Creative Gumption

Meet Chaitanya Singh Arora: Linkedin T-Shirt Professionals Group Member

2009-03-23T06:00:00.001-05:00

This week, meet another member of the LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals Group. Watch for more member profiles as members reveal valuable secrets, share their expertise, and offer advice.

• Chaitanya Singh Arora
• www.organicherbinfused.com
• www.organiccounts.com

What segment of the T-shirt industry do you work in?

"We handle all segments mentioned, right from the fiber state to the finished products. We handle all processes."

Tell us about your company and your role in it.

"We are manufacturers and stockists of Organic Natural dyed clothing,bed linens, towels etc. We only work with Organic cotton, Organic Silks and Bamboo. We are a company which is working very hard in order to change the way things are done. Change in order to save our environment is very important and we are trying very hard to work for the same.Shift from Conventional clothing to Organic clothing is very important. Just by buying 1 Organic Garment or product people in-directly contribute to the green movement as making 1 Organic Garment saves more than 2000 litres of water and 15 kgs of chemicals, please refer to our website for more info on the same.

So our aim is not just to sell Organic clothing but to educate people regarding the same. Our website also has all details about our Organic cottons and Natural dyes we use. We use Herbal/Natural dyes which are received from Medicinal herbs making the complete process of making and dyeing the cloth Organic. Also because we use medicinal herbs for the dyeing the fabrics also have therapeutic value in them, they work wonderfully for Asthma,skin allergies etc. Thus its a wonderful product people get. they get an Organic product and the therapeutic value with it is a bonus."

What makes you/your company remarkable?

"Please refer to the earlier answer. We also offer all custom developments and can also make as low as 1 Garment for a start up buyer in order to increase our client base and to make sure more and more people get interested in Organic products."

Tell us about your T-shirt expertise and areas of interest.

"We enjoy the development process and it gets some wonderful new ideas every time we develop a new design."

How did you get your start in the T-shirt industry?

"We are exporters for the past 35 years, its a family business we are working on."

From where do you draw your inspiration? Motivation? Ideas?

"In certain Indian villages people without any technical knowledge or training people carry on Organic farming. This was an amazing process to see, also they carry on Natural dyeing with herbs and plants. This added to the level of interest i build in for Natural products.Plus the changing world opinion on Organic products helped us move forward and get motivated to work with Organic textiles."

What are some challenges you currently face or have overcome in your career? Lessons learned?

"We want Organic clothing and textiles to get to the mass market in India which is a task as changing the trend is something which takes time. More than anything peoples mind sets need to be changed which is a difficult thing to do."

What accomplishments are you most proud of?

"Our products have been featured on the Oprah Winfrey show which really helped in marketing and educating people about the advantages of using Organic products. Also when a customer re-orders its a accomplishment in itself for us as we know more and more Organic products are getting to the people."

What advice would you offer to someone new to the industry? Any tips or trade “secrets” you want to share?

"Just have a vision and work towards it.Hard work conquers all and be patient as things take time. That is it."

What is something unique that you can contribute to the LinkedIn T-shirt Professionals group?

"I can offer all kinds of Manufacturing services, as explained earlier we offer all services which at times is difficult to find. We are a one-stop shop for all Organic Knitted Garments or T-shirts."

What are you looking to find in the LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals group? What types of people do you want to connect with?

"I'm still new to Linkedin."

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Members are welcome to complete the interview and may be featured here. If you are a T-Shirt Professional looking to make new business connections, join LinkedIn and look us up for details!

Meet Tom Rauen: Linkedin T-Shirt Professionals Group Member

2009-03-16T06:00:00.001-05:00

This week, meet another member of the LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals Group. Watch for more member profiles as members reveal valuable secrets, share their expertise, and offer advice.

• Tom Rauen, envisionTees.com
• http://www.envisiontees.com/

What segment of the T-shirt industry do you work in?

Printing

"Our fully automated facility is capable of printing thousands of tshirts per day, however you may notice there are no minimums!

a.. Custom Screen Printing
b.. Custom Direct to Garment Inkjet Printing
c.. Custom Embroidery
d.. Promotional Products
e.. In House Digitizing
f.. Full Time Artist on Staff
g.. Complete Customer Satisfaction"

Tell us about your company and your role in it.

"My main role in the company is running and overseeing the day to day operations. I also play a key role in the majority of the graphic design work. EnvisionTees.com is a family owned business located in the heart of the Midwest. Our central location and proximity to the UPS shipping hub allows us great delivery times anywhere in the continental United States. We are a company specializing in custom apparel screen printing, embroidery and promotional products.

We take pride in every aspect of our company serving our customers and strive to keep a competitive edge in our industry with every order we produce.

We at EnvisionTees.com look forward to building a long lasting and respectable relationship with you, your school, your team, or your company. We hope we to become the familiar friend and name that you are proud to do business with."

What makes you/your company remarkable?

"Fast and friendly service that is unmatched in our surrounding area."

Tell us about your T-shirt expertise and areas of interest.

"Sports Teams, Schools, Events, and Business."

How did you get your start in the T-shirt industry?

"Online forums and trade shows."

From where do you draw your inspiration? Motivation? Ideas?

"The latest trends on the internet and television."

What are some challenges you currently face or have overcome in your career? Lessons learned?

"Being everything to everyone. When we first started we tried to be everything to everyone which we later found out is near impossible to do, so we've cut back in those areas and have been focusing on fewer select markets and products."

What are you looking to find in the LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals group? What types of people do you want to connect with?

"The app has only recently been released to the public. So we are calling on the t-shirt design community to help build up the collection of designs in Shirt Shack. Early users of the application will have a chance to have their Cafepress designs highly visible in the app."

