Industry heads , give out some advice for the aspiring designers, store owners , etc

[homi]

I know i want to be involved in the industry in some capacity, and while im not ready to reveal exactly how, and the specifics, I am looking to parlay with those who've been through the grind and are helpful enough to pass down some wisdom to those up and coming.

Whether its to own a brand, design tees, or start a store or something totally different, theres alot of info out there that isn't readily availible

I got a few of the most important questions here

Online vs Boutiques

both are important, but what should come first online exposure, or in-store product placement and on the street grinding.

Legal aspect

What about legal issues. Taxes, trademarks, parodies, name registration, and all that lovely boring stuff. noone wants to deal with it, but its the truth and its gotta be taken care of

Connection building
How to meet the right ppl, and portray urself the right way, to meet and hopefully work with others in the same field.

I'm sure u guys can think of many more questions, now for some peeps to bless us with answers.

obviously HB may not be mature enough for this discussion, so if anyone wants to get at me through PM thats cool too

[jaywalkent]

ayo bump cause im interested as well

[homi]

this forum sucks for serious discussion, shame on you all

[2Fresh2Clean]

I asked a similar question a few months back and I was told 1) to make as many connections as I could 2) Start small and grow from there 3) Design clothes that you like, not what's hot at the time 4) be ready to send out alot of free samples! I'm just trying to pay it forward bro.

[Hybrid Moments]

No one wants to help, they're all haters. Everyone is afraid someone is gonna get ahead of them. No one wants to let their designs/brand speak for them.

My advice, once you find someone who is willing to give advice and help you out, keep that friend, cuz there's no one out there like that.

If I knew more, I'd share, but I'm learning as i go along!

[jeremy]

Go to nike events/release partys, promote youre self by wearing youre own tees/giving out some tee's for others to spread, theres mad industry heads at release partys and what not. Thats all i could tell you i dont know much about everythin else.

[jediknight]

some tips on owning a store
interviewed my now boss, a while back

bobby co-owner of ftk




well these are pretty general questions so i can really only give you
general answers.


1)pros and cons of co-owning your own shop

pros: work in a market that i enjoy and feel comfortable in. also the
obvious pros, if your successful then you areyour own boss. dont have
to
answer to anyone. make your own decisions. but then again. if you fail,
then your the one to blame also.

the cons: well all the things that you need to do to run your business.
taxes, insurance, payroll, lease, managing people, having to tackle
problems all the time. basically being responsible for your entire
business. you cant just get fed up and go home early or call in sick.
there is no one else to fix your problems except yourself. and being a
small business there is always problems that need to be handled. no
matter
how good business is, or how efficient everything is, something is
always
coming up.
you are basically always working. when you close up shop, your mind is
still always racing thinking about what has happened the day prior,
whats
coming tomorrow, what to do to expand and grow. your really working all
the
time. forget vacation time. that doesnt come for a long time after. add
in
gray hairs at an early age, and lots of stress. and thats about it.




2)what were the risks of starting up a urban/hip hop store

risks? well i mean risks are probably the same for any type of retail
store. hip hop or not, really doesnt make too much difference.
risks:
employees: if you have employees, gotta make sure you can trust them.
know
that they know how to do their job and that they actually do it. there
comes a time when you cant watch over everybody so you need to have
good
employees.
theft, shoplifting. making sure people dont walk off with your shit or
break into your shop while your sleeping at home.
inventory sellthrough. you gotta pay for all your inventory, so you
better
make sure its selling. making you that profit, and making room for the
new
stuff.
takes years to have a real good idea of how much you will actually be
able
to sell, etc...
money: its your money (if your the owner) so you better know where its
all
going. in and out. you could loose it all and be broke.
law: gotta make sure your following all the hundreds of bullshit laws
that
seem to be in place just wanting you to fail. fees and taxes for
everything.
health: im sure there is some risk invoved in the amount of stress in
owning your own store (or any business). i've probably taken 20 years
off
my life already. but oh well at least i get to sleep in most days.

[bobbyhundreds]

yo homi. have you emailed me yet? If not, do so. I'll send you something I usually pass along to kids who ask questions like these. Its not much, but its something.

so, let's start this off with the disclaimer that I am not an expert. Like Joe above, I'm learning everyday. There really is no school for our little scene here (contrary to what FIT/FIDM will tell you), and we're all tryin' to build together here.

Online vs Boutiques

Streets always wins out. The industry's kind of changing right now because of the internet and the hype-facade that surrounds online-centric brands. But for the most part, it's all just hype, which can only last so long. What's most important are the brands that are repped on the streets, the ones that you see on kids at your school, or at the club. Even the brands that aren't prolific on the streets because of limited exclusivity are TALKED about on the streets, not on internet messageboards. Whether or not they have internet hype, the ones that last have substance, relevant to their consumer, and an overall effective BUSINESS.

Off the top of my head, I think of brands like NBHD, Scifen, UpperPlayground/Fifty24SF, Rebel 8, Five Four, Wtaps, Ssur, J.Money. These are all different brands (some are huge, some have a very specific core audience, some are limited in Japan), but the one thing they have in common is that they are all VERY big in the streets yet they have very little online hype. I rarely see Hypebeast/SlamXhype/HighSnobiety posts about those brands, when some of them are in more stores and have more customers in our scene than 99% of the brands you usually see on the news blogs. Even if they don't have massive store presence, they have a strong buzz that will last for years.

And that's the thing. Another common point these brands share is that they have all been around for YEARS, and are strong, consistent businesses that aren't going to die anytime soon. As for online-hyped brands, the hype is but a rollercoaster that dips down eventually and stops.

As for our brand, from the get-go we concentrated on both the streets and the internet at the same time. Interestingly enough, most of our growth is attributed to our customer base in both domestic and overseas accounts. Think about it. It actually makes perfect sense, considering your accounts are the ones paying your bills. Not the hype or the online presence. And customers off the street are paying the stores. So although sometimes the online attention and the customers off the street may run parallel, they are not always one and the same. When I travel, most the kids I see buying/wearing/talking about our product have little knowledge of our internet presence. I still meet customers who have never been to our website..seems strange right?

And I guess that's another lesson. For most of us on this board, and checking Hypebeast, it's very easy to assume that the rest of the industry/culture/scene is as consumed with the internet as we are. But that's not necessarily true. So don't neglect those customers by concentrating too much on your online presence. (although, of course, online presence is very important also).

Legal aspect

Yes, those must all be taken care of... eventually. There are certain legal aspects of a business that MUST be handled up front. By law. Those differ depending on the governing laws in your region, so check that out first.

I get asked a lot about TRADEMARK issues. Trademarks are registered through the USPTO (if you live in the States) and, if you don't hire an attorney to take care of it, is VERY time-consuming and headache-inducing. Your trademark protects your brand signifier itself. Such as your logo. This is VERY important, HOWEVER, I must stress that if you are just starting a brand, don't worry about it right now. Reason being, realistically speaking, most start-up brands end up dying within months. So make sure you're comfortable with your business, that it's growing steadily after a year or two, and then if you decide that you're really gonna stick this out and head full-on into the project, then consider your TM work. In the meantime, it's perfectly okay to start throwing "TM" on your logos just so that it can act as evidence that you were using it to represent your brand if some kind of court-case were to arise.

Connection building

Like any industry, networking is key. But it's kinda different here. We don't have networking events or shmooze-n'-booze conferences in stuffy hotels. Instead, we have brand-driven parties, sneaker events, and other events which are tied into the culture. This is kind of a tough question for me to answer because we never really thought about proactively building connections within the industry.

Just be cool, be "yourself" (cliche i know), and be passionate about what you're doing. If YOU are passionate about it, then other people will see that and get excited about your product as well. Just make sure you stay in touch with people, whether they're cool or dorky, rich or poor, industry-related or just some kid into Dunks. And I know people said hand out as many free samples as you can, but I disagree with that. Mainly because any startup doesn't have the capital to give away that much free stuff, and their money can be better spent elsewhere. Instead, put money into stickers, business cards, online flyers, other types of promotion without handing out your $25 t-shirts. Trust me, those kids will end up BUYING those shirts from you, rather than just take them for free.

Another thing I tell more mature startup brands who are seriously considering the career is make a trip to a tradeshow near you. Besides Magic, Pool, and Project in the States, we also have Agenda and a handful of others. This is the absolute BEST networking grounds for the industry. Get yourself in somehow and meet your heroes and peers all under the same roof. We've met some of our best friends in the industry through tradeshows, and have built our brands together from there.

Sorry I don't get to visit the HB forums as much anymore, but I'll try to answer anymore questions you have as soon as I sign back on again.

Good luck. Have fun. We all start doing this type of stuff because it's fun, so when the cut-throat business, the hate, the lack of income, and all the other reality sets in, remember why you did it to begin with.

[jimmaye]

^^good stuff.

[etcetera]

im loving this thread right now, thanks you guys...

[jimmaye]

im loving this thread right now, thanks you guys...

yeah it's good to see people actually sticking to the topic & trying to give helpful advice.

[homi]

aiyo thanks bobby for droppin those nuggets of wisdom

i think i may already have some of the advice that ur referring to , but ill definetly have more questions for you in the future, and ill probably get at you through e-mail when the time comes.

I think the most important and obvious point u made was that outside of this world of news blogs, forums, and hypebeasters, is a forgotten customer. That person who walks in a store, and grabs the shirts he likes, without ever thinking twice about the brand, and in a way thats the most pure form of streetwear imo. just buying fly shit without thinking too much about it

i got a friend who i knew all through high school, i bumped into him recently and he had stussy jeans, and had bought some tees and a BBC hoody, and i was suprised that he had found all this , (i showed him a store) and bought things on his own without the internet as any sort of influence.

That being said, im glad some of those with experience or part of the older guard are willing to help out new cats that are attempting to come up. I see the elitism and cliques, and its inevitible that they exist, but everyone needs some good advice, and a helping hand , and that is what keeps the community tight and more importantly growing. At the end of the day, the more people that can survive off this lifestyle, and put food on the table, the better things will be in the future. If people can save new cats some grief and give em some tough lough or honest critique, then they are helping the industry in general, keeping it indepedent and in OUR hands.

anyway im ranting now, but i hope more people step through with some advice, its hard to get honest opinions these days since "everyone claims to be an expert" , and HB is more like hatebeast, but lets try and keep this thread positive

[Tronics]

Wow!

