Lowdtown Q&A: Brand Consistency

Preface

I’ve been emailing with a guy who is interested in purchasing one of my t-shirt designs, and he asked me if I thought the design would be appropriate for his brand. Even though I like being paid, I honestly didn’t think that the design fit too well with his brand aesthetic, so I gave him some advice.

Question

Thanks Ray,

Dont worry I like the constructive critisism it keeps me on my toes and working hard…

I do like variety in my clothes.
when I decided on a look I took out all the shirts I had in my closet and drawers and asked myself what they had in common..
wierd colors and strong artistic feel with positive imagery was the main theme, breaking character occasionaly.
I like being able to go from a cartoonish tee to a full color image and going back and forth from day to day.
Although I know I need to keep my customers expecting a certain look Im still trying to learn how to tred that line.

I do know I want to stay away from monsters and gory stuff. Also want to stay away from high sexually charged images and obscene stuff. Other than that anything that has an artsy intelligent feel or in some way relates to my life in NYC Im open to. I dont know maybe Im being too broad what do u think?

I had 3 other tee shirt designs that I didnt feel confident puting on the site.. and right now Im shopping around for some and reworking other ideas of my own.
I want to have another 6 designs for sale before I really start promoting my stuff.

Im still leaning towards purchasing your design. Either way though even if I dont maybe we could work together on something else… do you do commissioned work as well?

again I want to thank you for all the feedback.

Answer:

I know exactly what you mean. You can either be safe by keeping your brand extremely consistent, or you can take a risk by trying to broaden the style of your designs. It’s best to have a combination of both, and try to use designs that are interesting and unique but still tie in with your brand.

I feel like you might have a little confusion with what you want exactly. Before you start pumping out more designs, I feel like you should be very certain what your brand represents. Try to come up with a mission statement, and determine what you want your brand to accomplish, and stick to that theme. For example, with my brand, I wanted to create an alternate world called Lowdtown, where all these characters co-exist, so even though I use a lot of shirts with pretty heavy branding, I try to stick to that theme. And even if all the shirts don’t necessarily have Lowdtown characters, I try to make it so the styles still work together harmoniously.

So you said, “Other than that anything that has an artsy intelligent feel or in some way relates to my life in NYC Im open to.” I feel like that may be a bit broad, because “artsy intelligent feel” is quite ambiguous and many designs can have an artsy intelligent feel. You should try to narrow the scope of your brand, so that it is more unique and appealing than the run of the mill artsy and intelligent brands.

Now look at the design that you’re interested in buying, does it fit your mission statement? If it does, then by all means, you’re welcome to buy it. If not, I would love to do some commission work for you, if you give me a clear idea of what you want.

Hope that helps,
Ray

If you have more specific questions shoot me an email at: ray@lowdtown.com.

Lowdtown Q&A: Considering Starting Over

Questions:

Hey Ray,

My name is ——– I was just on the Emptees forum and I am just dropping by.

As I posted earlier I am looking to ‘start over’ with my brand. The reason for this is I feel, and I know that it is not substantial enough as a brand. And it is not 100% how I want it.

I know exactly what I want, but when I started I figured I could get some stuff printed sell them and be able to expand through my profit. Well… it hasn’t been as easy as that. And finance is a big issue especially when you have high expectations.

I think I have done well so far. I have got some guys on TV wearing my stuff, and a few artists supporting the brand. A lot of people want to see more, but I haven’t got much to show which is hindering progression.

So my aim is to lay low for a while, save up some finance and invest it into my brand to turn it into what I really want. I am looking to get about £1500 to get me re started. I am not in a rush but at the same time I want to keep the customers that I acquired. And still keep the buzz about my brand going.

What do you think the best options would be in regards to this. Also I have some stock that I want to get rid of as it is obviously money tied up. How do you think I can get rid of this and make some money back to invest back into my brand?

Would be great to hear back from you

Answers:

Hey, thanks for the email.

