Well hello there! Welcome to An Interview With Myself. It\u2019s really just me answering questions that I thought might be interesting for others to know, but ultimately it\u2019s kind of like high-fiving a mirror at this point. I\u2019ll discuss topics like, why I\u2019m doing this to myself and what I hope to gain out of this. I won\u2019t introduce too much but rather just get straight into it.<\/p>
Kind of difficult one to answer first off. Truthfully, I\u2019m not sure yet. I\u2019ve got a basic grasp of what I want it to be, but whether it will turn out that way is a different matter. Simply put, the idea, for the moment at least, is to provide a space where businesses and artists can sell custom merch to their fanbase. I\u2019ve also sprinkled in some of my own design ideas because it\u2019s mine and I want to.<\/p>
Like many other people I have got tons of useless and underutilised ideas in my head. The super early thoughts of starting a merch brand developed during my second year of uni. My roommate and I would sit on the couch performing \u2018extra curricular activities\u2019 and come up with random sayings and ideas followed by one of two statements, \u201cthat would be a cool name for a band\u201d, and\/or, \u201cthat would look great on a t-shirt\u201d. As I can\u2019t play musical instruments or sing particularly well the t-shirt idea kind of stuck.<\/p>
After about 5 years of working, studying and thinking, I suppose, it grew into something of substance. During a chat with a colleague whilst I was working in an ice cream shop, I dropped my adolescent wishes of personal success and focused on building success with others. I realised how expensive it was for small businesses to provide merch to their customers. Most places will have pretty big upfront costs that take quite a while to make back. So, I went fishing for a way to break that model. That is when I came across Teemill. A business pretty much doing what I wanted to do, but maybe a little less focused on small businesses. So I thought, why not become a spoke in the wheel of the circular economy. Utilising the systems they have created to provide a bespoke service to those too busy to do it themselves.<\/p>
I still have a notes page on my phone dedicated to all the iterations of the brand name. It\u2019s not too deep a meaning and if you must know it came from a dog walk. My sister has a wee black lab named Idho (nicknamed Ides on occasion) and I happened to be walking her on a particular evening in March thinking about Julius Caesar. I\u2019ll let you put the rest together\u2026<\/p>
Honestly? Not a clue, sometimes maybe dreams, sometimes just whatever comes out of my mouth during nonsensical rambling. Dealers choice really.<\/p>
Firstly, none of the designs are mine. They might be born from my chaotic subconscious, but I heavily rely on artists to bring my ideas to life. Secondly, regarding a process. I mainly make use of AI and Pinterest to find references for the artists and illustrators that I work with. I find AI has a unique way of accurately depicting the depravity of some of my thoughts (re. Koala Cocktail T), Pinterest gives me a good idea on the kind of styles I\u2019m going for with each design. Once I\u2019ve collected the necessary ingredients, I\u2019ll shoot them off to the artists and see what they come back with. 9 times of of 10 it\u2019s an absolute banger and so much better than I ever imagined.<\/p>
Total domination of global fashion trends?! I joke, maybe. My hopes and dreams mainly revolve around wanting share this with as many people and businesses as possible. A lot of places charge astronomical prices for merch production and small businesses really struggle to cope with that, I can speak from personal experience.<\/p>
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More questions to come as and when I think of them\u2026<\/p>","urlTitle":"an-interview-with-myself","url":"\/blog\/an-interview-with-myself\/","editListUrl":"\/my-blogs","editUrl":"\/my-blogs\/edit\/an-interview-with-myself\/","fullUrl":"https:\/\/idesofmerch.co.uk\/blog\/an-interview-with-myself\/","featured":false,"published":true,"showOnSitemap":true,"hidden":false,"visibility":null,"createdAt":1741431095,"updatedAt":1741526575,"publishedAt":1741526575,"lastReadAt":null,"division":{"id":304568,"name":"Ides of Merch"},"tags":[],"metaImage":{"original":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/xo18bcihtkzbmgadhubkjsogmpfqhfpaorfu5djqety1dfxz.jpeg?fy=0.5","thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/xo18bcihtkzbmgadhubkjsogmpfqhfpaorfu5djqety1dfxz.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855&fy=0.5","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/xo18bcihtkzbmgadhubkjsogmpfqhfpaorfu5djqety1dfxz.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440&fy=0.5"},"metaTitle":"","metaDescription":"","keyPhraseCampaignId":null,"series":[],"similarReads":[],"labels":[]}