What accomplishments are you most proud of?

"The steady growth of the business in the first 3 years and the national accounts we have secured."

What advice would you offer to someone new to the industry? Any tips or trade “secrets” you want to share?

"Don't be afraid to take a chance to dive in. The only thing that can hold you back is yourself."

What is something unique that you can contribute to the LinkedIn T-shirt Professionals group?

"A younger generations perspective on business and the industry."

What are you looking to find in the LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals group? What types of people do you want to connect with?

"People from different demographics that I can share and learn different aspects of the industry and industries connected to screen printing."

Do you have an experience with the LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals group you’d like to share? Have you made some valuable connections?

"I am just getting started, but you have to start somewhere and the first step is making the connection and then developing that connection."

Are there any favorite online resources you’d like to share?

usscreen.com forum
dafont.com
slickdeals.net

Is there anything else you want the world to know about you or your company?

"The secret to life is to find something you love to do and do it better than anyone else. Have a passion and desire for it that reflects the work you do and in turn will satisfy any customer. With me, it's T-Shirts."

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Members are welcome to complete the interview and may be featured here. If you are a T-Shirt Professional looking to make new business connections, join LinkedIn and look us up for details!

New Facebook App. to help Cafepress shopkeepers increase sales

2009-03-09T06:00:00.000-05:00

This week, meet another member of the LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals Group. Watch for more member profiles as members reveal valuable secrets, share their expertise, and offer advice.

• Brian Buser
• Co-Founder, Shirt Shack
• Brian Buser's LinkedIn Profile
• http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=18119779549

What segment of the T-shirt industry do you work in?

"Marketing of Cafepress shops."

Tell us about your company and your role in it.

"Shirt Shack is a Facebook application that allows people to easily import their Cafepress designs into Facebook. Users of the app promote the designs by displaying them on their profiles and sending them as virtual gifts to friends. This is similar to the extremely popular apps Bumper Sticker and Pieces of Flair. Additionally, the designs in Shirt Shack link to marketplace pages in Cafepress, which enables interested app users to buy the shirts directly. So users’ Cafepress sales will grow as their designs are shared throughout Facebook."

What makes you/your company remarkable?

"Shirt Shack is bringing together the very active Cafepress and Facebook communities in a way that has not been done before. Facebook has over 175 Million users; each of which is a potential t-shirt buyer. But before Shirt Shack, there was no easy way for Cafepress designers to promote their designs within Facebook."

From where do you draw your inspiration? Motivation? Ideas?

"We're just solving a need in the marketplace. The other Shirt Shack Co-Founder, Tom King, and I both have Cafepress shops and use Facebook daily. We figured there should be a way to promote our designs to the Facebook community. So, we designed an app that would not only accomplish this, but also be fun for the average Facebook user who is not a t-shirt designer."

What are you looking to find in the LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals group? What types of people do you want to connect with?

"The app has only recently been released to the public. So we are calling on the t-shirt design community to help build up the collection of designs in Shirt Shack. Early users of the application will have a chance to have their Cafepress designs highly visible in the app."

Is there anything else you want the world to know about you or your company?

"Our goal is to create an app that helps designers increase sales in Cafepress. We'd love to hear your feedback of any kind. People can get in touch with us in our Facebook group. Everyone is welcome!"

Join the group here: Shirt Shack

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Members are welcome to complete the interview and may be featured here. If you are a T-Shirt Professional looking to make new business connections, join LinkedIn and look us up for details!

Meet Brian D Gryphon: Linkedin T-Shirt Professionals Group Member

2009-03-02T06:00:00.000-06:00

This week, meet another member of the LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals Group. Watch for more member profiles as members reveal valuable secrets, share their expertise, and offer advice.

• Brian D Gryphon
• Owner & Photographer: Digital Gryphon LLC
• Brian D Gryphon's LinkedIn Profile
• http://www.digitalgryphon.net

What segment of the T-shirt industry do you work in?

"Our primary focus is design, but we also work on marketing. On-line POD firms produce for hundreds of thousands of designers; they are most interested in marketing their own brand. "

Tell us about your company and your role in it.

"The Digital Gryphon LLC offers various merchandise featuring my photography- with an emphasis on florals and felines. We use POD ("print on demand") firms such as CafePress, PrintFection and Zazzle to do everything from production to customer service. I am pretty much the entire company."

What makes you/your company remarkable?

"I have 35 years of photographic and almost three decades of business experience combined with an artist's curiosity and desire to blend old and new."

Tell us about your T-shirt expertise and areas of interest.

"I began working with Screen Printers to produce t-shirts as fundraisers for various community organizations in the late 80s and early 90s. I investigated doing my own set up, but decided it was best to leave production in the hands of experts."

From where do you draw your inspiration? Motivation? Ideas?

"My florals are mainly from the world-famous Whetstone Park of Roses in central Ohio, although I take a camera on all travels and so have images from a wide range of places.

My feline images are from the Cat Welfare Association, a 'no kill' shelter in central Ohio- used as a fundraiser for that organization."

What are some challenges you currently face or have overcome in your career? Lessons learned?

"Using POD firms guarantees I can't compete on Price. Fortunately my previous Sales experience included training on how to sell around pricing issues... it may sound cliche but there really are people who want service and quality and will pay for it."

What accomplishments are you most proud of?

"I've reached the age of fifty- and still enjoy learning."

What advice would you offer to someone new to the industry? Any tips or trade “secrets” you want to share?

"Enjoy what you do- or move on."

What is something unique that you can contribute to the LinkedIn T-shirt Professionals group?

