I'm having one of those "I don't feel like being productive" days, so I thought I'd try and squeeze a blog post out of it. Here's what's been going on over here:
Shows:
The warmer months of last year were so much fun. Thanks to my discovery of various shows and festivals around the Westchester/Rockland county areas, I was able to introduce OMUNKY to lots of different people. In the end, due to the success of these shows, I was able to grow OMUNKY's customer base. These show-goers have become some of my most loyal fans, and I am happy to have met all of them. If any of you are reading this, you get a big thumbs up!
As a result, OMUNKY will be doing even more shows this year, starting right now! My first show in 2012 will be in one of my favorite places, Nyack! It will be a week from Sunday (the 15th for those of you who've stumbled upon this article sometime in the future). Last year, I did a few shows in this lovely town. There were times that I was so busy trying to pack orders that I wasn't even able to get sentences out. Me! Speachless! For those of you who know me on a personal level, just stop and think about that for a second (I'm a talker, folks).
I am hoping that this first show in Nyack will be the start of a wonderful season for OMUNKY. For a list of shows I plan on doing, you can visit my upcoming shows page. I will try and update it as fast as I can.
Summer Line:
I hope everyone is enjoying my spring release, because it is only going to get better! I have almost completed all of the designs for the summer line, and I have to say, "yessss". Sorry, that was a moment just for me. Anyways, you're going to love it. If you don't, tell me, so I can make the next one better. Don't just sit there stewing in your own anger.
I've got a couple of great animals showing up this summer, both for prints and tees. It should not dissapoint. I don't want to reveal too much, so I've kept this segment short.
Emails:
About a year ago, I posted an article on one of my favorite blogs, IAMTHETREND, about some of the things I've learned while running this fun little business. Since then, I've been getting email after email from "new brand owners" looking for a bit of advice on what they can do to be successful.
Let me first start out by saying I, by no means, consider myself succesfull, yet. I still have plenty of things I want to do with this brand. But, let me continue by saying that your emails are all wrong!
First off, "I want to do this so help me by telling me how you did it", is the general topic with most of these emails. I want you to stop and think about that for a second. Let's say hypothetically you become rich and famous, and you are being interviewed. The person giving the interview asks you how you became the succesful entrepreneur that you are today. What are you going to tell them? That this random guy who made silly animal tees poured his heart and soul out via email and you did everything he said? Come on!
Little things are fine. I am happy to tell you if I prefer this t-shirt manufacturer over that one, or if I like this design you created. But, I worked hard on my brand. I spent a lot of time making it what it is today. Do you really think I'm just going to tell you everything I did. If you want to be good at this you are going to have to learn how to do it.
That being said, if you are a newer brand and want a little bit of advice, I am always happy to help. If you and I have conversed before, please don't hesitate to contact me. Just don't write two sentences in your email body and expect me to rush to hit the reply button.
He's going to love me for this, but, if you really want solid advice, check out How to Start a Clothing Company. This is a wonderful information blog on starting a brand. If you can't find the time to read some of his articles, send your questions to Jon, the site admin. I'm sure he knows more than me anyways :)
Conclusion:
Well, that was fun! I love a good rant! If this is your first time reading this blog, then welcome! If you've been a loyal fan for sometime, thanks! I can't wait to show you both some really cool stuff in the near future.
Stay Happy,
Rick