 22 ounce and all kinds of weaves. We recently screwed up an order and it reminded me of everything that can…
Usually Tom and I relay a story of our own mistakes, which folks seem to enjoy hearing about. Today it is a mix of my woes and someone else’s. On a Facebook group this morning a fellow traveler in the world of screenprinting was having trouble with screens that would not wash out. What can…
Funny ad for sublimation I got in my email box today. “Which Do You Prefer?” I would say that most people over the age of 11 prefer the one on the left. Simple is usually better with clothing. Some people can rock a big yellow dashiki or a full color all-over super hero, but most…
The photo for this post is an example of a very rare time where we were able to fix something we printed and the fix worked out. Our customer had printed a whole lot of expensive tote bags and included part of a logo that they now found offensive. We were able to embroider over…
Today’s column is by my buddy Bill Mooney. He has an entertainment and music industry merchandising company. called Tannis Root. He’s a good guy with a great business. He also has had the most kick ass industry parties to celebrate his decades in business and I got to see Sonic Youth, the Condo Fucks, Mudhoney…
It always is interesting to look around and see what people are wearing for printed t-shirts. The research is extensive at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival where close to 500,000 people of all ages will attend and most of them are wearing t-shirts. The general trends continue to be very simple designs, one…
Danny Sweem was just named CEO of M&R, replacing founder Rich Hoffman who will stay on during the transition time. Look for more reporting on this in coming weeks. What follows is the resume type facts about Danny Sweem. Let me say that I’ve known him for almost 25 years and he is one of…
PPAI media focused today on Chris Fox who is in charge of corporate social responsibility at Hanes. The article outlines the commitments he leads there in terms of treatment of workers, community development, and environmental responsiblity. Lo and behold, some of the initiatives not only were the ethical but actually made good business sense.