"I like to be a bridge between Designers and Producers; make sure everyone appreciates that while actors get the glory, 'the crew' is the foundation. I was both an Account Manager and a Customer Service Consultant- the former paid more, but I know that the latter position is where the real work gets done."

What are you looking to find in the LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals group? What types of people do you want to connect with?

"I want to keep in touch with other small businesses- we sell product that might not seem 'luxurious' but which are most definitely 'discretionary'."

Do you have an experience with the LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals group you’d like to share? Have you made some valuable connections?

"Still very new here."

Is there anything else you want the world to know about you or your company?

"We take time to stop and smell the roses."

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Members are welcome to complete the interview and will each be featured here for one week. If you are a T-Shirt Professional looking to make new business connections, join LinkedIn and look us up for details!

Meet Jesper Popma: Linkedin T-Shirt Professionals Group Member

2009-02-16T20:18:00.000-06:00

This week, meet another member of the LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals Group. Watch for more member profiles as members reveal valuable secrets, share their expertise, and offer advice.

• Jesper Popma
• Co-founder/owner of Jazzy et James
• Jesper's LinkedIn Profile
• http://jazzyetjames.com/

What segment of the T-shirt industry do you work in?

"Wholesale, bulk, design, printing, promo wear"

Tell us about your company and your role in it.

"I’m a co-founder/owner at Jazzy et James. I can help you promote your brand by providing you with printed bamboo shirts that your target group will love to wear (because of its softness and fit). If you are thinking of using shirts to promote your brand, make sure you go with beautiful design. I have lots of promotional shirts in my closet witch I only use for “Dirty Jobs” (like painting my house). Because of their bad fit I don’t like to wear them in public. So where’s the promotional / commercial value of these shirts?"

What makes you/your company remarkable?

Our Perfect Fit Philosophy:
Our vision on promotional clothing - The Perfect Fit Philosophy – is based on three pillars:

1. A perfect fit for any size, in our own design.
2. Made from bamboo fabric for maximum comfort.
3. A sustainable raw material (bamboo).

Comfortable bamboo fabric:
Bamboo is a revolutionary discovery for the production of fabric: breathable, with a high absorption level (four times higher than cotton) and bacteria static and hypo-allergenic properties. Jazzy et James shirts are, by the use of silky bamboo, very comfortable to wear. That’s why we say: Joie the fibre!

Your own unique design or printing:
Order shirts from the Jazzy et James collection with or without imprint. You have a choice out of 3 lines: the Basique, the Basique en Plus and Unique.

Basique
Basique is our basic product, without imprint.

Basique and Plus
A basic shirt with your own logo, text or image as print. Give us your artwork and we take care of your Basique and Plus collection.

Unique
Your own unique shirts printed with a special design developed just for you. Based on your needs (for example, your theme or event), made by our own graphic designer.

In any color:
The Jazzy et James collection can be ordered in the color of your choice. What do you think of promotional clothing in your own corporate color?

From where do you draw your inspiration? Motivation? Ideas?

"Inspiration for prints comes from the customers briefing, marketing values, image and line of business."

What accomplishments are you most proud of?

"Development and design of our patterns, finding a good bamboo fabric/production supplier and the launch of our website."

What advice would you offer to someone new to the industry? Any tips or trade “secrets” you want to share?

"Be aware of properties of fabric you are using. All fabrics have different properties and act different during washing and wearing. Make sure you examine these properties before starting production."

Do you have an experience with the LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals group you’d like to share? Have you made some valuable connections?

"So far I’ve made a couple of connections of which one is particularly valuable to me."

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Members are welcome to complete the interview and will each be featured here for one week. If you are a T-Shirt Professional looking to make new business connections, join LinkedIn and look us up for details!

Meet Ginny Albert: Linkedin T-Shirt Professionals Group Member

2009-02-09T06:00:00.000-06:00

I'm excited to introduce the members of the LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals Group. Watch for more member profiles as members reveal valuable secrets, share their expertise, and offer useful advice.

• Ginny Albert
• Artist/T-shirt designer GinnyArt Online
• http://www.cafepress.com/ginnyart

What segment of the T-shirt industry do you work in?

"Design"

Tell us about your company and your role in it:

"My company is currently a sole proprietorship. I am the artist whose designs appear on what I call "Chic Shirts" The cafepress site places the designs on various items of my choosing -- greeting cards, tote bags, figurines, mouse pads, etc. Once in a while I use a outside silkscreener, particularly when I'm involved in a trade show."

What makes you/your company remarkable?

"The fact that everything is created by me, the concept of GinnyArt, which is expanding from T-shirts into art exhibits, a novel, and a screenplay. The novel entitled "Which Man," was published in July 2007, and is available at Amazon.com, etc. "Which Man" is also required reading at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and is available on the shelves of Georgia State University (Book Store), where I am currently a film major. In December, 2008, I adapted "Which Man" to screenplay format and plan to pitch it to the film industry. My company is multi-facted -- arts and literature. On October 18, 2008 my ink drawings garnered 3rd prize at Smyrna, Georgia's Spirit Walk Art Exhibit. Such drawings will be displayed in 2 exhibits in early 2009. My writer's web site is www.ginnyalbertromanticsuspensemaven.com."

Tell us about your T-shirt expertise and areas of interest.

"I still have much to learn about the T-shirt industry. What I do know is that the T-shirt is so flexible, and will always be vogue. I immediately felt my designs were uniquely suited for display on T-shirts -- particularly the fitted tee."

How did you get your start in the T-shirt industry?

