(Unit 13) Ordering My Merchandise + Research

Unit 13 - Ordering My Merchandise

As I've mentioned throughout this project, my goal is to make most of this merchandise myself to test my capabilities and problem-solving skills. Therefore, I need quite a few different items to complete my work. Starting with the t-shirts, I began by buying five t-shirts from Amazon before realising I could get them for around 50p cheaper from a local shop. Therefore, I ended up purchasing six t-shirts for £2.50 each alongside my Amazon t-shirts which came to around £3 each. As I was printing everything myself, I decided to browse a couple of shops online until I found the cheapest supplies, which ended up being The Range. I decided to purchase acrylic paint and fabric medium to mix together instead of fabric paint itself as I've heard that the mix creates a smoother finish that's less likely to crack and bend.

White acrylic paint = £3.49

Black acrylic paint = £3.49

Fabric medium to transform the paint = £4.99

I also purchased this brush which I then cut to create a short stapling bristled brush but I ended up just using a random sponge I owned that was still in it's packaging as I felt it was much more efficient and it had a smoother, cleaner finish. The brush ended up costing two pound but I've decided not to include it in the final cost as I didn't use it in any of the shirts I sold.

Overall cost: 

Five medium shirts = £15

Three large shirts = £7.50

Three small shirts = £7.50

White paint = £3.49

Black paint = £3.49

Fabric medium = £4.99

Total = £41.97

Per t-shirt (11 shirts) = Approx £3.81/£3.82

Overall, if I sell the shirts for five pound each, I should earn my money back over time, even if I don't sell them all at this upcoming gig. I've been researching t-shirt designing online and I think this will be a fun process for me. Next time I want to try out designing the print myself (both back and front) and then providing the design and shirt to a printing company so I can ensure a higher, long-lasting quality.

(Unit 13) Original Cassette Cover Designs

Unit 13 - Original Cassette Designs

In this blog post, I'm going to showcase some cassette tape sticker designs. Since I've decided to buy green tapes, I know I want to stick with a pink and green theme, I just need to decide on the right design. Another thought to keep in mind is that I want the tapes to have a homemade feel, so I've decided to draw them onto the stickers myself instead of printing. This means each of the designs may differ slightly so I must stay slightly simple in order to be capable of the creation. Here are three ideas I made online, one side is a very simple cat design and the other two are slightly more interesting.

I was also super lucky and whilst looking for cassette cover templates, I found a website that makes the cover, ready-to-print, for you if you just fill out what you need. This is the website and I was so grateful to come across it as I was really struggling with creating a design with no help. I originally created it darker online but once printed it came out a lighter pink which I then incorporated into my tape stickers. I ended up only printing the materials and recording onto five cassettes as I've decided not to sell them just yet and for now create them solely to give to family and myself as not many people listen to cassettes. I think next time, if I had the opportunity and time, I would try collaborating or at least asking advice from an artist as I found myself lacking the creativity needed to bring this product to the next level.