The LF Blog

Tea House

2009-09-07T10:36:00.001-05:00

Loving it so much here. Each day I keep finding new things to explore and the area I'm in just keeps expanding with new developments. When I was here in the Spring, I usually had to catch a bus downtown if I wanted to do any serious shopping (beyond fruits, veggies, spices, etc). But now there's a huge mall just a couple of blocks away, so I can just walk now. Love it!

Yesterday was pretty great. A local friend of mine took me to this incredible tea house downtown. The building was like a giant atrium-circular with a massive glass ceiling. Sort of like a huge birdcage. And incidentally, that was kind of the theme of the place-there were bamboo cages all over the place with singing birds and paintings and carvings of birds in all the furniture. There were hundreds of years of history behind it all, too, and my friend proceeded to explain and I proceeded to understand about 10% of it.

My Chinese is very contextual. If I don't know the subject, I'm way out of my league. It's coming along, though. It's fun to eavesdrop on people now. :)

OK, Linty Fresh stuff. So initially, as you may remember, there were some issues with the tees. Most notably, there was a problem with the collar that made it stand straight up rather than lay flat against the neck. Well, after a bit of deliberation and consulting with the factory, they agreed to re-stitch all of the pieces with adjusted collars. The result is fantastic. Fits like American Apparel but made of better, thicker material, and it's still super soft to the touch. I'll be sporting it tomorrow to see how it wears through the day, but I don't have any major concerns left.

September Release!

2009-08-31T22:59:00.002-05:00

Howdy good people of the internet.

September is here!

That means two things: cooler weather and new Linty Fresh goodies. I can't complain much about weather, though. This summer was surprisingly mild for Atlanta's usually brutal weather, and I got to China just as things were cooling down. I had maybe 2 really nasty and muggy days and then things cleared up beautifully. Right now it's about 75 degrees with blue skies and pretty clouds (China is 12 hours ahead of the US). Awesome!

Anyways, let's get down to the releases...

First off, a brand new tee called Rebel Bowels. It comes in a couple of colorways and even has a little print on the back. And if you're wondering why the stomach has an eye patch, it's a tribute to International Talk Like Pirate Day, which is coming up on the 19th of this month. Which means this tee is Pirate Approved.

Also new for this month are custom jewelry pieces that come in 5 different colorways. Check the site for all the styles! Each piece will also ship in a special protective tin, too. Get em while they last!

Last up, just wanted to remind everyone about the contest currently running. In case you've forgotten, I'm going to reprinting this design in a few months and need to write a poem for it. I thought it'd be cool to let everyone pitch in their ideas for the poem, and give the winner a bunch of free stuff. Specifically, $100 worth of LF goodies. For more details, see the video I did for the contest here.

Ok, that's all for me. Off to the beach!

Settling In

2009-08-22T23:25:00.002-05:00

I LOVE THE NEW APARTMENT. Completely knocks the socks off of the old place. The quality of the floors and furnishings are much better than the last. And it's massive. 5 rooms, 2 full baths. We've got a third roommate now, so that means 2 offices and 3 bedrooms, and one of the offices can be converted into a guest room when our friends come to visit (a queue which is already building quickly).

Anyways, I've been busy with the new place, shopping for odds and ends to make life a bit more pleasant on us foreigners. On Monday I'm going downtown to give measurements to this seamstress for curtains. The ones that are currently up are pretty outdated. I'm also going to try to find someone to frame these silkscreened posters that I bought at shows this summer. And if I still have any energy after that I'll be shopping for a giant lamp for the living room, preferably one of those octopus-tentacle-like ones.

It's great to be back. I was so timid about returning just a week ago, but it quickly feels like home again. Got to see a bunch of friends last night and was absolutely stoked to hear them say that my Chinese is better than when I left (I tried to practice as much as possible while gone). It was great to hear that because I was so scared that I'd lose it all...