Someone actually wants to help, this scene is really changing for the better!

Good looks.

[2Fresh2Clean]

Wow there are some real jewels that have been dropped on this post! This information is priceless to someone like me who is developing a label. People in my area are so concerned that you might come up and past them that they hate or give bad advise. Let's keep the flow of information going and POSITIVE!

[unltd.]

This is some great information...really, something good to look over if trying to step in the door..

[BonitaApplebum]

Has anyone here printed an entire run of shirts and then realized they didn't like the design/how it came out? What did you do with it after? I mean, did you scrap the design all together, or did you fix the original design and reprint it?

[steppingrazor]

^well i had a printer print our shirts on crappy gildan shirts and i made him take them back because that was not what i asked for.

bobby i know deep down you still like coming on here :) .

i want to elaborate on the "being yourself" thing. bobby is absolutely right about "be(ing) passionate about it and people will see it" confidence in your product and the reasons behind it will influence other people (including the buyers of stores) and in turn that will influence your customers because they are getting most of their info on a brand from the store that sells it (believe it or not, not too many people read blogs). Yeah you may sell some product if you have a hot shirt one season, but if there is no heart or spirit behind the brand, how far is that going to carry you?

Image is absolute in creating a brand, and those who know me know how adamant i am about that kind of stuff. Creating a clothing brand is to represent a lifestyle or simply just a style. But to create a sincerely loyal following of customers, your brand needs to convey an image about who the wearer is. If you are just following trends and such, you may get someone hyped about your brand for the moment, but the second you decide to hop onto the next thing they may not want to wear your brand anymore. It all goes back to the being true to yourself thing and coming up with a signature style that is rooted in the personalities of the people behind it. Like ive told bobby before, the influences behind his shirts may change, but they are always coming from something that is relevant to HIM. So even if he does a T&C shirt one season and the next something completely sideways from that, it still fits the brand's image because it is consistantly bobby's design.

Look at LRG. I know some of you act like the light that is LRG will turn you to dust like vampires if you look at it, but seriously, they did shit on their own terms. Regardless of the stores they are carried in and the people who rock it now, they have been true to the style they started out with since day 1. Obviously their cut and sew has matured, but at the same time, you can look at a piece that they put out and immediately identify it as LRG. They are running shit right now because they CREATED the trend they are riding. they stuck it out with a signature style and waited for the masses to catch up to them. Even tho they are mainstream and I wouldnt ever wear it anymore, i cant hate on them, simply for the fact that they didnt comprimise their image for the sake of sales (because at one time, they werent huge, and their owner didnt act like zoolander....they were just like you). Thats still brand loyalty, even if im not buying the product. Im not a detractor and therefore staying loyal to something i used to be into, i just matured and wouldnt wear their clothes now. i gotta get to the shop, i could go on for hours but im gonna take a break.

Graham

[DUM]

Stepping, on the versus site...is 'fall 2006' your stuff? The link doesnt work :(

[steppingrazor]

^yeah thats my stuff...i did the website too. the link should pop up a little password window. if it doesnt its not really too much of a deal cuz theres nothing uploaded from the line onto the site yet.

also another thing i wanted to say about starting a brand (and this could be for any scene, industry, whatever).

DO YOUR MOTHERFUCKING HOMEWORK!

Also, respect your elders and the people who have come up before you- Stay humble. Its ok to be confident in your designs, but remember theres always someone doing doper shit than you. Some people call that paying dues, but in this world, the better you do something, the less dues you have to pay. All im saying is keep your head on your shoulders and dont let your head swell. Dont hate on the kids starting out (obviously you guys are starting out so it doesnt really apply, but you have to remember this when you get huge, haha), you were the same once, whether you like to admit it or not. You can hate on kids trying to act a fool tho. haha.

Know your market. If you are making designs that have already become popular styles, dont try to sell to commissary or union. go for active or urban outfitters. you'll probably get richer quicker, just look at teenage millionaire and those 'jesus is my homeboy' shirts. RAKING in the cash.

*edit

Also, look at stussy. Although they fluctuate between different styles on some of their pieces, they have a signature style. they are quite mainstream and very easy to get, but they still get crazy respect from EVERYONE. because they stayed true to their image and style and now has almost gained classic status. its a damn institution now. if they hadnt stuck with their style, i doubt theyd still be as strong as they are today.

[andrew3sixteen]

homi-

sorry i got in on this late... dont know what i can share that will be lots of use but i will give it a go.

online vs boutiques: i cant front, digital gravel and giant peach gave us a lot of exposure with both consumers and other retail stores. the reach they have is pretty insane - and that goes even more so now. DG has an empire and they hit thousands of people. you cant deny the power behind it.

with that said, my first accounts were local spots. our first store ever was leaders 1354 in chicago (where i was living at the time). it was so valuable for me to be able to drop stuff off in person, build with the guys there, get some insight from people who were inthe dunstry longer than me, and get honest feedback on how the product was doing. we didnt land the online retailers till our second season. i owe a lot to our physical stores, because they are the ones educating consumers and building a strong local buzz for you. its wise (if you have the time) to build solid relationships with them. honestly, there is a lot of dope product out right now. what will separate you from all the other lines out is your ability to sell your passion and vision to them in person, because it'll be contagious. physical stores educate your consumers in ways onlines stores cant always do, and can help your brand out quite a bit.

legal: we incorporated and trademarked right away, which kinda sucked from a cost standpoint. we made a few financial mistakes from the start, and if i were to do it all over again, i would just incorporate and worry about trademarking after the line starts to take off. i mean you should worry about people biting your logo, but the fact is that it usually doesnt happen in our industry (it gets really frowned upon). unwise spending is the biggest downfall for small businesses. be very careful how you spend money your first 6-12 months.

connection building: hard to say - what works for some doesnt do so well for others. for me, it's just been a natural progression.... real recognizes real. i can tell when people are patronizing me and when they are being decent people. you can't be friends with everyone, but you dont have to be enemies with anyone (unless you want to i guess haha). just keeping your head down and doing good work will yield valuable relationships along the way - i know this might not sound so helpful, but that's what i've found.

[2Fresh2Clean]

^^ Any, no ALL, of your experiences that you shared are very valuable to all of us who are trying to make it! I was wondering about that whole Trademarking and Incorporating thing. Do I need a lawer to incorporate?

[SayWord]

Off the top of my head, I think of brands like NBHD, Scifen, UpperPlayground/Fifty24SF, Rebel 8, Five Four, Wtaps, Ssur, J.Money. These are all different brands (some are huge, some have a very specific core audience, some are limited in Japan), but the one thing they have in common is that they are all VERY big in the streets yet they have very little online hype.

what streets you come from? not around here, *****s never even heard of them.

[bnj]

what streets you come from? not around here, *****s never even heard of them.

youve never seen upperplayground stuff?

[steppingrazor]

streetwear doesnt always revolve around trife blocks.

[2Fresh2Clean]

Here's a question: How do you determine [set] prices for your shirts? And get stores to pay the retail price I want? In the past I had to sell my shirts on consignment, and when my stuff started to really sell well, the owner would not renegotiate a new deal to buy my stuff at retail. Basically he did not want to take a risk. Any thoughts?

[andrew3sixteen]

put your foot down. when i started my line, i decided that under no circumstances would i sell my items on consignment. unless you are close by the store, you cant accurately monitor what is selling, how well it is selling, and figure out whether they really sold it or just declared a few items "lost or stolen" (rare but i've heard it happen to some people). you may lose out on some good opportunities to get into stores that you like, but here's how i feel about consignment...

usually its just free product to them. granted there are some stores who are super careful about what they bring in (consignment or not) but to many stores, they can just leave it out on the shelves with no real motivation to sell it. if they really like your stuff, they will take a risk and pre-pay for it... which in my opinion gives them more of an incentive to push it. that's the reason why i won't sell to a store on consignment. and to be honest, almost every store that appproaches us to open an account has never asked for it. they respect the position we're in and are willing to give it a shot.

have confidence in your product. if stores can sense you are willing to do consignment (i.e. you drop that hint in desperation mode) they will pick up on it and will either not mess with it or will ask for consignment. if they wont buy it or move over from consignment to prepay, then pull your product. better for it to end up in the right places where people believe in it and will give it the right push.

Here's a question: How do you determine [set] prices for your shirts? And get stores to pay the retail price I want? In the past I had to sell my shirts on consignment, and when my stuff started to really sell well, the owner would not renegotiate a new deal to buy my stuff at retail. Basically he did not want to take a risk. Any thoughts?

[Theseventhletter]

ive always wanted to start my own brand and as of now ive had on eoff tees printed up and customized jeans and shoes i was wondering whats the best path for someone who wants to get into the industry when theyre not in a location that the scene thrives in (i.e. NYC LA ) i know through hypebast ive learned alot but i really want to meet people and hopefully get a mentor in the industry but out here in orlando theres one over priced crappy fashion program and noone into the scene who can teach me somehtings so any advice?

[GORILLARMS]

put your foot down. when i started my line, i decided that under no circumstances would i sell my items on consignment. unless you are close by the store, you cant accurately monitor what is selling, how well it is selling, and figure out whether they really sold it or just declared a few items "lost or stolen" (rare but i've heard it happen to some people). you may lose out on some good opportunities to get into stores that you like, but here's how i feel about consignment...

usually its just free product to them. granted there are some stores who are super careful about what they bring in (consignment or not) but to many stores, they can just leave it out on the shelves with no real motivation to sell it. if they really like your stuff, they will take a risk and pre-pay for it... which in my opinion gives them more of an incentive to push it. that's the reason why i won't sell to a store on consignment. and to be honest, almost every store that appproaches us to open an account has never asked for it. they respect the position we're in and are willing to give it a shot.

have confidence in your product. if stores can sense you are willing to do consignment (i.e. you drop that hint in desperation mode) they will pick up on it and will either not mess with it or will ask for consignment. if they wont buy it or move over from consignment to prepay, then pull your product. better for it to end up in the right places where people believe in it and will give it the right push.