"In 2003 when I wasn't so certain I would ever have art exhibits, or indeed whether my work qualified as art. So, I felt the T-shirt would be the best place to display my designs. After taking a course in business, I launched the on-line store GinnyArt Online."

From where do you draw your inspiration? Motivation? Ideas?

"Love and nature -- mostly botanicals"

What are some challenges you currently face or have overcome in your career? Lessons learned?

"Sharing my designs is a great drawback. In fact, numerous people have informed me that they saw one of my shirts somewhere. It never is completely my design, but I have found that people can make an offshoot of an already existing design, making it different enough that it isn't close enough to your design to be a forgery. I've learned to tread carefully."

What accomplishments are you most proud of?

"My cafepress website. The fact that I have two artistic endeavors that I love well enough to make my life's work. That I published the novel, "Which Man," and that it is required reading at the University of Nebraska. That I am a senior at Georgia State University, majoring in film, and that I now have a screenplay to market. That I feel confident that I have a future in the T-shirt industry."

What advice would you offer to someone new to the industry? Any tips or trade “secrets” you want to share?

"Just be as innovative as you want, and never give up. Early on I wrote down a small list of milestones that I had already achieved, and then I wrote down milestones I wanted to achieve. So many of them have come to fruition. So move forward with your idea, no matter the doubts of naysayers."

What is something unique that you can contribute to the LinkedIn T-shirt Professionals group?

"Creative ideas. In fact, I have an idea that could be utilized by all makers of T-shirts, hoodies, jerseys, etc. It's important and has to do with child safety."

What are you looking to find in the LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals group? What types of people do you want to connect with?

"I am seeking to partner with someone whose vision is like my own. I believe that there is someone who may have more business experience than I, who will happily handle that part of the business (though I will be aware of all that is going on), while I create. I want to connect with people who are innovative and not afraid to take risks. Anyone I connect with will also have a humanitarian trait, so that ultimately, we can do something that truly contributes to the wellbeing of all human beings."

Do you have an experience with the LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals group you’d like to share? Have you made some valuable connections?

"So far I haven't connect with anyone. Though, I truly would welcome the opportunity to do so."

Are there any favorite online resources you’d like to share?

"Not off hand, though something may come to mind later. Oh, I also have some of my work at www.hometowngallery.com -- search under artists for Ginny Albert. It's a nice place to display your work. There is another site called www.simplylicensed.com where designs can be displayed."

Is there anything else you want the world to know about you or your company?

"I want the world to know that I am the grandmother of a 18 month old grandson, Jason Wesley. He is the light of my life. My company has a bright future."

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Members are welcome to complete the interview and will each be featured here for one week. If you are a T-Shirt Professional looking to make new business connections, join LinkedIn and look us up for details!

Meet Kevin Gudmundsen: LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals Group Member

2009-02-02T06:00:00.000-06:00

I'm excited to introduce the members of the LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals Group. Watch for more member profiles as members reveal valuable secrets, share their expertise, and offer useful advice.

• Kevin Gudmundsen
• Father/Son Team behind Proteus Apparel
• LinkedIn Profile
• http://www.proteusapparel.com

What segment of the T-shirt industry do you work in?

"Web retail - design and sales"

Tell us about your company and your role in it:

"Proteus apparel started 2 years ago as a way for my college son to try and make some money. I am the bank, he is the creative genius. We are oil and water but we somehow make it work. I throw out the ideas to my son and he messes with them to make them possible for his target age audience."

What makes you/your company remarkable?

"All the designs are done by Josh a 3rd year art student - the designs are mostly all over prints (front and back) that require a belt printer. We are building the company slowly through customer input."

Tell us about your T-shirt expertise and areas of interest.

"No expertise to be honest - just trying to figure it out as we go along. Interested in the skateboard and surf culture."

How did you get your start in the T-shirt industry?

"Started printing designs in the garage with a 4 screen press. Progressed to a professional printer."

From where do you draw your inspiration? Motivation? Ideas?

"That crazy, trend setting son of mine - he just knows what people will like, he bases it on 'would I wear this' if he never grows up we are in good shape. ;)"

What are some challenges you currently face or have overcome in your career? Lessons learned?

"Biggest challenge - awareness, web traffic, barriers to retail distribution, and the big one - money and cash flow."

What accomplishments are you most proud of?

"The designs are great - we found a very experienced and capable printing partner."

What advice would you offer to someone new to the industry? Any tips or trade “secrets” you want to share?

"Printing mass quantities of shirts before you have a buyer is not the way to go. Get better customer feedback on designs and print what sells. Estimate the amount of money you will need to get going and then double it! Prepare to be in it for the long hall, it takes a lot longer than you think it will. NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK."

What is something unique that you can contribute to the LinkedIn T-shirt Professionals group?

"What not to do, resources for printing and marketing."

What are you looking to find in the LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals group? What types of people do you want to connect with?

"Those that have found secrets for increasing web traffic, getting into retail stores and getting publicity for their designs and website. Cross promotions and linking with other non competing web retailers."

Do you have an experience with the LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals group you’d like to share? Have you made some valuable connections?

"Have had good advice from this group and also the group I started called simply 'T-shirts'"

Are there any favorite online resources you’d like to share?

"T-shirt forum has great ideas, links and advice."

Is there anything else you want the world to know about you or your company?

"WE ARE HERE! We are putting the finishing touches on a viral video contest with people wearing our shirts that we hope to generate traffic and interest and ultimately sales. Check out the details on our website."

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Members are welcome to complete the interview and will each be featured here for one week. If you are a T-Shirt Professional looking to make new business connections, join LinkedIn and look us up for details!