One thing that I really enjoy about China is the people's sociable and fun-loving nature. Not to say Americans aren't this way, but I think we let our busy lives crowd out the good times way too much. And specifically where I was, in Atlanta, distance made things even harder. I had friends that lived over an hour away, so it was difficult to hang out often. Here, everyone is a 5 minute cab ride away, so we hang out all the time. Plus, being in a city, there's no shortage of stuff to see and explore. Just yesterday a friend told me that there's this observation tower right on the coast with a giant telescope where people can see all sorts of cool stuff in space. How awesome is that?

I recently did an interview and was asked what my favorite part of running Linty Fresh is. It's hard to narrow it down to just one thing since it's really been such an amazing experience, but I said it's the freedom I love most. LF has allowed me to be my own boss. I'm certainly not rolling in cash, but I have enough: enough to travel, enough to really experience life and broaden my horizons. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Back in China

2009-08-19T13:10:00.002-05:00

It's nice to be back. To be honest though, it kind of feels like I never left; like all the experiences of the last 12 weeks were just lived out in some remote corner of China that resembled home. Weird. I guess that comes from the fact that I was only gone during the summer, and I was so busy and it went so fast. Still a strange sensation. Eerie almost, to be retracing the same route I took to come home back in May, only backwards. Very strange.

The flight was great though, nothing at all to complain about. I think the most terrifying thing about a flight - more so than turbulence or a sketchy landing - is that period of time while you're seated before the flight waiting for your "rowmates" to arrive. Will they be obnoxious? Have kids? Get nauseous? Clip their nails or snore loudly? I was fortunate enough to sit next to a slender, passive Chinese guy who knew English and slept most of the time. These things make all the difference in a 14-hour flight.

It's always impressive to me how efficient Chinese airports are. I'm sure they experience the same traffic as most American airports (if not more, considering China's population is roughly five times that of the US), and yet, everything is handled carefully and smoothly. Lines move swiftly and there's never any confusion, even if you're a foreigner.

At the Shanghai airport I passed my 5-hour layover online. I'm rarely willing to pay those ridiculous WiFi fees, but as I was sitting there reading Jurassic Park in the noisy terminal I suddenly realized that I had no idea where I was going once I flew into my city. I logged into my email and fortunately my roommate had sent me a message with our address. He spelled all the details out carefully, in the Apartment Complex/Street Name/Building No./Entrance No./Apartment No. format typical to China.

The final flight went smoothly. It seems that most airplanes used for domestic flights in China are really new - built in the 90's or even within the decade. The smell better, feel more comfy, and everything just looks a lot newer. Including the stewardesses. I don't think US airlines have been updated in any of these aspects since the 60's.

Took a cab to the apartment, hauled my luggage up the stairs, and walked in to the cheers of a bunch of people in the dark. Turns out a bunch of my friends here decided to throw a surprise party for my return. I was handed a fosty mug of beer and a slice of Papa John's pizza (a new arrival since I left) and told everyone about my crazy summer.

Oh man, it is good to be home.

Last Day

2009-08-16T09:26:00.002-05:00

I awoke this morning with the daunting realization that this is my last day in the US. As much as I'm looking forward to being back in China, it's scary to think that it's a permanent move. I mean, I could always move back here if I absolutely had to, but I haven't exactly made that an easy thing to do for myself. My car's sold along with a bunch of other stuff. In fact, if it isn't directly related to running Linty Fresh, it's gone. Coming back would mean starting over completely. So yeah, scary.

It's weird how I've had such a shift in perspective about things, too. When I was there, I loved it so much. Being so surrounded by foreign culture, music, food, and people was enthralling and addicting. But now, after being back home where everything is comfortable and easy, it's a little terrifying to picture myself back there. The daily struggles are what come to mind, not the joys.

Gonna miss everyone too. I had a bunch of friends over last Saturday for a cookout and a bonfire. They are truly some solid people: supportive, loyal, intelligent, and fun. Creative, too. Somehow, it seems that every friend that I've got has some sort of creative outlet that they do really well with - writing, music, photography, art & design. I'm sure I'll find that eventually in my new home, but in the meantime I'll miss that as well. Email just isn't the same as a chat around a bonfire.