You said it right when i first started selling shirts i did alot of consignment in like 5 shop and the shirts all way sale ,but like you said the shop dont believe in it or something.but my shirt sold better then alot of the stuff they had that are big name. but you do got to just put you foot down and said no more consignment .because at the most it just free promotion at best

[steppingrazor]

Here's a question: How do you determine [set] prices for your shirts? And get stores to pay the retail price I want? In the past I had to sell my shirts on consignment, and when my stuff started to really sell well, the owner would not renegotiate a new deal to buy my stuff at retail. Basically he did not want to take a risk. Any thoughts?

your first two questions are interdependant. the retail price will either be double or a little bit more than double wholesale. so if you want your shirts to sell around 24-26 bucks, charge 12 wholesale. however, your wholesale prices should be determined by the price of construction and your own overhead. meaning if your blank tees + printing costs 5 bucks, conventional pricing says you should charge 10-12 bucks for them. however, considering that more and more companies are designer owned and operated, charging a higher price for the designs is common because there is a personal attachment to the design (this is more prevailent in companies where the designs are less brand oriented and more art/design oriented). dont charge as much for a shirt with just a freeware font spelling yoru brand name as you would a shirt with a graphic that you slaved 3 days straight setting up. you will find that you will make more sales being a startup if you have more affordable shirts.

[el chu]

^really helpful! thanks!

[el chu]

This is a question for the indie brands out there. When you guys started out how did you decide the amount of t-shirts to produce for each design?

[danegerous]

I'm gonna throw some things in here too. I'll be the first to admit, I'm super new to this end of the game, but that is why I'm gonna tell you my mistakes more than my knowledge.

the first mistake i made was think that i could design. now, realistically speaking, in school, at home, at work I really could design. when it came to designing logos, band/camp/church shirts, doodling, websites whatever. but when i really started trying to focus my energy into a coherent thought that expressed in limited space my thoughts and feelings and passions, i had a very difficult time.

first i made 12 shirt designs, if i showed them to you all now, you would boo me out of here. then i visited all the shops in CHI and went to the Kobe release party and met a ton of cool peeps including lupe, ian from kicks/hi, dudes from nike, sole collector etc. i then thought i new the game. this is when i made an entire line of crap clothing.

Let me explain further. My designs themselves weren't crap, though some may disagree, I happened to like them. however, my mindset while created them was. i wanted to make designs that fit with the hip-hop, whatever crowd i was seeing. i didn't make clothes for me. i used crappy clothing manufacturers, and crappy designs with crappy marketing and sales.

I ended up doing well, but not as well as i could have.

so here it is, my list of things to rememeber.

1. Take time to perfect your designs. Make them personal, original and perfect.

2. Do TONS of research and find a GREAT printer. Make sure he has everything you want at his disposal, or at least is willing to get it. Make sure he is prompt and honest and accurate. You never want to turn in clothing late or of bad quality. The retailer doesn't care who screwed up, it's your fault.

3. Do research for the PERFECT garment. Buy one of each if you have to, heck even one of every color and/or weight. Make your clothing wisely. One of the biggest complaints I got was my T's were too wide and short and my hoodies were too small. regardless of how much people like my new designs, if they fit like crap, they won't buy em. (by the way, I am changing my shirts and hoodies for this next line)

4. Do good marketing. Remember, everything you do someone will see. All PR is important. Make appearances and give out TONS of free stuff. People love that. Do fashion shows, too. Don't give away free stuff to people who ask, though. Only people who aren't expecting it. And watch out for friends, they WILL bancrupt you. My rule is the first run of any design 25% are for handouts to people I know or whatever. 25% are for promo handouts and the rest go to sales. That should more than make up for it.

5. MAKE COMTRACTS! and keep em! Just last week I got screwed out of over $3,000 from someone that I thought was a good dude. He bought a ton of stuff and we didn't sign a contract. he was late paying and then screwed me. Bad business.

6. Get a good website. Your website is your online storefront, make it good. If it sucks people may never come back.

7. Listen to your mother.

8. Make designs for you, no one else.

9. Be VERY leary of people trying to "join" your business. they all want to be a part to make aasy money. my motto is "don't fuck with my woman or my money, I break jaws for both"

10. have fun. this is super important. it can get very stressful, have a good time.

11. keep GOOD books. stay up on taxes and sales and all that. uncle sam WILL get his whether you like it or not.

12. get a focus group within your target audience that will give you honest upfront opinions, and test your product on them...but don't forget to reward them...or they may leave.

13. make goals and stay focused. follow through.

14, dont be scared. i was terrified of contacting someone for months, i finally did, now HUGE things are happening, you'll see.


that's about all for right now, i hope my mistakes will help you guys...and stay tuned for the fall 2006 Great Dane line!


And as far as how many tshirts, thats hard. you never want too many or too little. you WILL end up sitting on extra clothes. no big deal, eat it. then give it to family and friends.

[2Fresh2Clean]

^^ Great advise bro!!

[danegerous]

thanks, it's the least i can do...

[Theseventhletter]

great advice everyone someone should sticky this

[nak1]

there has been a lot of great advice to those wanting to start up a brand or shirt line and I understand that most of it can be applied to starting up a store, however, is there any advice that can be given to those of use wanting to open a boutique?

Some questions I can think of....

- Starting up accounts... how? how many? payment?
- Order sizes... How much do you order? (i understand this is very dependant of your scene and the success of your biz.)
- Location... cost of space vs. accessability.
- Store brand... should you press up your own line right away or wait until your better off.

Just a couple of questions... I do have a couple of friends in the industry that can provide insight but i would like to see what other people think about starting up a boutique.

[el chu]

^great tips dangerous

[steppingrazor]

there has been a lot of great advice to those wanting to start up a brand or shirt line and I understand that most of it can be applied to starting up a store, however, is there any advice that can be given to those of use wanting to open a boutique?

Some questions I can think of....

- Starting up accounts... how? how many? payment?
- Order sizes... How much do you order? (i understand this is very dependant of your scene and the success of your biz.)
- Location... cost of space vs. accessability.
- Store brand... should you press up your own line right away or wait until your better off.

Just a couple of questions... I do have a couple of friends in the industry that can provide insight but i would like to see what other people think about starting up a boutique.

i did open a store, but im no expert, and i myself would hesitate to call my store a success yet...but heres some pseudo answers:

email the companies you want to carry and tell them why your store is worth their time. be humble and respectful. how many is dependent on your budget and how focused you want your selection to be. even within the 9 months since we've opened our shop things have changed rapidly as to how popular these types of brands have become. we opened our store carrying brands like the hundreds, 10 deep, mishka, king stampede, among others because those are the brands that we believed in and we could get behind personally. but at the time we werent sure that a shipment would sell out. you just have to order stuff you know the kids would definately buy, but make sure you have a certain amount of your order set aside for things that would surprise them, and are a bit off the wall, because thats why people like boutiques, they like the surprise of seeing something new.

GO FOR THE CHEAPEST SPOT POSSIBLE without being in a really bad area. in this business people are used to searching for the store, and that even adds to the appeal. just find a spot that fits what youre trying to accomplish and turn it the fuck out.

doing a "line" can be costly if youre only selling it in your shop. definately press up some shirts tho. free advertising + large profit margins?? no brainer. JUST MAKE SURE YOUR SHIRTS ARE AS DOPE AS YOUR SHOP. nothing worse than a dope shop with crap shirts. ruins the image.

[supreme being]

i did open a store, but im no expert, and i myself would hesitate to call my store a success yet...but heres some pseudo answers:

email the companies you want to carry and tell them why your store is worth their time. be humble and respectful. how many is dependent on your budget and how focused you want your selection to be. even within the 9 months since we've opened our shop things have changed rapidly as to how popular these types of brands have become. we opened our store carrying brands like the hundreds, 10 deep, mishka, king stampede, among others because those are the brands that we believed in and we could get behind personally. but at the time we werent sure that a shipment would sell out. you just have to order stuff you know the kids would definately buy, but make sure you have a certain amount of your order set aside for things that would surprise them, and are a bit off the wall, because thats why people like boutiques, they like the surprise of seeing something new.

GO FOR THE CHEAPEST SPOT POSSIBLE without being in a really bad area. in this business people are used to searching for the store, and that even adds to the appeal. just find a spot that fits what youre trying to accomplish and turn it the fuck out.

doing a "line" can be costly if youre only selling it in your shop. definately press up some shirts tho. free advertising + large profit margins?? no brainer. JUST MAKE SURE YOUR SHIRTS ARE AS DOPE AS YOUR SHOP. nothing worse than a dope shop with crap shirts. ruins the image.

Now that sounds like the most real adivce on this thread yet , down to making your own shirts as dope as your shop."in this business people are used to searching for the store, and that even adds to the appeal" ,"just find a spot that fits what youre trying to accomplish and turn it the fuck out " seems so true ! that makes alot of fucking sense

[BonitaApplebum]

This is for the clothing companies...did you get a tax id right away, or wait for a couple of lines to drop and see how they were received before making it official like that? My father owns his own store and he said the tax id was the FIRST thing you should do, but I'm not so sure about that in this scene.

[steppingrazor]

owning a store and owning a clothing company are a completely different arena. owning a store means you deal with the city and county on an official level, or else you cant get a permit to open the store. so having a tax id is required. making shirts can still be done without any interferance, because it is pretty much a cottage industry. once you feel you are at a point where you need to get one, then do it. however some wholesalers require a tax id number so it doesnt hurt to get one right off the bat. its not like its hard or expensive to get one.

Now that sounds like the most real adivce on this thread yet

thanks for the complement. theres alot of good info from other people on this thread too tho.

GO FOR THE CHEAPEST SPOT POSSIBLE without being in a really bad area. in this business people are used to searching for the store, and that even adds to the appeal. just find a spot that fits what youre trying to accomplish and turn it the fuck out.

i actually want to say that being in a good spot isnt a bad thing. it just depends on what the store you are trying to open is like. if you are trying to sell girls stuff, or stuff that the rich crowd in your area is going to buy, a nicer location is beneficial. with guys, especially coolhunting type kids, its better to be in the cut, because your rent is lower, allowing you to stay in business with a more niche market.

[jaywalkent]

great advice. this should really be stickied!!! for industry people: when u were first starting out, how many items did u try to sell to retailers to put in their shops?