Meet Philip Hepler: LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals Group Member

2009-01-26T06:00:00.001-06:00

I'm excited to introduce the members of the LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals Group. Watch for more member profiles as members reveal valuable secrets, share their expertise, and offer useful advice.

•Philip Hepler
•Freelance Graphic Designer & owner of 316 Graphics
•Philip Hepler's LinkedIn Profile
• www.316graphics.com

What segment of the T-shirt industry do you work in?

"Graphic Design (freelance)"

Tell us about your company and your role in it. What makes you/your company remarkable?

"I started 316 Graphics in 2007. I am a solo freelance graphic designer, so I find myself wearing a lot of hats in my small business. I've worked for years for different apparel corporations and now I'm living my dream of working for myself. What is remarkable about 316 Graphics is how God has made it possible and continues to provide new opportunities to use my creative talents."

Tell us about your T-shirt expertise and areas of interest.

"Most of my experience is in the children's wear industry, where cool t-shirt graphics play a big role in making the sale. I've worked to make the graphics I design appeal to the end consumer and be a major selling point for, well... making sales. Age appropriate graphics that kids want to wear is key to being successful in the children's wear t-shirt market.

Now, I'm also expanding into young men's and men's graphics where I can do more sophisticated graphics that appeal directly to my own interests. Christian apparel is an area I'm looking expand in. It's the perfect place to combine my faith and my artistic talent. Why not have cool trendy t-shirt graphics that also speaks to your faith? Who says Christian t-shirt graphics have to be lame?"

How did you get your start in the T-shirt industry?

"I first started designing t-shirt graphics for Healthtex, a children's brand sold in Kohl's, Sears, etc. Since then I've designed graphics for Target, Kohl's, Saks, Ruff Hewn, adidas, Lee, Wrangler, etc."

From where do you draw your inspiration? Motivation? Ideas?

"I do some trend shopping and do a ton of research online. I keep track of what the major brands are doing for their t-shirt graphics, but also keep my eye on indy brands and lesser known graphic designers. I keep a collection of inspiration images and organize them trends I see each season. I offer my collection of inspiration free of charge on my web site www.316graphics.com. Check out the "Inspiration" section to see what graphics are inspiring me this season -it's free! And if you sign up to my mailing list you are notified when new inspiration is available.

Specifically to my Christian t-shirt graphics, I keep a ongoing list of Biblical scriptures that inspire me and wait for a vision or idea to develop from the scripture. Sometimes I see an art style that I like and a scripture just seems to fit, other times the scripture comes first and then I find a art style and inspiration to springboard off of."

What are some challenges you currently face or have overcome in your career? Lessons learned?

"The slowing economy is a big one right now. I've noticed my corporate design work slow significantly. Early last year, I was turning down graphic projects, now I find myself networking a lot more to keep the business coming in. In my corporate past as a in house graphic designer I've seen layoffs, company sales, and closings. What I've learned that I am not in control, that prayer works, and God will provide. But that doesn't mean that you can sit on your hands! I've learned that you have to be proactive to keep yourself busy and in business. This means a lot of self promotion and networking that takes time and effort. As a one man show I have to be my own advertising, promotion and art director. When I focus on just doing t-shirt graphics I fall short on keeping my work schedule busy down the road, etc. My faith has helped me make tough decisions and is guiding my career."

What accomplishments are you most proud of?

"Honestly, going freelance and working for myself. There are a lot of pros and cons to being self-employed, but I am very proud of the blessing that it has been for me and my family. It's not for everyone, but it fits me nicely."

What advice would you offer to someone new to the industry? Any tips or trade “secrets” you want to share?

"For fellow graphic designers out there...If you have the opportunity to work in house as a t-shirt designer do it. It's a great learning experience that gives you the opportunity to learn from other fellow graphic designers in the industry. I never could have gone freelance without the experience of working for other companies. If you are an artist, learn to draw! All the graphics I do are done in the computer, but without strong illustration and drawing skills my computer graphics would suffer. I've seen great computer artist who lacked the drawing fundamentals and it showed in their work. I spend a lot of time with traditional art media and look for ways to incorporate it into a digital media. My next suggestion is learn to be a good communicator. Listen to your client and ask lots of questions. Breakdowns in communication can make design projects a joy or can make them a disaster. "

What are you looking to find in the LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals group? What types of people do you want to connect with?

"I would like to connect with other graphic artists and t-shirt companies that are looking for freelance artists. It would be awesome to have a network of other artists to compare notes, tips, tricks, stories, and experiences."

Do you have an experience with the LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals group you’d like to share? Have you made some valuable connections?

"I'm pretty new to Linkedin, but I hope to get more out of it."

Is there anything else you want the world to know about you or your company?

"Thanks for the interview! I hope it may be helpful to someone.
I'm available to design your next t-shirt graphic!"

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Members are welcome to complete the interview and will each be featured here for one week. If you are a T-Shirt Professional looking to make new business connections, join LinkedIn and look us up for details!

Meet Marshall Atkinson: LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals Group Member

2009-01-19T06:00:00.002-06:00

I'm excited to introduce the members of the LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals Group. Watch for more member profiles as members reveal valuable secrets, share their expertise, and offer useful advice.

•Marshall Atkinson
•Vice President of Operations, T-Formation
• www.TFormation.com

What segment of the T-shirt industry do you work in?

"T-Formation is a full service production facility. We print for Fortune 500 clients, the ASI industry, contract printing for other printers, and as well as Mom & Pop companies throughout the United States. We’re the national apparel vendor for several major philanthropies, and we also print hot market work for Nike, Adidas & Vanity Fair. TF offers the complete line up of services….from sourcing the blanks, art creation, printing or embroidery, polybagging, hangtagging, bulk folding, relabeling, fulfillment & drop shipping. Our staff of experts can make it happen for you."