In any case, it's almost 11 AM and I'm still in bed. I still have a few items to take care of today and then I'll be crashing extra early tonight since my flight leaves at like 7AM tomorrow. My bags are mostly packed, though, and I'm all ready for the long flights there.

See you guys in China.

Poem Contest!

2009-08-14T11:26:00.005-05:00

So last night I check my LF email and read this panicked message:

Hey, I bought the long sleeve t-shirt for a freind - the white one that has the story of the guy who leaves home to slay the dragon. I wanted to print the story, but it's not on your site anymore. I am sad. Can you please forward that to me, pleeeeeze?!

The tee she referred to is called The Epic of Niloofar and was printed in December of 2007. So I went looking for the story. I first checked the folder where all the "EPIC" related files are kept, and it wasn't there. It also wasn't on my website, since I deactivated that product once it sold out a few months ago. Then I began to panic, fearing that perhaps that file was lost forever.

Then I had an idea.

Why not let you guys come up with a story? And not just a story, but a poem? The thing is, I've been wanting to reprint this tee (in new colors) for awhile now, and tried to transform the story into a poem but had trouble.

It's not often that I leave the creative side of LF up to anyone but myself, but I thought I'd try it this once, just to see what happens.

So here are the [very basic] rules:

Any poem format may be used (limerick, haiku, free verse, etc)
Use this design as the basis
Submit by email to gameyy(at)lintyfresh.com with "Poem Entry" in the subject line
Contest ends October 1st
No limit to entries per person
Winner gets bragging rights, their name on the card & website, and $100 worth of LF gear

GAME ON!

p.s. If you're stuck, feel free to use this as a poem opening:

Amid these stones lay scattered bones
Of a dragon and countless men
The men fell first for their trophy thirst
See, the dragon would always win...

Too many hobbies

2009-08-10T16:57:00.003-05:00

I swear, it is ridiculous how many things I've picked up as hobbies over the years. Drawing, painting, writing, music composition, guitar, animation, tee design... On and on and on it goes. Not that I've ever really done a whole lot with any of them (Linty Fresh is the sole exception here), but still... Sometimes I wish I could just take a year off of life to develop one of these hobbies into something more. For example, writing.

A few years ago I really pushed myself to write. I've kept a daily journal since I was 9 which has been useful in finding my writing "voice", but it didn't do a whole lot for me creatively. Still, that introspective, first-person format was comfortable, so I naturally began a fictional journal. I wrote an entry a day for one month. I had a general plot in my head and went with it. It came out ok, but after reviewing it last week I realized it was amateurish in a lot of ways. The dialogue was unrealistic, the wording and descriptions excessive. Still, it was a great exercise, and the pacing and action made it fun to read.

But I think I can do better now. I've got a bit more experience and have tried to be more studious of writing from authors I really enjoy. So a couple of weeks I finally dove into a couple of short story ideas I've had for over 5 years. It's exciting to finally get the characters on paper and see how they interact. I've known for a long time that good characters make good stories. Plots are overrated. Catcher in the Rye, anyone? Or how about Napoleon Dynamite, for that matter? Practically nothing happens in these stories, but they're fun to experience because of their engaging characters.

I've begun thinking about what I'll do with the stories once I'm done with them, too. Supposing that they're worth reading, how can I share them with other people? I don't really mind the idea of providing downloads to them, as I'm not too concerned with making a profit in the beginning, but at the same time I want them to be special. Hmm. That'll take some brainstorming. Maybe an exclusive illustrated Linty Fresh novelette?

Lol.

Oh, and on a completely unrelated note, I found a bunch of images from 1930's-50's movies that I captioned a few years back. Uploaded a few to a new Flickr set. They're dumb, but mildly entertaining.

9 Days Left

2009-08-08T11:45:00.003-05:00

I'm taking two suitcases with me back to China. With weight restrictions, that means just 100 pounds of stuff. What would you take?