[SayWord]

youve never seen upperplayground stuff?

I live in CHARLOTTE, NC. There IS NO STREETWEAR SCENE HERE. If you really want to make it big, make your styles available to the south, there is a HUGE market here, but yall *****s are sleeping.

[jaywalkent]

I live in CHARLOTTE, NC. There IS NO STREETWEAR SCENE HERE. If you really want to make it big, make your styles available to the south, there is a HUGE market here, but yall *****s are sleeping.

that sux but could also be a good thing. check it out, im moving up to davidson for college (like 20min away from charlotte) and was hoping that the scene would be better there than it is down here in arkansas. but it might be a blessing also so when i try to get my line off the ground there wont be a whole bunch with similar styles. iono tho

[steppingrazor]

as far as the south is concerned..i know theres some stores that carry the stuff in the south, but its few and far between... but if there were enough people that were into it, dont you think someone would be opening a store that carries the brands? usually demand spurs development. alot of the people running these companies arent going to sell to a store that doesnt fit their image just cuz they want to get some product into a certain area.

[doloveira]

I live in CHARLOTTE, NC. There IS NO STREETWEAR SCENE HERE. If you really want to make it big, make your styles available to the south, there is a HUGE market here, but yall *****s are sleeping.

haha yep. they got that Niche (www.thenichemarket.com) spot down your way. i've never been though, how is it?

[danegerous]

tax id, you don't need to necessarily get the fed id, you can use your soc, too...and you dont have to incorporate, you can operate under an assumed name, costs $5 and is legal. then you can open checking accounts credit cards and all that.

but to get investors, i would recommend incorporating...maybe a sub s. save the legal responsibility from you, puts it on the corporation...

[unltd.]

tax id, you don't need to necessarily get the fed id, you can use your soc, too...and you dont have to incorporate, you can operate under an assumed name, costs $5 and is legal. then you can open checking accounts credit cards and all that.

but to get investors, i would recommend incorporating...maybe a sub s. save the legal responsibility from you, puts it on the corporation...

I'll do the bolded first, and move on to what's stated in the second paragraph if I grow way more successful...

[nak1]

i did open a store, but im no expert, and i myself would hesitate to call my store a success yet...but heres some pseudo answers:

email the companies you want to carry and tell them why your store is worth their time. be humble and respectful. how many is dependent on your budget and how focused you want your selection to be. even within the 9 months since we've opened our shop things have changed rapidly as to how popular these types of brands have become. we opened our store carrying brands like the hundreds, 10 deep, mishka, king stampede, among others because those are the brands that we believed in and we could get behind personally. but at the time we werent sure that a shipment would sell out. you just have to order stuff you know the kids would definately buy, but make sure you have a certain amount of your order set aside for things that would surprise them, and are a bit off the wall, because thats why people like boutiques, they like the surprise of seeing something new.

GO FOR THE CHEAPEST SPOT POSSIBLE without being in a really bad area. in this business people are used to searching for the store, and that even adds to the appeal. just find a spot that fits what youre trying to accomplish and turn it the fuck out.

doing a "line" can be costly if youre only selling it in your shop. definately press up some shirts tho. free advertising + large profit margins?? no brainer. JUST MAKE SURE YOUR SHIRTS ARE AS DOPE AS YOUR SHOP. nothing worse than a dope shop with crap shirts. ruins the image.

Big up for the good advice... im still trying to figure out what I want to do, open a spot or stick with my current J.O.

[danegerous]

the way i figure it is, "go out on a limb. After all, that's where the fruit is". ya know? take a chance, throw some money out there. maybe you'll lose it. but maybe you wont. even if you do, when you're 50 and sitting at a desk you can say you gave it a valiant effort, something 95% of other people can't.

[Pure Life]

the way i figure it is, "go out on a limb. After all, that's where the fruit is". ya know? take a chance, throw some money out there. maybe you'll lose it. but maybe you wont. even if you do, when you're 50 and sitting at a desk you can say you gave it a valiant effort, something 95% of other people can't.

personaly, the going out on a limb thing is what got me into to streetware and set fire to my homeweaved wallet.

but its a good idea.

[Hybrid Moments]

All of this is true, especially the money part. YOU WILL LOSE MONEY. ALOT OF IT. But, if you lose it smart, then it'll come back. Don't get discouraged. Stick with it.

Bobby and steppingrazor- great guys, great knowledge. Thanks!

[danegerous]

and probably the two most important things...

1. don't get high off your own stuff - if you use your own stuff, that's money out the door...

2. don't steal from the company - keep EVERYTHING seperate. don't get hung up on "business dinners" and "advertising". that will quickly turn to mcdonalds and new shoes.

[steppingrazor]

ahhh youre taking all the fun out of write offs man!

[Theseventhletter]

great advice guys

[2Fresh2Clean]

Someone asked before... How many shirts should you start your line off with? And in how many shirt colors? I am aiming to start off with 4 to 5 designs (1 of them being strictly a logo tee), but if I make 5 desings, 30 prints, in 3 tee colors, that is 450 shirts!! That is alot of shirts for a start up label, with almost no exposure, to sell. What should I do? Please give your 2 cents

[danegerous]

Someone asked before... How many shirts should you start your line off with? And in how many shirt colors? I am aiming to start off with 4 to 5 designs (1 of them being strictly a logo tee), but if I make 5 desings, 30 prints, in 3 tee colors, that is 450 shirts!! That is alot of shirts for a start up label, with almost no exposure, to sell. What should I do? Please give your 2 cents

that's the problem dude. the deal is, most printers will print min of 24 per DESIGN, not per color. so, 5 designs, 24 prints per design is 120. much easier than 450...just divide your 3 colors into those 24 prints...ie-8 per color...

[2Fresh2Clean]

^^ Thanks for that info Danegerous. Should I even bother including small, medium and XXXL in my size run? I was just going to do L to XXL, Is that reasonable?

[DUM]

You can't cut out the mediums. People complain enough that some companies don't produce smalls. But it depends on your audience.

[danegerous]

my first run i did s-xl. then my second run i did s-xxxl

i found out through my first run what people wanted and how much of it. i did very few smalls, a few more mediums and a bunch of L and XL. smalls went, but there wasnt much demand for em otherwise. my basic thought is 90% of the sales are L-XXL, then M and XXXL, then S. even for retailers.

[DUM]

I think with 'streetwear' brands, M is more important than XXL. Lots of brands don't do XXL.

[unltd.]

I'm gonna throw some things in here too. I'll be the first to admit, I'm super new to this end of the game, but that is why I'm gonna tell you my mistakes more than my knowledge.

the first mistake i made was think that i could design. now, realistically speaking, in school, at home, at work I really could design. when it came to designing logos, band/camp/church shirts, doodling, websites whatever. but when i really started trying to focus my energy into a coherent thought that expressed in limited space my thoughts and feelings and passions, i had a very difficult time.

first i made 12 shirt designs, if i showed them to you all now, you would boo me out of here. then i visited all the shops in CHI and went to the Kobe release party and met a ton of cool peeps including lupe, ian from kicks/hi, dudes from nike, sole collector etc. i then thought i new the game. this is when i made an entire line of crap clothing.

Let me explain further. My designs themselves weren't crap, though some may disagree, I happened to like them. however, my mindset while created them was. i wanted to make designs that fit with the hip-hop, whatever crowd i was seeing. i didn't make clothes for me. i used crappy clothing manufacturers, and crappy designs with crappy marketing and sales.

I ended up doing well, but not as well as i could have.

so here it is, my list of things to rememeber.

1. Take time to perfect your designs. Make them personal, original and perfect.

2. Do TONS of research and find a GREAT printer. Make sure he has everything you want at his disposal, or at least is willing to get it. Make sure he is prompt and honest and accurate. You never want to turn in clothing late or of bad quality. The retailer doesn't care who screwed up, it's your fault.

3. Do research for the PERFECT garment. Buy one of each if you have to, heck even one of every color and/or weight. Make your clothing wisely. One of the biggest complaints I got was my T's were too wide and short and my hoodies were too small. regardless of how much people like my new designs, if they fit like crap, they won't buy em. (by the way, I am changing my shirts and hoodies for this next line)

4. Do good marketing. Remember, everything you do someone will see. All PR is important. Make appearances and give out TONS of free stuff. People love that. Do fashion shows, too. Don't give away free stuff to people who ask, though. Only people who aren't expecting it. And watch out for friends, they WILL bancrupt you. My rule is the first run of any design 25% are for handouts to people I know or whatever. 25% are for promo handouts and the rest go to sales. That should more than make up for it.

5. MAKE COMTRACTS! and keep em! Just last week I got screwed out of over $3,000 from someone that I thought was a good dude. He bought a ton of stuff and we didn't sign a contract. he was late paying and then screwed me. Bad business.

6. Get a good website. Your website is your online storefront, make it good. If it sucks people may never come back.

7. Listen to your mother.

8. Make designs for you, no one else.

9. Be VERY leary of people trying to "join" your business. they all want to be a part to make aasy money. my motto is "don't fuck with my woman or my money, I break jaws for both"

10. have fun. this is super important. it can get very stressful, have a good time.

11. keep GOOD books. stay up on taxes and sales and all that. uncle sam WILL get his whether you like it or not.

12. get a focus group within your target audience that will give you honest upfront opinions, and test your product on them...but don't forget to reward them...or they may leave.

13. make goals and stay focused. follow through.

14, dont be scared. i was terrified of contacting someone for months, i finally did, now HUGE things are happening, you'll see.


that's about all for right now, i hope my mistakes will help you guys...and stay tuned for the fall 2006 Great Dane line!


And as far as how many tshirts, thats hard. you never want too many or too little. you WILL end up sitting on extra clothes. no big deal, eat it. then give it to family and friends.

This is some good stuff...I'm really absorbing this thread..

[sehota]

www.t-shirtforums.com
may help you answer some questions

[BonitaApplebum]

I think it's really important to do M and XXL. They may not sell as much as the L's and XL's but you have to make the effort to be accessible to almost everyone.