Tell us about your company and your role in it:

"I’m Vice President of Operations. My role is the “macro” view of the company and to make sure that all of our departments are working together in harmony and as efficiently as possible. My major initiatives include Lean and efficiency building, our new SGP project (Sustainable Green Partnership) and forward strategic planning."

What makes you/your company remarkable?

"T-Formation is unique because what we bring to the table. Emphasis on customer service. Outstanding creative talent. Value added performance for our clients."

Tell us about your T-shirt expertise and areas of interest.

"I was art director for TF for 14 years before moving into my role as VP. I feel that my organizational, team building and communication skills have made me a key member of the senior management team at TF. I like starting and building projects that add value to the company…or finding better and more efficient methods of doing the same task. There’s always a better way to do something…and it’s my mission to discover that aspect and bring it to the surface."

How did you get your start in the T-shirt industry?

"In 1992 I was working on a Masters degree in architecture at FAMU and started my own design firm catering to fraternities and sororities at Florida State University. This was before computers, so everything was drawn & designed by hand…and I used those Lettraset press-on type. (Talk about SLOW.) T-Formation was my printer. They wanted to make the switch from using a stat-camera to computers…and hired me as the new art director. I made the jump and never looked back."

From where do you draw your inspiration? Motivation? Ideas?

"We research constantly….online, at trade shows. Talking to people, whether they are your vendors or your clients produces great results. Communication is the key to having the pulse of the industry. You can’t just sit back and let it come to you."

What are some challenges you currently face or have overcome in your career? Lessons learned?

"Follow up. Don’t assume that someone has done something if it’s the answer is still “missing”…as maybe the fax didn’t go through, they typed in the wrong e-mail address, etc. Nobody has ever been shot by calling up and verifying something."

What accomplishments are you most proud of?

"Helping to build TF into the company it is now. There’s a lot of hard work, sweat and team effort that’s gone into it. When I started with TF it was in a strip mall garage…and we kept expanding slowly through the years with our capacity. We’re certainly not the biggest printer in the world…but we may just be one of the hardest working."

Impressions Magazine lists TFormation as #10 printer in the United States by volume, 2008

What advice would you offer to someone new to the industry? Any tips or trade “secrets” you want to share?

"Research your market niche. There are so many avenues that you can pursue that are related to t-shirts…from collegiate to surf, from corporate to retail. All of them buy differently, sell differently, use different art and print techniques, etc. Become an expert on what you are trying to do. Once you know the market, go out and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Those are the opportunities to learn. Start small, and build relationships as you grow. Don’t ever think that this industry is easy."

What is something unique that you can contribute to the LinkedIn T-shirt Professionals group?

"I have a wealth of industry knowledge that I’ve built up over the years. Unless it’s something that I can’t share due to company or trade-secret reasons, I’ll be happy to help most anyone."

What are you looking to find in the LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals group? What types of people do you want to connect with?

"I see LI as an opportunity to “meet” people with like interests…sort of like if we were all in the same room at a party or chamber of commerce breakfast. I’ll help you, you’ll help me sort of thing. It’s all about improving your knowledge base. There is also an opportunity to make sales connections too…that has happened from LI already and I’d like to find more opportunities if I can."

Do you have an experience with the LinkedIn T-Shirt Professionals group you’d like to share? Have you made some valuable connections?

"I don’t connect with everyone, just those that I think that I can find value with somehow. Whether it’s a sales opportunity, or a chance to learn something…that’s what I’m looking for."

Are there any favorite online resources you’d like to share?

"I Google everything."

Is there anything else you want the world to know about you or your company?

"We’d love to quote on your next project."

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Members are welcome to complete the interview and will each be featured here for one week. If you are a T-Shirt Professional looking to make new business connections, join LinkedIn and look us up for details!

T-Shirt Trend: Object Photo Tees

2008-08-22T14:46:00.000-05:00

Just a little inspiration for the weekend T-shirt designers out there. I haven't seen a lot of tees like these, but love the basic design idea...black & white or two color photos of objects that let the T-shirt color come through. I could see this technique used for pets (dog breeds?), foods (foodie shirts), and other popular T-shirt categories.

With Cafepress' direct printing method, this technique would be easy to do with their light colored tees, and no need to make your image transparent.

Enjoy!

Sunglasses Tee by Public Domain

Track Bike Tee from Homeroom Store

I love this Men's Foil Sneaker Tee by Public Domain, available at FredFlair.
Notice the gold areas are actual foil!

Men's Instant Camera Tee by Public Domain, available at FredFlair

"Stain Imaging" and other new T-shirt printing techniques from Innovative Apparel

2008-08-16T10:24:00.000-05:00

The UK T-shirt reviews & news bloggers at Buy-Tees.net just posted about some fantastic new printing techniques at Innovative Apparel. I particularly like their stain imaging technique, an all-over staining technique that allows a pattern to be "stained" into an entire garment.

Their stock patterns are pretty cool (see picture above, from their website). The patterns themselves can be worn as-is, or over printed with the T-shirt printing technique of your choice.

I would love to see something like this down the road for print on demand sites to offer more variety in addition to solid colored tees.

Is your T-shirt environmentally friendly?

2008-08-14T22:14:00.001-05:00

When you think of "Reduce, Re-use, Recycle" you probably first think about you, the consumer. "What can I to reduce my (post-consumer) waste?"

So what are manufacturers doing to reduce their (pre-consumer) waste? You know, their scraps.