Clothes and shoes are an obvious choice, but not really a wise one. You can get everything you need there: pants, shirts (ok, not all graphic tees, but besides that), hats, socks, jackets, shoes, etc. After all, if you were to check your wardrobe you'd probably find that 80% of what you wear is made there in the first place. No sense in having it make two trips. It's cheaper there anyways.

So in terms of clothes, I'm down to the basics. Undies, a few of my favorite tees, some pants, my favorite shoes and a few other accessories. That gets me to only about 25 pounds. What else?

Art supplies. Although they've got it there, if I want the good brands like Prismacolor and Sharpie, I'm gonna pay a hefty fee, resulting in a price tag at about 10% more than what I'd pay in the states. So markers, pens, pencils, highlighters, and some paints are going back with me, too. Another 20 pounds. After some other digital stuff--my wacom tablet, mouse, cables--I'm at 50 pounds, the limit for the first suitcase. My second piece of luggage is still fully empty. Hm.

And then I remember: books. Good English reading material. Just about impossible to find in China. I get on Amazon, on Half.com, go visit all the nearby Goodwills. For the next month, I'm getting packages every day in the mail, towers of paperbacks piling up on my nightstands. I packed it all up a few nights ago; now I've got an entire suitcase of books. Novels, business and marketing books, travelogues, short story compilations, history books. Packed so tight that the zipper struggles to keep it all together.

Awesome.

August Release Live!

2009-07-31T23:03:00.002-05:00

Well what're ya doing here? Go check it out!

Starting to sink in

2009-07-30T21:04:00.002-05:00

So the other day I glanced at my calendar and realized that my tentative departure date for China is just 2 WEEKS AWAY. Then I had this sudden realization that I'm actually moving there. Not just visiting, but moving. Wowzers!

On the plus side, I'm stoked for it, and it'll be good for me. When I first got back to the US, I remembered how relaxed I felt, how much being over there had chilled me out. I think a big part of stress here in Atlanta is driving. People do the dumbest things and freak out on each other. I've seen some pretty insane road rage result from it all. Driving = stress. Over there, I don't have to worry about all that. Riding the bus all over the place means I don't need a car, don't need to fill it up with gas, and don't need to stress out on the road. Wonderful!

Also good (as I mentioned countless times) is the prices. Rent's cheap, food's cheap, transportation's cheap, groceries are cheap. And to make life even better for us westerners are the introduction of new US eateries all the time; I heard recently that the first Papa John's in our city opened up a block down from our apartment! Plus, there's no shortage of fun things to do, something I had worried about before leaving.

Of course, the downside is that I'm leaving a bunch of friends and family. I'm definitely going to miss them, and they're all promising to visit, but it's a long trip, and I can't expect that everyone will be able to make it over and survive the 30+ hour journey...

Can't have everything I guess.

Overseas headaches

2009-07-27T21:55:00.003-05:00

Just got off the phone with my translator/advisor for China. She's been so great through all of this. I'm completely sure I'd be sunk without her efforts!

So, the latest (as you may have seen on my Flickr), is that the samples came in from China. They look astounding. The colors are solid and vivid, and because they dyed the material from scratch, the results are actually even better than American Apparel. It's a perfect match for Linty Fresh, and I'm thrilled. On top of that, the material I decided to go with is slightly thicker than my current AA styles (2001 and 2102). It's super, super comfy.

Of course, nothing comes without a little grief, and there were some issues. For one, it looks like the collars have a problem that cause them to stand up (rather than laying flat on your neck, like a normal tee). Apparently the material used was a different blend of cotton, causing it to shrink at a rate different from that of the rest of the shirt. No good. Also, the vertical shoulder seem is just a bit long on the girl sizes. Fixable issues, but things that need to be addressed now.

In other China news, it looks like I'll be moving into a different place than I was staying in while there in the Spring. It turns out that my roommate and I are getting a third friend from the states moving in, so we're upscaling a bit. The new place has 5 bedrooms and 2 full baths. It's on the third floor, has a great view, and is just across the street from out old place. One of the rooms is set up as an office, which I'll try to snag as my workspace. And as typical for China, the place is fully furnished. (We just need to provide mattresses, because who wants to use someone else's?) The best part, of course, is the price. When split 3 ways, rent's just $130 a month. Factor in food (eating out practically every day), entertainment, and shopping, and you're at about $350. It'll be a bit more for me with obvious business expenses, but dude... Seriously. Awesome.

