The Power of Design

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Our owner and founder, Jeremy Picker sat down with Jay Busselle from Equipment Zone to discuss the world of promo today and how it has evolved over the last year. Here’s an expansion on some of the best tidbits. 

Jeremy and Jays full convo.

WHY DESIGN MATTERS

Our team knows Jeremy is passionate about the process of merch curation from design to production and through the screen of a Zoom call, he brought that same passion with him to this conversation as well. Explaining the beginnings of the design process he said, “It’s in your best interest to help your customer before they even get to that design process”.


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Design is the first step in making custom branded anything, whether its your logo, your sketch or just a vague idea, design is where every project starts. And as a creative company we are reminded from our passionate “creative geniuses”, and know from seeing hundreds of projects be put out on shelves, design truly is one of the most important selling factors. Picking the garment is of course also essential; you need it fit your audience’s style, age and needs. But design remains the pinnacle of sales, and here's why. 


We all can relate to that feeling of seeing a dangling hoodie sleeve, in the most perfect pastel yellow only to pull it from the rack revealing an atrocious graphic reading “LA Leisure & Ratchet Club”. One problem - you aren't Sunday brunching with the girls at the country club gracing the gift shop windows. You are standing in the next fast fashion shop selling gaudy decorated merchandise, disappointed by the amazing pastel yellow that caught your eye.


All to say, that’s why we believe design makes the difference between a disappointing hoodie and a sold out merch launch. It’s our job to be your creative guide from the very beginning of the design process.  



PARTNERS OVER PRINTERS


Jeremy goes on to discuss the company's annual trend report with Jay. We use these reports and Pinterest boards to clarify your vision for a project. Describing style, art and design in words is not the easiest way to communicate creatively, but by having visual guides we can inspire and embody your ideas in the beginning of the merch process.   

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Howard Moskowitz famously found people don’t know what they want and loved to say, “The mind knows not what the tongue wants." When asked, what do you want in a coffee? Most people would say "I want a dark, rich, hearty roast.". But according to Howard only 25-27% of people actually like a dark, rich, hearty roast. And in reality most people like weak, milky coffee. But no one is going to say, when asked what they like, weak, milky coffee (Gladwell). We think the same may be true for design. Perhaps the mind knows not what will sell in the promo market. 

We have a saying that we strive to be partners over printers, meaning we don’t just take your art and slap it on an item (though there are many companies that will). Jeremy said we want to help you before you get to the design process. We are professional artists and graphic designers who don’t want to print the “dark, rich, hearty roast” we want to work alongside you and create the merchandise your fans and customers will love - the “weak, milky” kind of design. 


Why Quality Clothing Matters

 
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Buying quality items will save you money in the long run

Cheaper quality clothing items will almost always have a short lifespan, sometimes a lifespan so short that the item will only last through the first wear or one wash in the machine. To help you determine whether an item is worth it’s asking price, fashionistas around the world have created the “Cost per wear” formula.

Cost per Wear = Total cost of the Item / Number of times you’ll wear it

When in doubt, use this formula to help you decide if an item is really worth splurging on.

 
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You’ll become more aware of your shopping habits

Because quality items are usually sold at a higher price, it’s logical to assume that shoppers would spend more time picking out quality items since these items are eating up more of their budget.

It’s easy to walk around a mall and mindlessly pick out jeans in your size that you ‘don’t need to try on’, but when the jeans are $150, you’re more likely to try them on to see if they fit well, provide comfortability and determine if they will need to be altered in any way, which adds an extra cost, thus making the jeans more expensive than the price listed on the price tag.

 
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Resale Ability

Anyone who’s ever taken clothes to Plato’s Closet or used apps like Poshmark and Depop know that items they spent more on, usually sell for more later in life as well. For example, a Forever 21 sundress being re-sold for $20 is less likely to sell than a Free People dress being re-sold for $60. This is because shoppers are less inclined to buy used ‘fast fashion’ clothing items compared to quality garments that have been used or worn before.

Not to mention, the Free People dress still has numerous wears left in it, while the Forever 21 garment is most likely on its last wash before unraveling.

WARNING!

If you’re feeling overwhelmed after reading this article and realize that the majority of your purchases are cheap clothing items that hold no significant value to you, that’s okay and perfectly normal.

This article was not intended to convince you that you need to throw out your wardrobe and spend $4,000 on ‘quality’ deemed items, but rather encourage you to be more mindful next time you leave the house to do a ‘shopping haul’ at a fast fashion retailer.

Thriftopia Trends - Thrift Shopping

 
 

For those of you who don't know, the team here at AMB3R are big fans of thrift store shopping! We enjoy picking a new vintage store every week to scour for market research and for our personal use. This past weekend was Thriftopia, a collection of vintage and old school streetwear vendors catering to the fashion masses of Denver.

Hosted at Milk Market, it was a cool influx of style makers and fashion curators from all over Colorado. Our digital content producer Kevin spotted the use of statement pieces with personal flare , a unique marker for each individual and a sea of fashion expressiveness. Not to mention some nostalgic t-shirts and hats from pop-culture of the days passed.


Check out the street style below from the attendees and share the vintage trends that inspire your daily style.

 
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