Personally, when I look at your brand, I feel like you’re trying to find your niche and style. Your branding is not bad, it just needs some obvious diversification. Right now, you only have one design, your logo I’m assuming, and you’re printing it in different colorways. Your fans probably want you to print new designs.

You said that your brand is not 100% how you want it, and that you know exactly what you want. Well, that makes your job much easier if you already know what you need to do. First of all, I would write out a clear and concise list of what you want to do with your brand. For example, you can plan a launch of maybe 3 new t-shirt designs or something. After you make that list, you can do further planning by looking into what kind of money you would need to get them printed. By doing so, you would at least have a goal to look forward to. At that point you’ll realize that once you make however much money you can take the next step forward.

It seems like you already have a fanbase, considering you have people wearing your stuff on TV, so I’m not sure if you need to completely start over. One of the greatest misconceptions for me when I started Lowdtown was that I thought all my fans would transfer over from RAWR! Clothing. I had quite the following for RAWR! and I was disappointed when my sales and figures didn’t quite match up for Lowdtown. If you have a loyal following, you might want to reconsider. In my case, I knew I needed to turn a new leaf, because I simply did not like the direction I was going with RAWR! Even though it’s an uphill climb for Lowdtown, I’m still way more satisfied having this new brand. So you really have to weigh your pro’s and con’s.

As for getting rid of your current stock, I’ll give you a few pointers. The thing about starting new, and just trying to liquidate your current stock is that it cheapens your brand. You don’t want people thinking you’re in turmoil, and just doing this out of desperation. Perhaps you can add some excitement as people have said on the emptees forum, by offering people a free logo shirt when you buy one or two of the new shirts. That way, you can renew interest in your old t-shirts while making sales for your new shirts.

Luckily for me, when I was closing shop for RAWR! Clothing, it was Christmas season, so I was able to sell everything at a discount for the Christmas sale. It was pretty much the most sales I’ve ever made in a month, and I made enough money to pretty much fund the launch of Lowdtown.

In any case, you really need to get your brand on its own two feet again. So the best bet would be to start planning a new launch of shirts or whatever to keep people excited about your brand. You don’t have to rush anything. Try to see if you can make up some of the money off your current stock, and use it as fuel for maybe a winter season release.

Hope that helps, and good luck!

-Ray

If you have more specific questions shoot me an email at: ray@lowdtown.com.

Lowdtown Q&A: Beginner Tips for Starting a Clothing Company

Question:

Who is your t-shirt manufacturer? Do you make them in house or outsource them to get a tag and design printed on them? I don’t plan to make my own shirts. I would much rather buy a base t-shirt (a thicker, more quality t-shirt…and I want a variety of colors) from a t-shirt manufacturer and have them print my design on it. Do you buy your base t-shirts one place and have the design printed on them elsewhere…or what (and what companies) would you suggest?

Answer:

Ok, so a lot of these are pretty basic questions. Really, it doesn’t take a lot of research to find these answers, but I suppose I can help you out. For t-shirt manufacturers, there’s numerous companies that produce imprintables. I’d say that there’s very few indie t-shirt designers such as myself who produce their own t-shirts. It’s most cost efficient to print onto blank shirts. A few popular t-shirt brands are American Apparel, Tultex, Gildan, Anvil, Fruit of the Loom. To buy the shirt, you usually have to set up a wholesale account with the company to get the wholesale discount.

With my current printer, I buy the blank t-shirts, and give it to my printer for them to print on. This is most cost effective in my opinion because often times the printer can jack up the price of the blanks because it cuts out a middle man.

Question:

Do you have a designer and who would you suggest for getting your ideas on paper? I am not good at drawing, but I have them all in my head! Also, what form do t-shirt manufacturers take the design; does it have to be on a computer program or what?