The funny part is that I still don't have my ticket. I'm so close to having enough miles on my frequent flier account to be able to get a free round-trip, so I'm holding out... But my planned arrival is August 12-15th, so I'm running out of time and may just purchase a one-way. Either way, it's looming ever closer. Can't wait to get back!

Asheville a success!

2009-07-13T20:52:00.002-05:00

Curse my never taking pictures of stuff! The best I could do was snag this shot from one of the organizer's Flickr photostream. It was just too busy to take my own pics though. I had folks browsing through the wares pretty much nonstop throughout the day. In fact, I sold a bunch of stuff before the event even officially began at noon!

Now, Asheville is about 4 hours from Atlanta, so I had to be up pretty early to make it in time for setup (4:30 AM, to be exact). I actually really love driving before the sun is up. There's just something very ethereal about driving through the country into a smudge of light from the sun rising on the horizon. That plus a backing soundtrack of Grizzly Bear and I'm pretty much set.

Got there a bit early so I drove around and explored the city. It's a pretty cool place. Smaller and quainter than Atlanta, and with more personality and artisanship. I suspect it'd be a cool place to live. I began setting up at around 9:30, and took my time with it. I was done by 11:00.

It's always a little nerve-wracking to sell in a new city. Atlanta's fun, because it's home. Each show seems to bring out more support for both the local scene and Linty Fresh specifically (I've actually been recognized around town for being the Linty Fresh guy, which is cool!). But with a new place, there's a certain tension there, a lack of confidence in how the local audience will receive my brand and my art.

The first sale came in a bit after 11:00. It was one of my Hairy Harry tees, and the customer just kept saying over and over how cool he thought the tees were, and how well everything was going to sell. It was the boost I needed, and things didn't slow down till closing at 6PM!

Incredibly, I actually did better at this show than I did on either day in Brooklyn's Renegade show, which is just about mind-blowing to me. So yeah, Asheville pretty much rocks.

In international news, things are coming along speedily! The first batch of tees is completely ready to go, so now it's time to get busy arranging the photoshoot, which will be handled by a friend there who claims to know plenty of willing models. We shall see!

The Big Crafty!

2009-07-12T03:50:00.003-05:00

Just woke up and about to head out for Asheville, North Carolina. It's about a 4 hour drive, so I should be ok.

Anyways, If you're in or around the area be sure to stop by! The event is called The Big Crafty and it's today only (July 12, Sunday from 12-6PM)! It will be held at "Pack Place" (check the site for info).

Come say hi!

China. Let me count the woes.

2009-07-10T22:37:00.002-05:00

So for the last month and a half I've been working on paying the people in China for the tees. It might seem weird that I didn't pay up front, but it isn't, really. We had a contract, and I only had to pay a percentage at first, with the bulk coming later. Well, that later finally came, and I was required the pay the rest of the money. So I go to my bank, get a formal wire transfer request, and fill it all out. The money in my account is sufficient, the details look good, the teller stamps it and puts it in her little tray for processing.

2 days later, while in California, I get a phone call from my bank. They ask for a "Purpose for Funds", because the Chinese bank won't touch the money unless they know why it's there. I explain succinctly, "reimbursement for tshirts". The reason I noted "reimbursement" was because at this point, the money had actually been fronted by an associate there, so I was repaying him what he paid the factory. Ok.

A week goes by, and I get an email from the associate there. He can't get to his money. The bank has it alright, but they say his name doesn't match. One of the letters is an "A" when it should be an "O". Nevermind that his address, phone number, and account details are completely accurate and there is no possible way it could be anyone else... That .01% room for doubt is enough to fire up sirens and put a lockdown on the wire. Awesome.