[rasclaaat]

I've worked in this so-called "streetwear" industry for about 10 years now, from before dunks blew up, before LRG was started, and before a lot of the brands that get mentioned on here were even conceived (except maybe 10deep!)...and the best advice I have to give...(which is a lot of what got me to where I'm at today, ie actually making a living off of this) is this: Go and intern for an established streetwear company. The experience you'll pick up, even if they have you packing boxes, will be invaluable. You'll naturally make connections and broaden your network. Next thing you know, you'll be down with a lot of accounts, screen printers, magazines, and so on. This experience will probably change what you thought was cool in the first place, and help you define your own brand's style and image all the better. If you don't live in or near one of the streetwear meccas where these companies are based, figure out how to get to one...

[persia]

Do S to XXL. The bulk of your size run should be L and XL, but you should have a few smalls for all those dudes that like tight fitting tees.

[DUM]

I like printing my own stuff...it's fun sometimes, but I'm no expert with it. I don't plan on charging any extra because it's 'hand-printed'...so should I keep printing everything myself? or pay pro's to do it right? Or maybe hand-print some stuff?

[New Jacker]

Do S to XXL. The bulk of your size run should be L and XL, but you should have a few smalls for all those dudes that like tight fitting tees.

Don't think that L and XL dominate the market fo everyone. I'd bet there are quite a few brands out there who do better with medium than XL.



I've worked in this so-called "streetwear" industry for about 10 years now, from before dunks blew up, before LRG was started, and before a lot of the brands that get mentioned on here were even conceived (except maybe 10deep!)...and the best advice I have to give...(which is a lot of what got me to where I'm at today, ie actually making a living off of this) is this: Go and intern for an established streetwear company. The experience you'll pick up, even if they have you packing boxes, will be invaluable. You'll naturally make connections and broaden your network. Next thing you know, you'll be down with a lot of accounts, screen printers, magazines, and so on. This experience will probably change what you thought was cool in the first place, and help you define your own brand's style and image all the better. If you don't live in or near one of the streetwear meccas where these companies are based, figure out how to get to one...

the thread should be locked after this. That's basically all the advice you need starting out in a nutshell.

[danegerous]

I like printing my own stuff...it's fun sometimes, but I'm no expert with it. I don't plan on charging any extra because it's 'hand-printed'...so should I keep printing everything myself? or pay pro's to do it right? Or maybe hand-print some stuff?

when you sit down and really think about the value of your time, it will make more sense to have them printed. It may take you an entire evening to print 15 shirts...that evening could have been spent at parties, events, openings, dinners, whatever. All the while, the pro printer is doing a fantastic job and sewing in your tags. so, tomorrow morning you go pick up the stuff and it's done and done right. and now you have 7 more contacts. heck i met a TON of people through my printer, including kanye, GLC, Zo from Fashion Geek. imagine if i never got a printer.

aside from that, they keep your screens and keep em in good shape. and if they mess up, they fix it. and they may even deliver if youre too far. i also learned SO much about printing, cut n sew and all that through them.

and as far as XXXL and all that. there are some big dudes out there that need bigger sizes, not just little dudes that where big stuff...same with S, some people are just smaller, or even girls may wanna copa dude shirt.

[Brick James]

I think with 'streetwear' brands, M is more important than XXL. Lots of brands don't do XXL.

This is very true, for a larger consumer such as myself U find it harder to get a lot of what I want, but when I do find brands that cater to the bigger man and make stuff i like, I tend to support them out of appreciation.


If i wake up 50 lbs lighter tomorrow, dont know how much my opinion will change tho.

by support i mean, buy from them and also sing their praises to friends and such, b/c i like the company.

[Hybrid Moments]

My new shit, M thru XXL.

And a few customs for my XXXL boys.

[doloveira]

my rule is if they dont got 2xl i aint coppin. i tried to wing it with an xl bape shirt last year and was upset. the length was perfect, but the sleeves were way too short.

[2Fresh2Clean]

But won't printing on an XXL or XXXL change the original look of the shirt? Meaning that won't you have to make a bigger screen to keep the proportions right on the shirt, know what I mean?

[DUM]

just wont look as big on a xxl..but shouldn't be that bad.

[homi]

yeah, thats the price ppl pay for being so fat LOL

[emmanuelabor]

quite knockin us fat people

[2Fresh2Clean]

It's not even a fat thing, but also for vertically gifted people (unlike myself). I have a friend you would love my shirts if he could wear them (he's 6'8" 285). My XL or XXL tee is not going to cut it!

Here's another question: Do any of you purchase your screens from your printers? I know some of them will store them for you, but for how long? What is to stop them from making more tees on the side, wouldn't this protect your product?

[SayWord]

haha yep. they got that Niche (www.thenichemarket.com) spot down your way. i've never been though, how is it?


WOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD


THANKS MAN!!!!!!!!!!!

[BonitaApplebum]

yeah, thats the price ppl pay for being so fat LOL

that's fucked. pretend for a sec that you're a bigger guy (in any sense...fat, tall, muscular, etc.) and you see a hot shirt that you'd love to have, and then you can't buy it, or ANY of the shirts from that company, because they're too lazy/cheap/concerned with making $ to make them in your size. how would you feel then?

it's really easy to make a couple extra shirts in different sizes to accomodate anyone who would want to buy them, especially considering that THEY'RE giving YOU business/$. I think anyone who would care about their customers, the reason why their business would grow in the first place, would do anything they could to make them happy. It's really just a good business move, above anything else.

As for the size of the image, the difference between a Medium and an XXL is about 5-6 inches, so just make an image that would look good on both sizes.

[dj analog]

that's fucked. pretend for a sec that you're a bigger guy (in any sense...fat, tall, muscular, etc.) and you see a hot shirt that you'd love to have, and then you can't buy it, or ANY of the shirts from that company, because they're too lazy/cheap/concerned with making $ to make them in your size. how would you feel then?

it's really easy to make a couple extra shirts in different sizes to accomodate anyone who would want to buy them, especially considering that THEY'RE giving YOU business/$. I think anyone who would care about their customers, the reason why their business would grow in the first place, would do anything they could to make them happy. It's really just a good business move, above anything else.

As for the size of the image, the difference between a Medium and an XXL is about 5-6 inches, so just make an image that would look good on both sizes.

I agree 100 %, There is really no excuse for companies to deny larger people from rocking something they like. I understand that tee's larger than XL tend to cost more, but at the same time there is a huge demographic (especially in the US) of large people. It's almost like 2XL is the new Large.
I put all my paychecks toward my line (www.urbanempirebrand.com)
and I spend the extra $.50 or $1.00 the larger tees might cost.
Currently I provide M-2XL, but have done custom orders for many 3XL and even 4XL Talls. So whatever the case may be, I think companies in general should always look out for their customers best interests, and try and provide them with what they are asking for considering it isnt a difficult or expensive task to accomplish.

[DUM]

For independent brands, that extra money to get hose bigger sizes does matter...it adds up. And I don't think the demand in the streetwear brands is really enough to go past XXL.

[bnj]

our 10 deep stock,.. 3XL is usually the 1st to go....

[OLDEST JEEZY]

our 10 deep stock,.. 3XL is usually the 1st to go....

u gotta make 3x if u stop at xl it shows wat a cheap prick u are

[Brick James]

Even though bigger sizes might cost more, the way americans are getting bigger and the small amount of companies who make bigger sizes, if you(the general you) make bigger sizes, you not only tap into a somewhat unreached market, but you create loyal customers. If a guy needs 3xl and only 10-20 companies make hot 3xl shirts, hes going to those companies consistantly.

[danegerous]

Even though bigger sizes might cost more, the way americans are getting bigger and the small amount of companies who make bigger sizes, if you(the general you) make bigger sizes, you not only tap into a somewhat unreached market, but you create loyal customers. If a guy needs 3xl and only 10-20 companies make hot 3xl shirts, hes going to those companies consistantly.

bingo. it's not a huge deal. i sold TONS of 2x/3x shirts...TONS. They practically paid for my spring line alone...

[JSF]

our 10 deep stock,.. 3XL is usually the 1st to go....

2XL's at our shop are usually the first to go. But thats because we order very very VERY FEW of them.

[homi]

that's fucked. pretend for a sec that you're a bigger guy (in any sense...fat, tall, muscular, etc.) and you see a hot shirt that you'd love to have, and then you can't buy it, or ANY of the shirts from that company, because they're too lazy/cheap/concerned with making $ to make them in your size. how would you feel then?

it's really easy to make a couple extra shirts in different sizes to accomodate anyone who would want to buy them, especially considering that THEY'RE giving YOU business/$. I think anyone who would care about their customers, the reason why their business would grow in the first place, would do anything they could to make them happy. It's really just a good business move, above anything else.

As for the size of the image, the difference between a Medium and an XXL is about 5-6 inches, so just make an image that would look good on both sizes.

i dont care if companies make XXXL, i think most companies should, but i know some big doods, and i dont think theres that many ppl who cant at least squeeze into a XXL, unless they like their fits to fit alot loooser

[DUM]

our 10 deep stock,.. 3XL is usually the 1st to go....
well you have less 3x's than larges, mediums and xl's right?

[bnj]

not by a large margin, we have alot of 2/3x people come in.
like for every 10 larges, theres 8 3x. nd XL we usually get more of

[el chu]

Can some one recommend a good screen printer to me, preferably in the Bay Area? If not in the Bay Area that's ok too. I tried Graphic Sportswear in SF but their prices are too expensive. Any suggestions is appreciated!

[emmanuelabor]

i dont care if companies make XXXL, i think most companies should, but i know some big doods, and i dont think theres that many ppl who cant at least squeeze into a XXL, unless they like their fits to fit alot loooser
i wouldnt be caught dead in a XXL

theres ALOT of hot shirts out there that I'd buy if they came in a 3X or larger. I know with these types of brands, the demand isnt that great, but a dozen or so out of a full run of T's dosent seem like it would hurt the bottom line....I'd be willing to pay extra for certain shirts in a 3-4X

but thats just me

PS. shouts to Triumvir for the love they showed me way back when

[homi]

can someone answer my question about the distribution. I see many brands have distributors for geographical territories

i assume distributors have connections with stores, and such, but most brands are pretty small , and i dont see why they can't just directly sell to store without a distributor. Also they'd have to pay their distributors money, for something they could do themselves.

why are they neccesary? when brands can sell it themselves directly and probably save money doing it that way?