Answer:

Obviously, a lot of companies work with designers. Luckily, I happen to be a designer, so I often design for my own clothing company. However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t collaborate with other artists. It’s good to diversify your brands style to cater to other groups. If you’re not good at drawing, I would suggest you hire a designer and give the designer specific details of what you want the t-shirt design to look like. Just be prepared to pay a good amount of money for a professional design. If you want to be serious about your clothing brand, you have to have a good amount of starting capital.

Screenprinters usually require you to give them the design file as a hi-res raster file or as a vector format. So in other words, it’s a good idea to have a hi-res photoshop file or have the design as an illustrator file if you want the design to print well. If you end up using a file that isn’t prepared for t-shirt printing, it’ll end up looking like crap, and no one will want to buy it.

Question:

I have not owned one of your shirts, but I like the fit of brands like Famous, DC and Nixon t-shirts (so basically a thicker, standard fit t-shirt). So what is the t-shirt company that makes the thicker, more quality base t-shirt for printing (not Hanes or Gilden)? And secondly, what is the best way to get your design on a shirt…is silk screen printing the choice of the companies styles I like?

Answer:

Yea, I don’t think I can be that helpful with this question. The brands you mentioned use a thicker stock shirt than I do. I use shirts that have fashion fits, so they’re usually a bit thinner and slimmer. If you’re looking for a thicker shirt, I suggest you set up accounts with a few companies and get samples.

Screenprinting is definitely the way to go if you want to print on shirts. Of course, there’s many types of inks and processes to use. You can read more specific printing processes here: link

Question:

So RAWR Clothing is a LLC…do you suggest that for most small t-shirt businesses? Did you register your LLC, got your tax ID (is a sales and use permit needed too…I’m from Nebraska??), register your trademark, and then you made some shirts and began to advertise and sell them…or what order did you go in or would you suggest?

Answer:

I’m not really too savvy on all the legal business, so I recommend you talk to an accountant or search online. I needed a lot of help too when I first started off. This is a very essential part that you can’t cut corners on, so I recommend you do your research. Either way, since you’re selling something, regardless of if you’re a sole proprietor or LLC, you need to pay sales tax, so be sure you’re all set up before you start selling shirts.

Question:

I am kinda scared about doing this, but no risk no reward I guess…but a main factor is that this shirt may only sell to people from Nebraska…but hopefully my designs will be so cool they will sell other places. So you say eCommerce is the best bet…di you try going to a retail store you could imagine your shirts selling at…or do they not take cold approach t-shirts at most shops and retail stores? I thought maybe consignment shops too…I keep hearing marketing before I even register my biz is crucial…but I also want to protect myself…so any tips on marketing?

Answer:

If you’re scared about starting your clothing company, there’s no reason for you to rush things. If you end up hastily starting something as big as a clothing brand, you might end up faltering a lot on the way. That’s what I did with RAWR! Clothing, so I had to learn my lesson the hard way. So I would really do as much research as possible. If you don’t properly prepare, you might end up regretting it later.

I have my shirts in a few stores, but it really depends on your market too. If you’re going to approach a store just be sure that your brand’s image fits in well with the store. But starting off, I’d definitely recommend getting your store online.

I’ve written an article on marketing that might be able to help you out: link. Just try to create some buzz. Word of mouth is always the best kind of marketing.

-Ray

If you have more specific questions shoot me an email at: ray@lowdtown.com.

Lowdtown Q&A: Beginner Printing Advice

Question:

Ray,

Your Q&A section on the Lowdtown blog is very helpful — I created my logo and went to a local screen print shop in my town to run a sample on a t-shirt. The problem I came across was that my logo was too small and when printed on the t-shirt it was stretched. What ended up happening was my design was to small. I leave you with these questions; what design software do you use? what size do you create your image when designing your graphics on your computer? what printing method do you prefer? I’m adobe photoshop savvy but I heard of other methods of graphic design.