So a couple weeks ago, I go to my bank and explain the problem. She shows me my original paperwork and the final, type-transcribed request, and sure enough, somewhere along the line, someone misread my handwriting. I point this out to the lady behind the counter who nods sympathetically and promises to send an addendum to China explaining their mistake. Success seems to loom closer...

10 days go by. I'm in the car with some friends, and my phone goes off. The caller ID says it's "UNKNOWN", which I immediately know to be China.

"Hello, Boss."
"Hello, what's up?"
"Bad news"
"Ok. Let me have it."
"China still won't release the money."
"..."
"They say that since your associate isn't a company, it doesn't make sense for him to get money for products like tshirts."
"You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding."
"It should be more generic. Just say "repayment"..."

It was the first time I'd ever dreamed of putting my head in a microwave.

A true story.

Tricky balance

2009-07-06T16:21:00.003-05:00

So as you all are very aware of by now, I'm out of stuff. Lots of stuff. If you're a guy that wears smalls or mediums, you probably aren't too happy with me right now... What can I say? The tees go fast! I'm especially surprised with how fast Dr. K's Chemistry went. Although I only printed them back in February, I'm completely out of them in guys' sizes, and only about half of the girls' are in stock. If things go well, I'll try to reprint it for the fall. It's funny how tees sell, though. Sometimes it's the really simple ones (like the recently reprinted Keiths) that do the best! I'll have to keep this in mind for future releases. I have a bunch of ideas for late-summer tees, but if things keep going at this rate I'll be too booked with reprints to do anything new! In any case, I guess it's time to start ordering a few more with each run, especially with the wholesale orders that have been coming through and cleaning me out... (see pic)

The other thing that's made this a tricky summer is that my resources are now being tugged in two different directions: USA and China. China's doing well though. I got to finally see the samples of the first line (5 designs) and was blown away at how great they look. To be perfectly honest, they actually look better than some of the originals! I still haven't seen the completed tees, though. Because they're making my tees from scratch, they dye the material, then print it, and then stitch it. This is great for a lot of reasons, but it means that the trickiest part, the measuring and fitting, is still in the wings. I have confidence, though. They've given me no reason to worry. If anything, sometimes they're too concerned with details, like when they wanted to know how many millimeters each design fell from the collar seam. Yikes.

So I'm busy. I have a notebook next to my computer with a running to-do list that is constantly being added to, amended, and scratched off. In the last week, I've done 22 of the 36 things that I've got listed so far. The bulk of my time is being spent on arranging affairs to head back to China. I went through my apartment and put a bunch of things in the main room for friends to come over and pick through: books, movies, CDs, computer parts, office supplies, and other junk I can't lug with me to China (or can re-purchase there for cheap). I'm pretty bummed about having to get rid of stuff like my acoustic guitar, but I really don't want to take it on the 30+ hour, 3-flight trip there.

Feels like life has been on fast-forward lately... Whew.

Summer sale and new Keith tees!

2009-06-30T23:04:00.002-05:00

Hooray for summer! The time for beach outings, picnics, and, of course, a new closet-full of tshirts! Fortunately for you, it'll be a bit cheaper this time around due to a little summer sale I'm throwing for the month of July. So head on over to The LF Shop and grab some gear while it lasts! Believe it or not, I'm down to as few as 7 designs in certain sizes, so strike while the season's hot. Hey-oh!

As for the July offering, I'm happy to be re-releasing the popular Keith designs from last summer. This time around they're on purple and blue AA tees and are super comfy as always. The print is really soft, too, so you won't have to fret about sweating under the design...

The Linty Fresh Webwide Hunt!

2009-06-14T22:55:00.002-05:00

So if you follow my Twitter you may have noticed a little tweet about an upcoming Linty Fresh game to be held tomorrow, Monday, June 15. It'll be hosted via twitter, so if you'd like to participate, be sure to follow me. I promise I'm not one of those people that tweet every five minutes. Honest!