Like when you're making sugar cookies & roll out the dough & cut out a bunch of little circle cookies, only to be left with a lattice of sugary dough (I love food analogies). So keeping with that, what do you do with that leftover cookie dough? Throw it in a landfill? Of course not. You roll it back up into a ball, flatten it out again, and cut out more cookies! So why on earth would you throw away that waste, especially if you were in the business of selling cookies. That waste could be profit.

So back to T-shirts. What are T-shirt and textile manufacturers doing with their fiber waste?

One solution lies with a company called Sustainable Solutions. The company regenerates post-industrial waste (think, the fabric scraps in a T-shirt manufacturer's garbage bin) into sustainable products and new materials altogether. Yep, that's right. Spinning new fibers from what would normally be shipped off to a land fill, and turning them into new products. Who knows, you may be wearing one of these sustainable tees now. Or sneakers. Or other products.

According to an article in TulsaWorld today, Sustainable Solutions, Inc.'s line of SmartStreams products are being bought by some of the world's largest retailers, including Wal-mart.
Some features of the Sustainable Solutions textiles mentioned on their website include: reducing the cost of using virgin materials, can be over-dyed or treated to meet trends, fibers can be spun back into yarns, and reduction in textile waste that causes landfill emissions.

T-shirt manufacturers looking for ways to turn their waste in to streams of income, can utilize Sustainable Solutions' SmartStream Management services.

Is anyone out there aware of any T-shirt POD's using this type of recycled material? I can only imagine this will soon be the new standard.

Turning T-shirt waste into new tees and new profits. Imagine that! Sustainability never looked so good.

OK, time for a cookie.

Photos of some New Cafepress Products: Ceramic Travel Mug & Modern Clock

2008-08-12T21:53:00.000-05:00

I just received samples of Cafepress' new ceramic travel mug & modern wall clock and I gotta say, I'm impressed. It's always nice to see new products in person to inspect them up & try 'em out.

The clock is very nice. Light-weight, nice image printing...looks like it's on some sort of photo paper with a slight sheen to it. My first reaction was, "wow, it's big!" ...I don't know why, but it looked smaller online (no jokes, please!). It's 14 inches. I decided to have one of my modpillows patterns printed on it & it looks pretty sweet.

The mug is awesome. I had this one printed with my BusyBodies logo. It's very sturdy & the printing seems as though it's part of the material itself. In the preview when you're creating the product online, you'll see there's an oval space provided for the image, but there is no seam or edge whatsoever to the actual printed piece. It's beautiful. The construction of the mug is really nice, too. All metal on the inside & a slip-resistant bottom.

Promote your Political T-shirts: ShirtTheVote.com

2008-08-12T10:57:00.001-05:00

Check out this nifty new community on ning.com, ShirtTheVote. If you have political T-shirts you want to promote, sign up & promote your shirts for free!

Dirty Laundry: The art of stain in modern T-shirt design

2008-08-11T10:32:00.000-05:00

I ran across an article today about this upcoming art exhibition at the Nuuanu Gallery At Marks Center, Hawaii. It's sponsored by Cotton, Inc. and starts September 5th, 2008.

From the dirtylaundry.com site:
"The exhibition is more than a venue for artist designed T-shirts, but also a visual forum for discussion as to how things thought to be ruined can be given value again."

Artists in the exhibition were each given 6 shirts, to "stain" with the medium of their choice. Once stained, the artists' assignment was to create a custom design, using the shape & size of the stain as an integral part of the design.

I hope to find pictures of them once the show is open! I thought it might be a fun way to develop shirt designs for print on demand. Make a stain on fabric or an ink splash on paper, scan it in & use it as a starting point for a design.

The website invites others to host their own Dirty Laundry event in their town. To learn more or to host your own Dirty Laundry event, contact the curators (visit their contact section)

T-Shirt Spotlight: Topshop.com

2008-08-09T13:30:00.000-05:00

I love this Hootie Ruched Crew T-shirt from UK-based Topshop.

The One Man Corporation: A blog to bookmark

2008-08-07T22:00:00.000-05:00

You know it's good marketing when I hear about something because a friend told me about it.

I mean, isn't that the most trusted source? "I heard it from a friend."

Well, Mike from The One Man Corporation got it right when he sent out an email to his competitors (other Cafepress shopkeepers) teasing us with some valuable information and an invitation to forward it to more friends. And so, a friend forwarded it to me.

It worked. I got the email and actually didn't delete it! That's a feat in itself. I hate forwards. I always delete them. But, hey, if the first few lines grab my attention, I'll read on.

So check him out. I'm going to add his blog to the sidebar here for future reference. He's got some great tips on making money from home, valuable resources, and insight that can only be learned from experience. After all, he does work from home. And he's sharing his experiences for everyone to benefit from.

Free Vector Maps for T-Shirt & Design Projects

2008-08-06T09:04:00.000-05:00

Need a vector map for your next T-shirt design? With political season upon us, there's a market out there for state-based political designs.

Here's an example of one of my Republican map shirts:

If you're needing vector maps of the United States, or the world, visit Digital Vector Maps.

All the state outline maps are available free (and royalty-free!) and for immediate download in both Illustrator or PDF formats

If you want more detailed maps, including cities, counties, roads & more, they're available for purchase.

New T-Shirt Professionals Group on LinkedIn

2008-08-05T12:35:00.000-05:00

Are you a T-shirt designer who'd like to learn about new T-shirt printing companies? Do you want to meet people in the apparel merchandising industry? Are you a POD looking for T-shirt designers? Are you an affiliate marketer looking for great T-shirts to sell? Or do you just want to meet others in the T-shirt world like yourself? If so, read on...