[el chu]

^I would like to know as well. For those like 3Sixteen that sold to their local spots. How did you approach them? I'm sure you didn't just walk in the store one day and said want to buy my shit?

[Gone Corporate]

^I would like to know as well. For those like 3Sixteen that sold to their local spots. How did you approach them? I'm sure you didn't just walk in the store one day and said want to buy my shit?

I'm not as established as The Hundreds, Mighty Healthy, Mishka, 3sixteen, etc., so I haven't done trade shows yet, but sometimes as an up & coming brand thats what you do. Go down to the local spots w/ your catalogue & some samples so they can see the quality & just sit & talk for a minute. If you got good product then the store might be willing to work something out w/ you.

As corny as this might sound, myspace has been a great tool for me. Some of the popular boutiques have pages and you can shoot them messages w/ images or links to your product. If they like it they'll get back to you.

I got much respect for Graham over at Versus (www.versusstore.com) & Jay over at 5 & A Dime (www.5andadime.com) who have given me the opportunity to have my product along side some of your favorite brands.

[dj analog]

I have a question on Copyrights, Trademarks, LLCs, etc.
Im wondering what small businesses who are just starting out might do when it comes to the legality of a business.
Is at simple as just filling out the "visual art works" forms at copyright.gov ?
What im trying to do is copyright or trademark a name, and have all the designs i produce under that name protected as well.
Any help would be appreciated.

[bnj]

^I would like to know as well. For those like 3Sixteen that sold to their local spots. How did you approach them? I'm sure you didn't just walk in the store one day and said want to buy my shit?

actually,.. alot of brands do that.
all you can really do is have good product you believe in, reasonable prices (ie dont go into a shop that sells $20-$35 priced t shirts trying to slang your t's for 50 bucks wholesale coz its some "limited" shit or something) and be able to talk decently. when people come in acting liek their shit dont stink or come in acting all creepily quiet it makes shit hard.

[el chu]

^ah thanks. Good tips people. I spoke with a t-shirt printer and they told me the minimum per design (1 colorway) was 300 pieces. I don't know if I'd be able to sell them all considering I'm nobody and nobody's heard of my stuff. I'm not even sure if I could afford to produce that number...still waiting for my quote. It'd probably be a bad choice? I don't know!!?? I've talked to so many printers and so many won't do big sized prints/all-over prints. It's wracking my brain!! I need money...

[dj analog]

^ah thanks. Good tips people. I spoke with a t-shirt printer and they told me the minimum per design (1 colorway) was 300 pieces. I don't know if I'd be able to sell them all considering I'm nobody and nobody's heard of my stuff. I'm not even sure if I could afford to produce that number...still waiting for my quote. It'd probably be a bad choice? I don't know!!?? I've talked to so many printers and so many won't do big sized prints/all-over prints. It's wracking my brain!! I need money...

Minimum of 300 sounds crazy. Search Yellowpages.com for printers around your area, Most of them just require a minimum of 50 and some have no minimums.

[el chu]

^Yeah I talked to a number of printers in my area that had low minimums. The problem was they couldn't print the size of the graphic I had.

[danegerous]

^Yeah I talked to a number of printers in my area that had low minimums. The problem was they couldn't print the size of the graphic I had.

maybe they will print the size of the graphic, they just dont have teh equipment...offer to buy it. say, "if i buy you a bigger platform and screen, will screen me bigger images? and can i get slight discount on future prints?"

his business will increase with this new option, so you both win.

[steppingrazor]

if youre not worried about longer turnaround you could find a printer that isnt in your immediate area. you just have to be prepared to deal with a long distance relationship. haha. there is a printer in sacramento that does tank theorys stuff which is good...and theres a printer around the corner from us that does this emo clothing line called exodus, but they do good prints and have the creative capabilities to do weird prints.

[RyanRodriguez]

^well i had a printer print our shirts on crappy gildan shirts and i made him take them back because that was not what i asked for.



Graham
yo whats so bad about gildan??????? I LOVE GILDAN! seriously tho....what kind did you ask for?

[shant]

What do you guys think a good number of shirts is for a fall line? This will be my second time printing up a "season" of shirts, but the first time on my own. I have a lot of designs, but I think having 4-5 solid ones was something good to shoot for. Also, how important is it to have a logo tee?

Also, great advice as has been said by bobbyhundreds and 3sixteen. Thanks.

[steppingrazor]

yo whats so bad about gildan??????? I LOVE GILDAN! seriously tho....what kind did you ask for?

man those things are see through. haha in any case, gildan has different quality levels with their tees. the ones he printed them on were the bottom level ones. we got the ringspun aaa's.

as far as how many shirts you should have.... it depends on how strong your tees are. you should always throw in a couple shirts that you might not be sure of that other people like, because you never know what the buyers might like as well. but having a concentrated line helps build sales and image. if you have too many shirts it can get unfocused and its proven that a line that has less filler will sell more items.

[DUM]

Does King Stampede use Gildan? A Stampede tee I have is about as thin as this tee I've printed. And I think I remember Gildan having dope colors..and KS has nice colored tees.

[RyanRodriguez]

worrrrd up. MAN I LOVE THIS THREAD!....and all you guys...heh...uhhh??(awkward)

This gives me so much more confidence. But yeah for just the first line....how many shirts should you actually make...like 12?.....20?....40?....100? cuz im as baffled as the next guy.

also where do u get the tags for the shirt?

[steppingrazor]

google "hang tags" or go to apparelsearch.com theres alot of good links there. as far as printing, why dont you go around to stores you want to sell to and try to get some orders, then print some stuff. if you want to do it first off, do a small run to get samples to show to stores...then print them up in batches of 72. its usually a cutoff for most printers...and a front hit should only cost you around 4.50 for a 5 color including the shirt if you get that many per design.

[steppingrazor]

Does King Stampede use Gildan? A Stampede tee I have is about as thin as this tee I've printed. And I think I remember Gildan having dope colors..and KS has nice colored tees.

they seem like aaa to me, but who knows. gildan definatly has a better color selection than alstyle.

[shant]

Is there a preferred blank to use? Through wearing different shirts, I like Anvil 6oz tees, but I see a lot of talk in here about Gildan. Sorry if this has been discussed before, I'm new to these forums. Is it known what brand of blank the more respected brands around here use?

[DUM]

Most people will tell you AAA.

[steppingrazor]

aaa is by far the most used right now- hundreds, crooks, foreign fam etc... 10 deep uses something else...feels like a beefy tee....

[shant]

Thanks for the heads up. My wholesale provider did not offer AAA's so this is the first I'm seeing them. I assume they're using the 1701 because it has more colors available, but the 1301 is heavier. Isn't heavier more popular in streetwear?

Another question (I guess I'm gonna have a lot of them), you say The Hundreds and Crooks use them, but I see these purples, light yellows, and lavenders in some of their shirts that I don't see offered on the wholesale sites. Are they taking white AAA's and having them dyed to the colors they want?

[steppingrazor]

no, theyre not. they could have switched....but last time i checked they are using the normal 1301's.

[shant]

AH, I'm a jackass. I was checking out the 1301C. The 1301 has like a million colors available. Anyone, thanks for the tip on these.

[el chu]

Good looking dane and steppingrazor! I heard the difference between 1301 and 1301c are how they are sewed.

[steppingrazor]

no they are the same...the only difference is the 1301 is made under nafta regulations.

[el chu]

Oh ok. I don't know anything about NAFTA. Why would consumers buy the NAFTA friendly t-shirts if it's cheaper to purchase non-NAFTA ones (the same colored t-shirts)?

[steppingrazor]

some larger companies have to or choose to use nafta regulated products. google it.

[homi]

can someone answer my question about the distributors please

[2Fresh2Clean]

Here's another question: Do any of you purchase your screens from your printers? I know some of them will store them for you, but for how long? What is to stop them from making more tees on the side, wouldn't this protect your product?

^^ So, Do any of you do this? Or is it not worth it?

[steppingrazor]

most companies wont do that because they sign a contract with you when you hire them stating they wont use your shit. if they do, you can sue em. as far as distributors are concerned, its all about how well you know an area you are trying to get into, and also, how much time you have on you hands to take care of all those accounts. another advantage is, although this depends on how cool the distributor is, that the distributor may have a better idea of which stores you would like to be into because again, they know the area better. usually if you have a rep for you r company they get 10 percent of wha tthey sell. this is probably what a distributor for small companies would expect as well.

[2Fresh2Clean]

Do they charge to store your screens for you? And how long will they store them for?

[2Fresh2Clean]

Here's another question: Should a new label worry about trying to drop something for all 4 seasons, or just focus on 2 seasons?

[DUM]

^Even some of the bigger brands do spring/summer and fall/winter I think, so you should be ok with two seasons.

[el chu]

^I'd say 2 seasons. I have a question of my own. I'm trying to get these t-shirts made and the graphic I submitted a graphic to my printer. He tells me that I need to send it to another place that separates the artwork, which I have no idea what that means. He says he can't do high end separations. So I go to this other place and I get a quote for this design. They tell me it's $260 for 2 designs that are the same but have different colored text and are on 2 different colored t-shirts. Am I being ripped off? Cause I really don't know what's going on. They tell me the price is for the artwork separation and film output.

[kingkelly]

worrrrd up. MAN I LOVE THIS THREAD!....and all you guys...heh...uhhh??(awkward)

This gives me so much more confidence. But yeah for just the first line....how many shirts should you actually make...like 12?.....20?....40?....100? cuz im as baffled as the next guy.

also where do u get the tags for the shirt?

Check http://bcilabels.com. They have lots of options for different tags. My buddy uses them for his hoodys.

[bnj]

^I'd say 2 seasons. I have a question of my own. I'm trying to get these t-shirts made and the graphic I submitted a graphic to my printer. He tells me that I need to send it to another place that separates the artwork, which I have no idea what that means. He says he can't do high end separations. So I go to this other place and I get a quote for this design. They tell me it's $260 for 2 designs that are the same but have different colored text and are on 2 different colored t-shirts. Am I being ripped off? Cause I really don't know what's going on. They tell me the price is for the artwork separation and film output.

id guess you gave him a flat image.
if its multi colored each color goes on a different screen
so you have to go in, pick the approriate colors, and print them seperately on film to burn onto screen.
and if its the SAME EXACT image, just 1 color on 1 part being changed you are probbably getting ripped. (like 1 shirt has red text, the other same text is green).

