by .robb. » Jul 22nd, '11, 21:22
This was a fun thread to stumble upon after a hiatus from the board and magic all together. I took/am taking said hiatus because I went into business full-time as a garment designer. I use some methods of application that are not seen in the mainstream clothing lines so I'm not able to hire out the production to a screen printer or other services. I do the work in house.
If your future designs will be along the lines of your current offerings, you may want to consider doing the same even if on a PT or hobby level. Knowing your creative mind, I am very interested to see what you could come up with outside of Spreadshirt's limitations and the technology of the various printing/application methods at your disposal. The industry as a whole- from novelty tees to runway fashion- needs a kick in the junk from the engineering and science types. I know that I just contradicted myself somewhat but you'll see what I mean should you choose to pursue it. A simple example is a type of ink that is only viewable in sunlight. The transition is almost instant. You're indoors with nothing on your shirt. You walk out the front door to go to lunch and *SHAZAM* you now have a color image, text, etc. Yet no one exploits it.
Even if none of that interests you and you only wish to keep doing what you currently have going, you'd still owe it to yourself to look into your own production, your own brokering or a combination of both. You'd put significantly more money in your pocket.
Anyway, send me a PM if you would like for me to send you some links to various resources. You'll find that a lot of the same equipment is used across the board in different types of production so there are a lot of possibilities for items outside of shirts such as the mugs and buttons that you are currently offering along with hundreds of other items. Everything from car window decals to urns! There's a thought for a paranormal performer.
TonyB- I believe Spredshirt uses American Apparel for their blanks here in the States. I don't know if they use the same in the UK. If that's the case, AA is a good quality shirt but their sizing tends to be a half or full size overstated on their styles that have anything other than a uni-sex boxy type cut.
Or you need to hit the gym. I think Mr. Lewis has a weight loss hypnosis tape...