I've been diving into LinkedIn over the past several months as I wanted to make connections with colleagues before I left my job. I never expected to find LinkedIn so wonderfully useful, well-designed, and easy to use.

If you don't know about LinkedIn, then go there, sign up & learn more about them. No, I don't make money by telling you that :-)

Once you get an account going, you'll soon learn the benefits. What drew me to them is I heard they were the largest professional (think: opposite of MySpace) networking website, and I happened to have a lot of friends and colleagues already on there.

I joined a few groups to see what it was all about. Basically a group on LinkedIn lets you view everyone else in the group, you get to display the group's logo in your profile, and it offers another way to be able to make connections with people within the group, without having to have worked with them previously (or know their email, etc.).

How did it help me? Well, for starters, I had a creative talent recruiter find me in a Minnesota Networking group. We linked up. We emailed. I met her for lunch and now she'll keep me in mind for future work.

Until now you couldn't just look for groups on LinkedIn. Now you can search their groups by type, key word, etc.

So I looked for something that would tailor to people in the T-shirt industry. Designers, sellers, printers.

I found nothing!

So I created a group called, "T-Shirt Professionals."

Here is the group's description:

Do you have experience designing, printing, or selling T-shirts? If so, please join us! The purpose of this group is to help connect T-shirt designers to affiliate marketers and apparel retailers, share T-shirt marketing trends & ideas, & recommend POD and manufacturing services.

If you're like me, you're always looking to meet people in your industry. I can't work in a bubble, nor should I.

My hopes for this group is to bring together people on all sides of the T-shirt biz. Personally, I hope to lure in some affiliate marketers who I can share my latest, greatest T-shirt designs with, maybe meet up-&-coming folks in the POD business, share ideas & trends with my competitors (yea, I'm a little crazy that way) & see where it goes from there!

The First Day of the Rest of my Life

2008-08-04T12:44:00.000-05:00

Did I say the rest of my life? Well, it's at least the first day of a new chapter in my life.

I never thought this day would come. I mean I knew it would, at some point, but today?

Yep. Today.

I'm quitting my job. Today is my last day.

Nearly 10 years since I graduated from college I have been working in the design industry, the most recent 7.5 years as Sr. Designer/Illustrator for an educational materials company. This has all brought me invaluable experience, but most importantly, it's paid the bills while I pursued my dream of the past few years: stay at home with my kids (now 2.5 years & 10 months) while working for myself. Thanks largely to Cafepress, my husband's support, and my hard work.

So now what?

I plan on running my Cafepress stores, doing occasional freelance design and illustration, and pursuing various back-burner projects.

I know when you blog you need to keep it fresh or it will die. I'm sure Creative Gumption is no exception. But I hope to dig it out of the sandbox, dust it off, and bring it back! Think of it as Creative Gumption taking a year-long vacation.

While this blog has sat idle, I have not.

I have learned a lot. I have a lot of projects in the works. And I plan to blog blog blog about them.

So a quick preview of what's to come:

-I'm working on a new linked-in professional group for T-shirt professionals and I'd love for you to join!
-I've been trying out new (well, new to me) methods of advertising
-Political season is here & I have a new political themed store...and ideas for promotion
-Cafepress updates (yes, I'm still on the Cafepress Voice Team!)
-I'll introduce you to some of my new online friends...and their helpful blogs and websites
-Design inspiration, as before
-And more...

Taking Maternity Leave

2007-08-13T13:34:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the crickets chirping lately around here. I'm starting my "online maternity leave" now and plan to return in December...hopefully by then I'll have figured out how to balance my time between my husband, a newborn, a toddler, part-time job and online businesses! Wish me luck. :-)

I may post from time to time as time and energy allows.

Friday Inspiration: Jen Stark

2007-05-25T14:00:00.000-05:00

I'm so drawn to these colorful paper sculptures by the talented Jen Stark. More can be found at her website.

T-Shirt Spotlight: Beautiful Decay

2007-05-16T13:36:00.000-05:00

Beautiful Decay's Indie Merch Store has a line of independent artist-designed tees and their collection continues to grow this month with more new designs.

Their Indie Merch Store is worth bookmarking if you're into watching design trends as they emerge, from underground, "undiscovered" artists.

And if you haven't checked out Beautiful Decay's magazine, it's a source of design inspiration like no other. The magazine is unique in that they bring together fine art, design, fashion, graffiti and other art forms into one place. The zine's design and content is irreverent and bold, sometimes disturbing, but always fresh and authentic. Read more about Beautiful Decay's story here.

A Bright Future for Online Clothing Retailers

2007-05-15T09:22:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Mary for posting this article on Great Gear last night. The headline really caught my attention:

"Internet clothing sales now more lucrative than computer sales"

According to the article, internet clothing sales outnumbered computer hardware sales by over a billion dollars last year and is only expected to increase.

This is sure good news for those of us selling our designs on T-shirts and clothing. But, if you've been selling T-shirts online for more than a few years, you probably already had a good feeling about the industry. I'm hopeful it's only going to get better.

Sell your creative work with Mintd

2007-05-14T09:00:00.000-05:00

Looking for an alternative to Etsy? Check out Mintd, an online space for creative people to sell their work and have access to an online community of buyers and sellers.

Create a "Look Book" with them to share your picks. You can even earn commission on photos of yourself wearing Mintd goods when your posted photo leads to a sale. Set up is free to sell and Mintd take a small commission (about 7.5%) on each sale made.

It's a well-organized site, has lot of products, and is just plain fun to browse. If you're into jewelry, you'll find plenty. There seems to be a lot of talent on there.