[steppingrazor]

^meaning that if your image is only comprised of 3 colors (for example) and the graphic doesnt change, just the color choices, then you shouldnt be charged for the other colorway, because the screens are the same and they can push any color ink through the same screen. in anycase, put your image into photoshop, find a tutorial on seperating colors for offset printing. that will save you the money.

[Lucki18]

i like American apparel because i like the way those shirts feel, i also like the fit of alstyle. I am most likly using alstyle for my Tees, but would it be bad to use a mix, because i want a lime green shirt, and alstyle doesn't have that. Also the way i see it is with american apparel, you can use the whole no sweatshops to reach crowds besides the streatwear crowd. well now i am on a tangent, but the quesiton is would it be alright to use both.

[homi]

i like American apparel because i like the way those shirts feel, i also like the fit of alstyle. I am most likly using alstyle for my Tees, but would it be bad to use a mix, because i want a lime green shirt, and alstyle doesn't have that. Also the way i see it is with american apparel, you can use the whole no sweatshops to reach crowds besides the streatwear crowd. well now i am on a tangent, but the quesiton is would it be alright to use both.

that would get confusing as ppl would want to know which is using what

also pricepoints are diff

[RyanRodriguez]

100% pre-shrunk vs. 50/50 cotton/polyester?? I got this ninetimes shirt that 50/50 and it's one of my favorite shirts. Also it was a Large and it fit me perfectly, but when I bought an LRG large it shrunk to about a small.....so yeah, do you guys care about the fabric? I wanna kno.

[2Fresh2Clean]

100% pre-shrunk vs. 50/50 cotton/polyester?? I got this ninetimes shirt that 50/50 and it's one of my favorite shirts. Also it was a Large and it fit me perfectly, but when I bought an LRG large it shrunk to about a small.....so yeah, do you guys care about the fabric? I wanna kno.
Are 50/50 blends better to use? It seems like everyone loves AAA on here!!

[steppingrazor]

AAA is easy and its known. there are better blanks out there, however you should offer your shirts in the same blanks.

[DUM]

Hundreds uses AAA, but I dont see the color of the Jade Cop tee on alstyle's site.

[el chu]

^Yeah. I'd like to know as well. That color is hot. Anyone know what brand Diamond uses for the key lime t-shirts?

[homi]

^Yeah. I'd like to know as well. That color is hot. Anyone know what brand Diamond uses for the key lime t-shirts?

I think they use AAA for all

[el chu]

^Jade green and key lime aren't listed on the AAA website.

[Lucki18]

Can you order those colors by calling than?

edit** i called and they don't have lime green anymore.

If bobby sees this, how did he get that like limish green shirt that said HUGE on it that was a perfect color.

[2Fresh2Clean]

I wish AAA would expand their color selection!!

[Jack]

What's a recommended number of t-shirts for a brand's very first line? I'm thinking of putting 5 really solid designs out with an extra colorway for the basic logo tee. Sound good or too much?

[steppingrazor]

5's cool, but what you should be asking yourself is how many designs do i have that will carry their own weight. how many dope designs you got should determine how many shirts you put out.

[persia]

i agree, don't worry about the number, worry about the designs. Keep in mind, as a new unknown company stores may not want to invest a lot of their space on you. Get in with a few dope designs and then expand.

[2Fresh2Clean]

5's cool, but what you should be asking yourself is how many designs do i have that will carry their own weight. how many dope designs you got should determine how many shirts you put out.

^^ How do you know if your designs are hot or not? I personally believe one should put out what he/she thinks is dope (even if people aren't up on it yet or have to wait for people to catch up!) Here's my situation:
1) Everyone in my area is into those ghetto crap
2) My friends don't know what's hot
3) Hypebeasters are going to flame immediately no matter how hot it really might be!!
So how do you get REAL feedback on your designs?

[shant]

That's not true. Credit is given where credit is due. Look at DUM, he posted some of his tees and got feedback on them in that critique thread and people are complimenting and asking when they can buy it.

[2Fresh2Clean]

^^ Yes that is true, but DUM is the exception. I have seen people get torn limb form limb for showing their designs! But back to my original question: How can you get real feedback on your designs?

[kphy510]

hey can anybody tell me what the AAA brand website is?

[shant]

hey can anybody tell me what the AAA brand website is?
www.alstyle.com

[kphy510]

k thanks

[steppingrazor]

^^ Yes that is true, but DUM is the exception. I have seen people get torn limb form limb for showing their designs! But back to my original question: How can you get real feedback on your designs?


i'll give you honest criticism... just pm me. however, the most important person to impress is yourself. if you like it, put it out. just be prepared for the hardship of selling something that alot of people arent going to be into. thats the trade off. if you keep grinding at your own individual style, eventually people will catch on, as long as you stay ahead of yourself and dont start copying whats in right now. then you just become another brand that is seen as current, not on any next shit.

[DUM]

Ha I guess I'm lucky! No huge backlash to my shit. But that could mean my designs are dope or just safe...either way I like them! I think you just have to learn to accept criticism and not yell back at people...people usually just tell me what I can change.

[2Fresh2Clean]

Ha I guess I'm lucky! No huge backlash to my shit. But that could mean my designs are dope or just safe...either way I like them! I think you just have to learn to accept criticism and not yell back at people...people usually just tell me what I can change.

I have absolutely no problem with criticism, but I have a huge problem with flaming! It seems like some people are on here to add comic relief more than anything. Anyway, About how much is needed to get your first patch of shirts pressed up?

[2Fresh2Clean]

^^ I'm basically looking for a guess-timate!

[steppingrazor]

depends on how many shirts you want printed.

[bnj]

have invoices, make copies (alot), make sure to get stuff in writing, gt signatures, check your expenses alot, make sure you dont get jacked and all the rest of the good stuff no one thinks about when dreaming up a brand.

[2Fresh2Clean]

^^ good stuff, but I'm not surwe what you meant about "check your expenses alot"?

[Dnicle]

I have absolutely no problem with criticism, but I have a huge problem with flaming! It seems like some people are on here to add comic relief more than anything. Anyway, About how much is needed to get your first patch of shirts pressed up?

it all depend on how much u are printing, and how many colors print it will be. set up fee is about $20-30, each screen is about $30 for each colors. and then the ink fee goes from anywhere from $ .30 per color if u print 24-40+ per design to $2.50 per each color if you do a small run. and shop around for a good printer. make sure they got the right stuff u need. and bring them a sample of the type of print you are looking for. good luck

[bnj]

^^ good stuff, but I'm not surwe what you meant about "check your expenses alot"?


dont spend the little you just made flipping a dozen shirts on pizza and beer that night then wonder where theprofit you just made went

[2Fresh2Clean]

dont spend the little you just made flipping a dozen shirts on pizza and beer that night then wonder where theprofit you just made went

^^ LOL!! I did that with my first patch of airbrushed shirts that I did a few years back! In my area there are only 2 to 3 printers that could handle a job like mine. I just don't want to walk in with no idea of how much I should pay, you know? That's a recipe for a disaster!!

[homi]

Can you order those colors by calling than?

edit** i called and they don't have lime green anymore.

If bobby sees this, how did he get that like limish green shirt that said HUGE on it that was a perfect color.

that exact colorway was called WASABI i believe

[Johnny B]

For a store front...location location location..it's an old saying that is 100% correct.

[steppingrazor]

^hardly. location only matters if your store is going to be relying on existing foot traffic. if you make your store a destination store, people will come to you. however, you want the location to not be ghetto, but its not to say that you need to be in some nicer shopping area.

[2Fresh2Clean]

In all seriousness, Is it worth it [profitable] to do a run of tees? I know that there are alot of factors to consider, but try to see where I'm going here. How many of you have turned a REAL profit? I don't expect to make thousands on my first run, but I am curious!

[HostileProduct]

bobby hundreds u punk, send some of ur shit to belfast,.,,,.............

[shant]

2Fresh,

On my first run of tees I was lucky to get most of my money back. I had one shirt that sold way more than the others and basically paid for my screen press and the blanks and inks. I still probably lost money overall. It is an expensive thing to get into so I would only do it if you can part with the extra cash and won't be heartbroken if you don't make your money back on the first run.

[2Fresh2Clean]

^^ Good advise. I basically knew that I would be risking loosing the money I put out, but that is the nature of the business I guess!

[FutureRhythm]

sorry if this has been asked:
but how do stores become major resellers of limited brands? for example i see stores that always have new, legit bape, supreme, neighborhood etc which dont have retailers...

so im just wondering how stores manage to become major resellers of those kind of brands?

[fiest]

i'll give you honest criticism... just pm me.

Yo step, does that go for anyone else around here? Cuz i'll take you up on that homie.

[steppingrazor]

yeah sure.

[mind the gap]

yeah me too man, i'll PM you straight away when i got my designs finished if thats ok?

[2Fresh2Clean]

Post some of your stuff, I'll like to see what you'll have come up with... I give you my honest opinion too!

[homi]

hey just wondering who pays for the shipping of tees to stores

is it worked into the cost per tee and covered, or billed separetly and paid for all by the store

[steppingrazor]

its usually seperate and charged to the store. which i think is eh.

[el chu]

if im a starting up should i have my tees all produced first before i approach a local store?

[shant]

Steppingrazor or other shop owners,

How do you like to be approached by new brands looking to sell in your store? Would you rather they come in if theyre in the area and bring samples or is a linesheet emailed to you enough?

[steppingrazor]

its always better to meet people in person and see the product, cuz an illustration isnt going to show you the quality, just the design. but if its geographically not possible, a nice linesheet booklet says alot more than a pdf.

[el chu]

where can i get a professional styled catalog made?

[steppingrazor]

all you need to do is get a couple pages color laser printed on 11 x 17 sheets and fold it in half/staple it or whatever. do it at kinkos.

[2Fresh2Clean]

hey just wondering who pays for the shipping of tees to stores

is it worked into the cost per tee and covered, or billed separetly and paid for all by the store
^^^ Good question, I also was wondering the same thing!!

