[savedimage]

I was wondering: I have an idea for a successful t-shirt; many people have agreed that the humor and popularity of the timeless icons would sell a lot of shirts. How would I go about getting it into mass distribution
through companies such as (Anchor blue, Hot Topic, etc?)

Any input would be helpful!!!
THANKS

Savedimage

 

[buffaloInk]

Hello and welcome,

I am kinda in the same boat with you. My thought on that is to present yourself professionally and prepare a presentation with their buyer and present your ideas or designs. and cross your finger.

 

[Kirsty]

Be sure to copyright your design if you are going to approach different suppliers. Which leads to to the question of copyright, I see loads of designs on cafepress.com. How do you protect your work from being wripped off?

 

[Rodney]

I was wondering: I have an idea for a successful t-shirt; many people have agreed that the humor and popularity of the timeless icons would sell a lot of shirts. How would I go about getting it into mass distribution
through companies such as (Anchor blue, Hot Topic, etc?)THANKS

Savedimage

My suggestion would be to actually *test* the "saleability" of the t-shirts by getting some printed.

A lot of times your friends and family might not be the best source of the type of critical feedback you'll need to see if your design will actually be a success.

Bring your idea to life by creating the graphic, heading to your local screen printer and getting some shirts printed up. Then, setup a website and start marketing the t-shirts.

Better yet, use one of the many online t-shirt fulfillment companies to do the printing, web hosting, ecommerce, and customer service for you. Then all you worry about is marketing your new cool line of t-shirts.

Big companies don't necessarily buy "ideas", they buy established "trends".

A lot of people say they have the "best" idea, but the ones that get picked up are often the ones that have actual sales numbers behind it.

Another way folks have been successful at getting their products into major stores is to head to the major t-shirt/sportswear tradeshows like Magic in Las Vegas (the biggest) and some of the other clothing tradeshows that are hosted in various parts of the country. A lot of buyers from major stores are at these trade shows looking for the latest and greatest fashion styles.

Hope this helps (hopefully others will have more to add )

 

[Rodney]

How do you protect your work from being wripped off?

Sounds like a great topic for a new thread

Maybe you could start a new thread in the Graphics and Design help forum about copyright/trademarks?

 

[Adam]

Testing the water is a good approach. Part of your market research will involve a prototype that you can present to your market. You don't want to spend 1000s on mass producing your t-shirts if they are not going to sell. A perfect way to test the market is by using a design service like CafePress, as they now have a very good marketplace which converts well.

You could do various other things to test your market but I doubt many are actually going to prove if the t-shirt will sell or not.

Always think about marketing before you launch your new product.

 

[tea shert]

..... Which leads to to the question of copyright, I see loads of designs on cafepress.com. How do you protect your work from being wripped off?

how can you copywrite your designs like kirsty said?

 

[ItsAbout]

You can and should read up on copyrights. Start with the copyright page off of the Library of congress page. Be care of what text you use with yourimage, it might be a trademark. You can get to the trademark page off of the copyright page.

On the same subject, do not discuss, or show you ideas to anyone who has not signed a non-disclosure form.

 

[clarkhaddock]

i see a lot of the same design on a buch of websites. are they each printing them or are they taking the orders and the out sourceing them to one company?

 

[Twinge]

I'd wager they are printing them themselves. They may have stolen them from another company, but more likely is that they are very common ideas (especially text shirts) that have been around for a long time in some form or another. These are basically fair game, open quotes and phrases that have been in use for decades and generally don't have any known origin.

 

[SpacemanFL]

My idea is for a list of original one-liners titled "MarriedMan". I looked at copyrighting and it seems that by just printing something it is secured. You only need to copyright for legal action and I guess you would then have to be able to substantiate your date of origin. It's only $30 so probably best to do it anyway.

 

[Twin85]

Just to add my two cents....

Your best bet is to make some line sheets and then take it to smaller boutique in your area and see what kind of response you get. If the buyer likes the concept/idea and agrees to take some, that is when you start building your brand.

It is a very long process, but eventually you will get to the point where you can find a sales rep or showroom to handle your sales. These reps will have contacts or accounts with major stores and will be able to get it seen.

My major advice though is don't rush into things, figure out how to be different and stand out from your competition, be ahead of the trend, don't just follow it. I good start is to get a website up and then post your designs and just see what kind of feedback you get.

good luck

 

[Rodney]

Your best bet is to make some line sheets

Hey Twin85, any advice on how to create a line sheet?

 

[Twin85]

You can either create a line sheet or a lookbook depending on your budget...

But for the line sheet, have either the picture of your shirt or just the design on the left. Then list the colors it is avaialable in (you can actually show the colors), list what type of shirt it is printed on (either brand or material), list what type of label is in it (sewed in, printed) and then any special notes about the shirts.

If you like you can also have a box with all the sizes and let people write in what sizes they want.

Hope this helps.

 

[Rodney]

so no prices would go on the line sheet?

 

[Twin85]

Sorry forgot to mention that, it is up to you whether or not to put wholesale prices and suggested retail prices on a linesheet. I personally do, but if you feel that a high wholesale price would scare away buyers from following up, then leave it off.

 

[highway25]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and the business. I was wondering about the linesheet. What program or software can be used to create a linesheet if any; basically how can I go about initiating the building of one. (here I'm am thinking of the custom design tool and linesheet as one, correct me if i'm wrong)

 

[Rodney]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and the business.

Welcome to the T-Shirt Forums!

I was wondering about the linesheet. What program or software can be used to create a linesheet if any

I think I read about another member making a line sheet/lookbook in photshop, but there may be other tools out there.

 

[highway25]

Thanks for the welcome.
Is there anywhere I can visit to get more info on creating a design tool to put on my site?

 

[Rodney]

Is there anywhere I can visit to get more info on creating a design tool

What kind of design tool?