Thanks

Answer:

I use either photoshop or illustrator for mostly all my designs. If you want the nicest quality print, I’d recommend getting your logo in a vector format. That way, it could infinitely stretch without any loss of image quality.

When I’m designing t-shirt designs, I usually set up files that are 16×20″, which is usually pretty standard screen sizes. Also, if you’re using photoshop, be sure that your resolution is at 300dpi. You’ll lose a lot of quality if you’re using 72dpi, because 72dpi is exclusively for monitors and digital displays as opposed to print.

For printing methods, I prefer silkscreening, because that’s pretty much the most standard way of printing for t-shirts. It’s cost effective, and the quality is usually pretty good depending on your printer.

There’s obviously other programs your can use for designing, but photoshop and illustrator are probably the most universal.

-Ray

If you have more specific questions shoot me an email at: ray@lowdtown.com.

Lowdtown Q&A: Do I need a logo starting off?

Question:

do you need a logo for a clothing line to start off?

Answer:

In a word, I’d say yes. In terms of branding, a logo is maybe one of the most important symbols/tools/representations of your brand. But the thing is, you have to have a good logo that you feel actually represents your brand well. If you have a shitty logo, people will think you have a shitty brand, and you probably do, because you don’t care enough to have a good logo.

It is extremely difficult to leave a memorable impression on someone without a logo. It doesn’t have to be anything that blows every other logo out of the water. As long as it’s professional, creative, and memorable, you have yourself a good logo. Also, people say that simpler is better (read: nike, apple, etc.)

If you don’t have any design experience, I would recommend hiring a professional graphic designer to make you a logo. A logo is not a thing you can cheap out on. Much like a website, the logo is really important for making an impression on a person. Also, it’s really difficult to change your logo after people start recognizing your brand for it, so it’s a good idea to have a well-thought out logo right off the bat rather than rebranding over and over.

I’ve written a blog entry about coming up with a good logo, so I think it’ll be a useful read: http://blog.lowdtown.com/?p=52

Hope that helps!

-Ray

If you have more specific questions shoot me an email at: ray@lowdtown.com.

Lowdtown Q&A: Outsourcing

Question:

How you doing? My names —— —— and I’m from London. I recently came across one of your articles that was posted on howtostartaclothingcompany.com about the costs of starting a clothing company. I am in the process of starting my own teeshirt brand and found your article very insightful. I send you this email to ask if you could provide me with any advice and tips as to where I can outsource my shirt printing. I am going for quality like you did and want embroidered labels, printed size tags etc. If you could provide me with any help I would be very grateful. Thank you.

Answer:

Hey, thanks for the email. The thing about your question is that I can’t easily give you an answer. There are a countless amount of variables that ultimately decide what kind of outsourcing would be good for you. The services that I use may not necessarily be suited for what you want to do.

First of all, I’m an American-based brand, and you’re based in London. Therefore, it obviously seems like a no-brainer to me to use a screen-printing company based in America. But for you, it wouldn’t really be the best choice for you to use my screen-printer because all the shipping and turnaround time would be dramatically different.

Also, the shirts I might use might not be as worth it for you. For example, if I use American Apparel, again, an American-based company, you might have a lot more trouble getting your hands on it and if you do, you would probably have to pay a bit more for shipping. Same goes for embroidered labels and size tags.

Basically what I’m trying to say is that, we all have our own needs, so you shouldn’t just simply ask another brand how they do their own thing. You should research what outsourcing method would be best for you and your company. There’s a lot of great resources online, so a quick search should give you pretty good results on what might be good for you.

Good luck!

-Ray

If you have more specific questions shoot me an email at: ray@lowdtown.com.

