[Comin'OutSwingin]

After much thought and consideration, I have decided to take the plunge and get my shirts made from scratch to my specs!

I have been searching for quite some time for the right fabric, at the right price, and to find an excellent company/person to do the sewing. The search is over, and I finally have all of the pieces together. I got my patterns made long ago, and already have them on disk.

As a bonus, I will also be selling blank urban wear t-shirts, with my label in them! I will have a separate site set up for those that want to buy my “Conquer Blanks” wholesale! They will come in 2 different styles. Our regular Urban Wear Cut, sizes L-3XL, and each size will also feature “Tall” for those that want the added length. I haven’t decided on a minimum amount required for purchase but, probably by the dozens.

I will only have a few basic colors to start with: White (of course!), Red, Black, Royal, and Navy.

I just got my RN# and I’ll be selling the blanks as soon as I think I have enough inventory to go live with the blanks site! Maybe another month or 2.

Wish me luck!

 

[TeeShirtSamurai]

That's great man. I wish you the best of luck. You contribute a lot around here and you deserve it.

It was a smart move to sell urban blanks. From all the posts around here requesting suppliers and the complaints due to the lack thereof you should be rolling in business.

 

[DFras]

Go, Greg, Go!!

 

[Rodney]

Smart move, Greg. Good luck on your venture. Looks like you'll have another link to add to your signature

Maybe you could chronicle your progress in getting custom blanks made here? I've often wondered whether it would be worth it to get that illusive "perfect blank" made for my needs.

 

[honeyflip]

Good luck on the new venture, Greg - sounds very cool. Keep us posted on the process. I'm really curious about that in particular.

 

[RAHchills]

whoa... nice one, greg. Good luck with it.

 

[suzieh]

CHEERS GREG...we'll have a celebratory toast when you launch!

You are going to do well with Urban. Maybe some of the smaller wholesalers will use you...just a thought.

On a similar note...I saw in the Alternative Apparel catalog that they do offer custom manufacturing.

 

[SC2565]

good luck wit that and who knows i might end up gettin my blanks from you

 

[hiphopshop]

Wow. Congrats. Sounds great! Maybe when you launch you can hook us up with a special "Forum discount" lol.

 

[Sac printer]

Good luck.. can't wait to see what you got for us!

 

[monkeylantern]

Great work! I demand a free sample!

 

[Solmu]

Wow, you sure managed to keep that under your hat!

Congratulations.

 

[Comin'OutSwingin]

Thanks guys.

I’ll see what I can do about that, ML. Actually, if you pay the shipping to Australia for 1 shirt, I’ll gladly send you 1!

Solmu, I’ve been throwing around a few hints, here and there.

I’ve been thinking about having my own shirts done for over a year now, and did all of the grunt work for it long ago. I had patterns made, sourced fabric, and even had some samples sewn up. But I realized very quickly that unless I was getting massive amounts made, that having my own shirts just wasn’t feasible. So I started looking into blanks. And that has been a chore in itself. When I see how other people have been having the problem of finding urban wear blanks, I figured I should strike, and provide what I think is really lacking: an urban wear blank with choices of 2 lengths, and the ability to purchase them at good prices without having to purchase large quantities.

The biggest part that makes getting your own shirts sewn cost-prohibitive is the actual sewing. You can find pretty decent prices on jersey and ribbing. You only have to pay for the patterns, marking and grading once, so that’s not really a problem either. But getting them cut and sewn can be very expensive. The interesting part about having them sewn is surprisingly (and most might find this difficult to believe), that is the part that takes the least amount of skill. If you have an excellent patternmaker, and your pieces are marked and graded well, almost anyone can learn to sew like a skilled craftsman, with the proper equipment. I have found that some companies employ blind people, because it is one of a few jobs that those that can’t see can do with precision.

Well, I obviously want good blanks for my “Conquer” line, but again, that costs lots of money. So I figured if I could find a way to get some decent prices on shirts made to my specs, I could use them for my t-shirts, and to help defray the costs, sell some as blanks as well. Because not everyone wants a Conquer Clothing shirt , but lots of people would like a Conquer Blank: a good quality urban wear blank shirt!

So I knew that if I could find someone to sew my shirts at what I think would be a great deal, that I would be in business. Well, I have finally found them locally, and we have already started!

Thanks again everybody for the encouragement!

 

[Solmu]

Solmu, I’ve been throwing around a few hints, here and there.

It was certainly clear you were a lot more serious about it than most, but I think a lot of us have elaborate fantasies of factories making everything to our specification that won't, for the most part, ever eventuate


It was a sensible move keeping (relatively) quiet until you were actually closer to being ready to launch, since now the inevitable assault of questions begins.

Like any idea what your pricing structure (and per piece cost to you for that matter) will be like?

 

[Comin'OutSwingin]

I think I'll keep the per peice costs to myself for the moment.

The profit margin is going to be quite small to start with though, mainly because I can't afford to buy fabric by the truckload.

When thinking of how to set everything up, I just thought of everything that I have been looking for and couldn't find, and the pricing structure is one of the things that I thought about. I want to keep the pricing structure simple. Whites one price, colors another. No extra for larger sizes. The sizes will be large-3XL.

I have also decided on a 2 dozen minimum.

I would like to be able to give discounts to large orders, but haven't figured out exactly what the price breakdowns would be. I figured to start with, that most customers would be like me, trying to get a couple of dozen shirts to see if they would work for them. Then if so, they can just get a couple dozen more. If someone wanted to buy a large order, I'm sure I could figure out a decent discount for them, though.

I figured I would stay pretty quite about it until I knew for sure that everything was a go. I just got my RN# yesterday, and everything else was in place, so I thought I would lay it out there!

Like you said, the questions would definitely come, but I don't mind those at all. I've learned so much here since the first day I found Rodney's little playground that sharing a little of what I know is no problem.

 

[Ken Styles]

Thats cool man!

Being that I'm from NYC (The Bronx) These shirts are selling very well here, so I'm hoping to do business with you soon and order some tall tees.

There is a guy here that sells blanks but they are expenisve.

Ken

 

[digitalpiper]

Yow Greg .........i'll support you .let me know when yuh read .i'll take some ..............

 

[Solmu]

I think I'll keep the per peice costs to myself for the moment.

That's fair - I can only ask

The profit margin is going to be quite small to start with though, mainly because I can't afford to buy fabric by the truckload.

I've always assumed it's the kind of business where the profit margins are always small - $2-6 doesn't seem like a lot of money to cover materials and labour.

Was getting the RN a simple process? (I'm guessing it was a lot easier than the trademark anyway )

 

[FTWear]

Congrats to you Comin Out Swinging! This is fantastic news

Best of luck
Annie

 

[Comin'OutSwingin]

Was getting the RN a simple process? (I'm guessing it was a lot easier than the trademark anyway )

Yes, it was. It was a simple online application with some very basic info that was required. It only took a couple of days to get approved. It was also free!

Congrats to you Comin Out Swinging! This is fantastic news

Best of luck
Annie

Thank you!