# Opinions Needed for New T-Shirt Store Concept



## 21st&Main (Apr 19, 2010)

As an artist a friend of mine creates amazing pieces of work and that is what we want to build his company around, the art. He has the ability to hand paint almost anything in front of him onto a t-shirt be it a portrait, landscape, or unique design. I thought about other artist that display their work outside of frames and instantly thought tattoo parlor. Some of the greatest artists in the world share their talents with the world on customer’s bodies with ink. Take away the ink and replace it with paint and instead of a body we use a t-shirt. We will be giving its customers the same personal experience and timeless artwork but, in a more attractive and less permanent media. I imagine a store front in a heavy traffic up-scale urban area with full length windows on either side of the front door. In one window the artist at his easel working on another master piece and in the other window a large table displaying finished pieces. People can either walk in off the street and browse though premade original wearable pieces of art or schedule an appointment to have whatever they desired hand painted on a blank shirt of their choice right in front of them. Not only will customers want to pay for the one of a kind t-shirts but the overall experience of it being made before their very eyes. 

Your thoughts and opinions are very appreciated. Thank You


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## JonnyTee (Apr 19, 2010)

Sounds like a great idea if you have the finances to cover the overhead. Have you thought of starting with a site to display your art and t-shirts you've created? You could start a site and have the customers send images and ideas, ship to directly back to them and start building a clientele. You could make the site with minimal start up cost and still be effective. Such as a splash page with your company logo, feature some designs and have a contact link. The response from the site will help you gauge if the investment in storefront will be worth it.


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## bircanboss (Nov 25, 2009)

How long does it take your friend to make a shirt? I mean if it takes him like an hour or 2 then your gonna have trouble when you start getting 20, 30 orders a day. What kind of ink is he using? How does it wash? And how much do you plan on selling the t-shirts for?  ohhhh and can we see some samples


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## 21st&Main (Apr 19, 2010)

These are all things that yes need to be determined and as soon as i find them out i will post it .... thank you for your thoughts


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## kimura-mma (Jul 26, 2008)

I think it's an interesting, creative and unique idea.

Starting as an online shop will lower your overhead. However, you will lose the 'overall experience' of having the custom shirt made for you on the spot. Without that novelty, what really differentiates you from the thousands of custom t-shirt sites out there? It's not about the artwork, it's about the experience.

What I like about the idea is taking the tattoo parlor experience and transitioning to t-shirts. The challenge of something like this, is that it is so unique, it costs a lot of money to educate the consumer about the concept.

Maybe you can approach some tattoo shops to see if they are willing to rent some space to your artist. Or maybe getting a kiosk at a mall. Or maybe at an amusement park. I could see something like this attracting tourists.


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## AngrySpade (Feb 7, 2010)

This sounds like an awesome idea to me and something that I would most likely pay for if it was in my area(I would probably pay for it online too).

Like the others said, I think it would be a good idea to start out with a website, maybe offer some premade designs for sale. A small portfolio and of course contact info so people could get their own custom designs made.

I would love to see some of your friends work. I hope everything works out for you =) There is lots to learn here so do a ton of reading!


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## selzler (Apr 4, 2007)

21st&Main said:


> As an artist a friend of mine creates amazing pieces of work and that is what we want to build his company around, the art. He has the ability to hand paint almost anything in front of him onto a t-shirt be it a portrait, landscape, or unique design. I thought about other artist that display their work outside of frames and instantly thought tattoo parlor. Some of the greatest artists in the world share their talents with the world on customer’s bodies with ink. Take away the ink and replace it with paint and instead of a body we use a t-shirt. We will be giving its customers the same personal experience and timeless artwork but, in a more attractive and less permanent media. I imagine a store front in a heavy traffic up-scale urban area with full length windows on either side of the front door. In one window the artist at his easel working on another master piece and in the other window a large table displaying finished pieces. People can either walk in off the street and browse though premade original wearable pieces of art or schedule an appointment to have whatever they desired hand painted on a blank shirt of their choice right in front of them. Not only will customers want to pay for the one of a kind t-shirts but the overall experience of it being made before their very eyes.
> 
> Your thoughts and opinions are very appreciated. Thank You


 
Sounds to me you need to go to craft markets and farmers market shows and place your prices as if you were in a store front craft show are a great place for what you are talking about a freind does this all the time but does air brushing he tried online and was getting 1 or 2 orders a month he goes to craft show and can get an average of 50 shirts in one weekend.


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## SeasonEnds (Sep 9, 2007)

If you are talking about something more upscale than a farmers market yhen you are talking about serious overhead. Rent, electricity, water, insurance, furniture, inventory, ink, brushes, card services are just some of the expenses you would have. Plus you would have to factor in time spent with no one in your store. Can you sell the shirts for enough money to cover those things? If he made 40 shirts a month you would have to sell each one for $20 just to cover an $800 monthly rent. $800 could be cheap if you have a serious store front. 

You need to figure out your target market and see if there is enough of them around to sustain your business. You will have to charge alot of money per shirt to break even. Will they pay?


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## selzler (Apr 4, 2007)

SeasonEnds said:


> If you are talking about something more upscale than a farmers market yhen you are talking about serious overhead. Rent, electricity, water, insurance, furniture, inventory, ink, brushes, card services are just some of the expenses you would have. Plus you would have to factor in time spent with no one in your store. Can you sell the shirts for enough money to cover those things? If he made 40 shirts a month you would have to sell each one for $20 just to cover an $800 monthly rent. $800 could be cheap if you have a serious store front.
> 
> You need to figure out your target market and see if there is enough of them around to sustain your business. You will have to charge alot of money per shirt to break even. Will they pay?


The guy I know sells his air brushed shirts for $45 ea. he now is in CA. and doing great.


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