Thursday, November 24, 2005

Hey again. The world of T-shirt design is scattered with many pitfalls. The nice people at cafepress make things relatively easy to set up shop on-line, but really, when it comes time to branch out into the real world, things are a bit more murky. (hello, run on sentence!)

I have been working on creating a small fleet of my designs to sell at craft shows this holiday season. I have two craft shows coming up, as previoulsy mentioned. I want to bring 100 shirts, and I've been trying to get them made for two months now. My supplier said "No problem! IT'll only be a week. I'll bring you the samples!" A month later, he brought the samples, none of which would work with my preferred printing method (IRon on transfers. You cannot use these on ribbed shirts, even Baby-rib shirts. Remember that when making your shirts at home!). Soooo new examples had to be found (actually, they just had to cough up samples of the original shirts I ordered.) and brought in...Now Yesterday, I got a call and basically got told they could not honour the price they quoted me, my transfers do not work and they were bringing me a sample of a pressed on transfer to show me how much I suck and how it was my fault.

"Bring it on!" I cried, "I know what I'm doing. I'm wondering what YOU have done to screw this up, mister I've-been-doing-this-for-30 years."

Sure enough, again (AGAIN!) they had used a baby-Rib T-shirt to apply the transfer onto.

In light of this craziness, I have had to change shirts, Am quite stressed out and very close to my deadline, still with no shirts. I have been assured that I will have a beautiful sample tomorrow. WE'll see.

I wanted to put together a little reference for those of you who have found yourself in similar situations. So let's start off...

CUSTOM T-SHIRT CREATION GOLDEN RULES

Rule #1 - Always use a 50/50 (or as close to that as you can get) cotton/polyester JERSEY KNIT T-shirt to apply your designs to. This goes for Silkscreen, Iron on transfers, and even Stitching.

Rule #2 - Always remember, If your design includes type, you must REVERSE THE IMAGE for your iron-on Transfer.

Rule #2 - Don't be like me. Put in your orders well in advance if going to a supplier, and make sure they make you a sample before they run all your transfers.

Rule #3 - When buying your blank T-shirts from someone who will give you a deal..always make them write down, and sign a piece of paper with the price they quoted you, what their name is and the date. These people are used to haggling, and are not afraid to jerk you around if they think they can.

Those are the cardinal rules I have learned.

I have been travelling the web in search of some good suppliers of T-shirts. Not all are good. But, be aware that many many people who Silkscreen T-shirts, are also willing to sell you blank T-shirts at a better price than you might find at old navy or walmart. (Generally you have to order quite a few though. I am ordering a cool even 100, and this is still considered a very small order.)

Here are a few of what I have found thus far...

General T-shirt Suppliers


Screen Printers

There are tons more. Google it. That's what I have done. Find one whose style/Price/Process appeals to you. If you find some awesome ones, pass on the link. Also, I am looking for information on any clubs or blogs that deal with T-shirt design or the T-shirt community! There are many of us out there..Where are we?! WHO Are we?! I think we have a lot to learn from eachother! I have found one interesting blog I'd like to pass on..

  • T-Shirt Casserole ...Just a blog that highlights random T-shirts from cafepress that they like, but I think it's a great Idea!

Pass me on more links as well. I am very interested in getting involved in the T-shirt industry. I'm only at the beginning of this journey! I will try and help out where possible. Let's grow this community together!

Peace, love, and jersey knit Shirts.

~Anne

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