Before After: approaching retail stores and getting shirts printed
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Discuss the process of getting your t-shirt line into brick and mortar stores and selling offline. Topics include industry tradeshows, events, line sheets, sales reps and other retailing tips and advice.
Before After: approaching retail stores and getting shirts printed
I hope some of the more experienced people answer this thread. I’m going to be assembling my first catalog for distribution in November and input now would be excellent.
My plan as it stands now is to add a photo of each shirt in print and a close-up of their artwork, with text describing the shirt and image. For artwork that is on the drawing board, I will all a mock up of the artwork along with text describing the type of shirt it will be on and describing the image, and I will add an approximate release month. I also silkscreen bandanas so I will have those in the catalog too, using the above method.
I'm not sure if there is a "best" way to go for everyone.
Some people just naturally do C, because they are already selling t-shirts on their own and THEN decide to try to get their stuff in stores.
Some people have A as part of their marketing/business plan, so it's already planned for them to start out wholesaling to retail stores.
A works well because you haven't spent any money before you get any orders (except for the catalog production and design work).
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also when creating a catalogue, what should go into it.
If you're talking about a regular catalog (and not a line sheet), then I would look at other catalogs and see what they include: product listings, pricing, order form, contact info, sizes, etc.
Re: Before After: approaching retail stores and getting shirts printed
if u click on my website link u can view my catalogue in pdf. its not wonderful but i think its pretty good . it was done during production and printed a few after to send out with a few samples.
__________________ www.d6ja.com "product of the continent* of jamaica"
Re: Before After: approaching retail stores and getting shirts printed
Paul I am very impressed with your catalog and your general sense of design, keep up the good work and I for one cant wait for your website to be up and running.
Re: Before After: approaching retail stores and getting shirts printed
Paul nice catologue!
I'm curious where do you find the images of blank t-shirts - that you used for the premimum t-shirt and coat of arms t-shirt? Don't want that exact t-shirt style but I need blank images of t-shirts. (illustration format)
Re: Before After: approaching retail stores and getting shirts printed
thanks alot. as for the shirts for those two style...coreldraw my friend. had to draw it.
i can't wait for the site to be up either. Just been too busy to focus on it. i am an architect as well as a graphic designer (and a perfectionist) so i prefer to do everything myself which is not very efficient time-wise...but eventually i'll get to it.
__________________ www.d6ja.com "product of the continent* of jamaica"
Re: Before After: approaching retail stores and getting shirts printed
what i've also done is find a blank shirt (google or shirt suppliers) and use the photoshop filter "stamp" to get it to a black and white line drawing. then create a "path", and then "export path as illustrator" then import that ai. file into coreldraw...viola . or u could try istockphoto.com they have stock photography and line illutrations. they have a few t-shirts. i found that out after i'd done the catalogue unfortunately
__________________ www.d6ja.com "product of the continent* of jamaica"
Re: Before After: approaching retail stores and getting shirts printed
double6ix
agreed, that's an excellent catalogue, nice layout, excellent graphics, informative, funky font work with a fresh feel. A credit to the T-shirt biz. You've put a lot in to this you deserve everything you get out of it! Well done, it's refreshing to see a well executed professional offering.
Re: Before After: approaching retail stores and getting shirts printed
double6ix ... great layout , are the persons modeling your wear just friends or people you had to pay ?
nyc , i second what Rodney said , it all depends on your marketing strategy , and quite frankly how much $$ you want to spend in the start up phase ... a catalog is a part of the many tools of visibility you want to implement.
if you are just trying to get your stuff out to the retail market , then I would suggest you just produce models of your line , so you have the actually item to show them , and submit a catalog to them as well .
If you are selling your shirts yourself , you may want to get the catalog produce in phase C , as you have gotten a chance to see for yourself how the product will be received by the public , and you have money to reinvest for things like catalogs , and you can approach retailers with the confidence that your stuff will sell.
in the end a retailer wants something that will sale , how can you convince them it will ????
This is a discussion about Before After: approaching retail stores and getting shirts printed that was posted in the Offline Retail and Tradeshows section of the forums.
Before After: approaching retail stores and getting shirts printed 
. it was done during production and printed a few after to send out with a few samples.