Lowdtown Q&A: Expensive Advice

Question:

Hey Ray
I found your contact through reading your blog concerning how much money it could be to start up a clothing company.
Its something I really wanna do.. im a graduate, studied design and now wanna run my own clothing company. Right now im more of an amateur with motives to be a professional. I feel as if im lacking alittle business skills as I didn’t study that at all during uni and college (im from london uk.. i know your guys college is most times equivalent to our uni) but some say its more who you know than what you actually know. I need alot of advice and i have alot of questions too.
This is where Im at right now concerning my company:

First of all i have plans to have jeans,sweatshirts,tshirts…everything basiclly.but thinking to start off with tshirts and jeans..

I have around 20 tshirt design- is that too much to start off with or is it not enough?

I have afew jeans ideas too.

Im in the process of finding 2 more designers to help me out- i wanna be the c.e.o and creative director of my company

Ive found a solicitor that will help me on some legal stuff like trademarking. Is it necessary to trademark asap though I probably wont have my finishing products till late this year?

Ive found a manufacturer that said they would make my clothes for me. I haven’t discussed prices yet though. I have to provide samples for them.I saw that you mentioned Kanye and that he paid A.L.O.T for his samples…is there anyway of not paying so much for samples? and is it necessary to have the samples exactly how you want the finishing product to be (as in correct fabric etc) or can you be like an art student and have glossy silver paper to show that you might want some kind of metal or silver buttons in a certain way? (hey im and art student lol)

Kinda stuck on what else id need in the company.

I see everyone with Marketing Directors. i guess im need them to find out ways on how to promote and get the brand selling ri?

I might need a sales rep so they can pitch the brand to shop to get them to sell it?

Ima need an accountant but dont know how much of them.

ima need a warehouse to store the clothes once theyr made…or is that too soon?

what else you think ima need?

hope to hear from you soon and that your studys are going great

Kind Regards

Answer:

Wow, sounds very ambitious. Considering you want to print 20 t-shirt designs and a few pair of jeans, I’m not sure if you understand the scale of what you want to start. Sounds to me like you want to jump right into a very professional business. But if you have the budget for it, by all means go ahead. But it sounds like we’re talking around $25,000 of start-up money. Probably more, considering you’re making custom jeans.

Honestly, if you really know what you’re doing, I suppose it’s possible, but you said you lacked research and business skill, so to me, this sounds a little out there. 20 shirts for a launch is a ridiculous amount. Unless you plan on starting a brick and mortar store along with it, 20 shirts is, in my opinion, way too much. 20 shirts alone can easily cost over $10,000. I feel like a more reasonable launch would be 3-5 t-shirt designs, and if you really have the money, maybe one pair of jeans. Jeans, as you might already know, costs a lot of money to start up because it would all have to be custom-made. Figuring out the fit and pattern and right fabric costs a lot of money. And considering you said that you’re working directly with a manufacturer rather than a printer for your t-shirts, I doubt the minimums will be too low. Probably 500 shirts per run or something, so 20 shirt designs will probably cost at least $25,000 alone.

I really have no idea what kind of budget you have, but to me, this whole thing sounds pretty ridiculous. I feel like you might need further research unless you really do have upwards of $50,000 for you to start a clothing company. And you said that you’re considering marketing, accounting, legal trademarking, and a warehouse; these things can easily be another couple thousand or tens of thousands of dollars a year.

I just don’t want you to get too deep into it, without really understanding what you’re doing. I would recommend starting with small runs of a few number of shirts, and that’s it. Just see how things sell, and take it from there. There’s no reason you should be printing a couple thousand shirts, if you risk your business not doing well.

I hope that helps. Honestly, I’m just being skeptical, but if you really do have as much start-up funds as you suggest, I suppose it could be possible. Oh, and sorry I put everything in dollars, I’m not sure what currency you use.

Good luck,
Ray

————————–

Afterwards

Most of the figures were pretty much pulled out of my ass. They’re just my estimations, and I don’t really know how much most of those would actually cost. Probably more than I even think, but I don’t know for sure. So be sure to take everything that you just read with a grain of salt.

If you have more specific questions shoot me an email at: ray@lowdtown.com.