[andrew3sixteen]

impossible to work into the tee cost, as the shipping to a store a state away is much different from somewhere in say europe.

you just bill actual shipping costs to the store. depends though, there are some special arrangements that stores sometimes make depending on volume purchased. i wouldnt know about them personally but there are some that ask for the brand to cover 1/2 or all of shipping.

hey just wondering who pays for the shipping of tees to stores

is it worked into the cost per tee and covered, or billed separetly and paid for all by the store

[SOLECONTENDER]

i pmed you step!

hope u got time to look at some of our stuff

[2Fresh2Clean]

A company gave me a quote for 36 pieces of $7 each (two colors/ AAA shirts). Is that good, something was telling me NO! What is the going rate nowadays?

[Johnny B]

I can do way better, shoot me an e-mail at johnb@hgsportswear.com and I will send you a sample tee

[2Fresh2Clean]

I am also at the next step of my plan, but I have a question.
What should be done first: Trademark or Incorporate or something else?
Someone asked about this early in the post, and I have read this entire post atleast 3 times now, but I'm still not sure!

[2Fresh2Clean]

Can you open up an online store without incorporating? I don't want uncle sam after me, know what I mean?

[2Fresh2Clean]

^^ Anyone? DUM can use your advise!

[DUM]

Seriously, none of the brands people are starting here should be scared of Uncle Sam just yet...we're tiny 'brands' and us making a few bucks wont bother anyone. You're safe for now.

[rasclaaat]

^^co-sign. First worry about making a product that people will want to buy. Second worry about how to promote it, advertise it, sell it, and get your money back into your pocket where it belongs. Uncle Sam is like item #300 to worry about. You are far away from that if you haven't started yet. Same goes for trademarks in my opinion.

[2Fresh2Clean]

^^ thanks for the info. I wasn't sure if I could sell and take online orders without .... "certain people" knowing. Here's a question: What is the top 10 steps start up labels should take? I know the first one, but that's it!

#1 Be true to yourself/ Make HOT designs that I like

[2Fresh2Clean]

^^ thanks for the info. I wasn't sure if I could sell and take online orders without .... "certain people" knowing. Here's a question: What is the top 10 steps start up labels should take? I know the first one, but that's it!

#1 Be true to yourself/ Make HOT designs that I like
^^^ Need a #2 fellas!

[steppingrazor]

back from the dead!

[DUM]

#7 make a fake name on HB so you can say whatever you want!

[steppingrazor]

#7 make a fake name on HB so you can say whatever you want!

fuck that....i say what i want anyways.

[brucewang]

lol. I DO WHAT I WANT WHEN I WANT!

[freshsteez]

Hey whassup everyone? Great advice I've seen in here. I got a question of my own. I'm new to the game, so I'm having trouble trying to find a place to start at. I'm looking into opening my own online store to sell urban/street brand clothing ie. 10 deep, artful dodger and etc. I'm going to be looking into purchasing at wholesale and selling it back at retail on my site. Since I am new and have no connections at all, how would I go about making an account with these brands? Do I need some kind of connect to make it happen or will I be able to just contact them directly and have something be worked out? What would I need to do to convince the brand to open an account with me?

I'm looking to start off small and sell only a few brands initially before expanding and selling more brands later on hopefully. What is the typical order size for a wholesale purchase? Minimum or maximum amounts of inventory that the brands would sell to the reseller? Anything else that would be helpful on this topic would be great too. Thanks

[sugarbooger]

Hey whassup everyone? Great advice I've seen in here. I got a question of my own. I'm new to the game, so I'm having trouble trying to find a place to start at. I'm looking into opening my own online store to sell urban/street brand clothing ie. 10 deep, artful dodger and etc. I'm going to be looking into purchasing at wholesale and selling it back at retail on my site. Since I am new and have no connections at all, how would I go about making an account with these brands? Do I need some kind of connect to make it happen or will I be able to just contact them directly and have something be worked out? What would I need to do to convince the brand to open an account with me?

I'm looking to start off small and sell only a few brands initially before expanding and selling more brands later on hopefully. What is the typical order size for a wholesale purchase? Minimum or maximum amounts of inventory that the brands would sell to the reseller? Anything else that would be helpful on this topic would be great too. Thanks


what you want to do is what will eventually kill this industry. you don't know shit about nothing, and you want to carry the hottest brands out there. first of all, they probably won't sell to you, a) because you don't know shit about nothing, have no credit, and no reputation and b) because they don't want to piss off EVERY OTHER VENDOR THEY HAVE ALREADY SELLING THEIR STUFF ONLINE! they'd rather reputable stores place bigger orders and move more product than some rinky dink store come along and potentially ruin their reputation.

[steppingrazor]

you could have worded that without sounding like an asshole, you know.

[modernART]

^ ditto

[freshsteez]

what you want to do is what will eventually kill this industry. you don't know shit about nothing, and you want to carry the hottest brands out there. first of all, they probably won't sell to you, a) because you don't know shit about nothing, have no credit, and no reputation and b) because they don't want to piss off EVERY OTHER VENDOR THEY HAVE ALREADY SELLING THEIR STUFF ONLINE! they'd rather reputable stores place bigger orders and move more product than some rinky dink store come along and potentially ruin their reputation.

First of all, I'm sure everybody at some point was new to this industry and everybody has to start off somewhere. I will agree I have no reputation, that would be obvious, but to say I have no credit would be incorrect. You have no idea what kind of capital I have behind me that I would be willing to put forth into something like this. First and foremost I am a fan of the products being put out and if there is a demand for it, there's money to be made.

How is what I plan on doing going to kill the industry? There's a huge demand for the product as everyone knows. The DG's, Karmaloop's and etc sell out everything so quickly it's rediculous. Many potential consumers don't even get a chance to get the stuff they want. By me opening another online shop, I'm giving people another place to cop their gear at, I'm sure there would be many that would be appreciative of that.

Also, I listed those couple brands as examples of what I want to be selling eventually. Maybe not right off the bat without any kind of reputation, but that would be the eventual goal to sell the hottest brands that I believe in and am a fan of personally.

[sugarbooger]

First of all, I'm sure everybody at some point was new to this industry and everybody has to start off somewhere. I will agree I have no reputation, that would be obvious, but to say I have no credit would be incorrect. You have no idea what kind of capital I have behind me that I would be willing to put forth into something like this. First and foremost I am a fan of the products being put out and if there is a demand for it, there's money to be made.

How is what I plan on doing going to kill the industry? There's a huge demand for the product as everyone knows. The DG's, Karmaloop's and etc sell out everything so quickly it's rediculous. Many potential consumers don't even get a chance to get the stuff they want. By me opening another online shop, I'm giving people another place to cop their gear at, I'm sure there would be many that would be appreciative of that.

Also, I listed those couple brands as examples of what I want to be selling eventually. Maybe not right off the bat without any kind of reputation, but that would be the eventual goal to sell the hottest brands that I believe in and am a fan of personally.

saturation of both the product, and of competition.
trendsters, tastemakers, hypebeasters, whatever you want to call em are a fickle group when it comes to mainstreaming. when every other kid in middle america, and every tom arnold and robin williams is walking around with the same style as you, and every mall has a metropark, up against the wall, d.e.m.o, and whatever streetwear chain comes next (because you know there will be one) i'm sure you'll be happy to be in a business where you have to fight for your dollar as the trends begin to die. if you were at the last tradeshow you'd know that every tom dick and harry is trying to get a piece of this industry right now. but whatever man, do what you want. the true visionaries will make their bread off the next loaf. i guess someone has to be around to pick up their crumbs.

[steppingrazor]

owning a store, i think it sucks that its getting into the malls, etc. cuz it takes the exclusivity away from the stores that helped grow the brands, but you cant hate on it, if you were pushing lesser known brands before, just make your money on the trendyness of the new brands and use the extra money to get on some next shit. the tastemakers are going to be on some next shit anyways, so its all good. the only people who get really pissed about it, are just not knowing where to go next.

[Johnny B]

The reason you see products like that in a DEMo, or Up Against the Wall as well as nicer 1 store doors is because of the demand of the product. Everyone can sit on their high horse all they want, and talk about lines that sell out in hours because of runs of 50-200 peices. they are fine, they are great, they are fresh new, innovative, but there will come a time in all those companys lives where they will be approached by a DEMO, or DTLR, or Federated, and a PO of 200,000 or 500,000 or a mil will be waved in their faces. How do they say no? LRG didn't say no, and like it or not, they are still very hot. These folks want to sit back and make 1k a month when they can be making 20k a month?

You start small and grow, who starts small with a business plan that includes staying small or getting smaller?

[rasclaaat]

^^you'd be surprised. there are plenty of successful fashion businesses that don't involve selling to malls and the likes. top of the list: Supreme. They have a full cut & sew collection and collabos with the biggest shoemakers yet they limit distribution to their own select flagship stores.
Trust me, they make their loot, just fine.

[steppingrazor]

yeah they do quite well by sticking it out, but even they are expanding their distribution now. commissary has it, huf has it, arrive miami has it, a few stores in canada have it...and more will get them....but it will be very controlled.

[Johnny B]

That's called step 1, there is a few more after that.

[dnice]

aaa is by far the most used right now- hundreds, crooks, foreign fam etc... 10 deep uses something else...feels like a beefy tee....


Seems like almost everyone is using the 6 oz AAA as opposed to the 5.5 oz ringspun...I'm just wondering if people care so much about those extra .5 oz's that they are willing to sacrifice softness and comfort?

[dnice]

Thanks for the heads up. My wholesale provider did not offer AAA's so this is the first I'm seeing them. I assume they're using the 1701 because it has more colors available, but the 1301 is heavier. Isn't heavier more popular in streetwear?

Another question (I guess I'm gonna have a lot of them), you say The Hundreds and Crooks use them, but I see these purples, light yellows, and lavenders in some of their shirts that I don't see offered on the wholesale sites. Are they taking white AAA's and having them dyed to the colors they want?

You have it backwards, the 1701 is 5.5 oz, the 1301 is 6 oz and has a much larger color selection.

[karlos]

If any industry heads on this post could PM me the names of some screen printers it would be MUCH APPRECIATED!

[fm boy]

thank you very much! one of the best posts on here!