I'm calling the game "The Linty Fresh Webwide Hunt", and basically it's an online scavenger hunt. Each clue will require participants to do a bit of web browsing, be it Google image searching, YouTube scouring, Wikipedia digging, and other general online meandering. The game will last for most of the day, with clues coming at random times, so if you're on your computer at any time tomorrow, you'll have a shot at scoring some points.

Points will be awarded to the first person to correctly respond to a clue by tweeting it with "@lintyfresh" at the end of the tweet. Points earned correlate to a percentage discounted in my shop at the end of the game. In other words, if a player earns a total of 10 points, I will provide them a 10% coupon for use in my store. To protect myself from someone getting 100 points and then getting my entire stock for free, there will be a $100 limit on orders purchased with game coupons.

And yes, if you score 80 points in tomorrow's game, you can walk away with $100 worth of LF gear for 20 bucks. Pretty sweet, eh?

So be sure to tune into the Linty Fresh Twitter tomorrow and try your web skills in this kickin' online community game!

Feelin' the stress

2009-06-14T09:50:00.002-05:00

I feel like all the relaxation of the last 3 months has been quickly reversed in just 3 weeks since being back. It feels like this spring in my chest that's being wound a little tighter every day, and it's the worst!

Part of it, of course, is all this travel. just got in from New York (a weekend of 1800 driven miles), and in two days I fly out to California to see some relatives. Since news of my plans to move back got around, a lot of family wants to see me before the summer's out. All this travel means that I still have clumps of luggage that I haven't opened since my return from China, which makes me feel unsettled and annoyed. I work well when things are organized and neat, and having to rummage through piles of stuff is really annoying to me.

The good news (for me, anyhow), is that a lot of stock is moving this summer, which means that I can focus on a few new releases before I leave in late August. The unfortunate side of this is that I'm running out of a lot of sizes, specifically guys' smalls and mediums. Same goes for belts, of which I only have 1 or 2 in most styles. So, hopefully some new belts this summer too, but no promises.

Starting production in China means that I'm having to figure out the balance of financing production on two fronts. The current plan is to have the Chinese Linty Fresh website up and running in July (which means some income on that end). But until then, LF USA is paying for all the operations there. Ahh, the headaches of going international.

As for China, the fabrics for my first line are finished, so now it's a matter of me seeing some samples to confirm the colors and quality. Next, using my measurements, they'll sew up a spread of sample blank tees for me to wear and wash. I'll have to make sure the fit is right (measured to my current line here in the US) and the collar isn't too tight, etc etc. Finally we'll move on to the printing, tagging, and bagging stages. It's a lot to get done in just a few weeks, but if there are any delays with our timeframe, it'll be the fault of the postal system, not me or the factory. Countdown!

Back from Brooklyn

2009-06-09T22:48:00.003-05:00

Whew. What a crazy week it's been.

Last Thursday morning, at 6AM, Vincent and I hopped in the van and embarked on the long drive up to Brooklyn, New York, from Marietta Georgia. We were scheduled to stay at a hotel/apartment on the South side (Chinatown, incidentally) of the city that night, so were pretty determined to get there as soon as possible, making only the 3 or 4 absolutely necessary stops along the way. At 10PM, we made it, making the whole 900-mile trip about 16 hours. Not bad!

After checking in and taking a few moments to enjoy the luxury of laying down, we realized how hungry we were and went looking for food. We found a Chinese restaurant just around the corner, and it felt really great to be able to use my Chinese again. Although I didn't feel at first like the 3 months in China did a whole lot for my language skills, it's become certain that my comprehension and basic communication speed has increased a good bit, which is hugely encouraging since I don't consider myself to be all that great with foreign languages.

Then we went home, had some beer, and crashed. Friday was just a rest day and a bit of exploration, but when the weekend finally rolled around, it was time to get to work. That meant driving to McCarren park, finding our spot in the labyrinth of booths, parking, unpacking, and setting up. All told, it took the full 3 hours to get settled in and ready for business, which began promptly at 11AM.

Unfortunately, I have to say that I wasn't too impressed with how I did that first day. Although the crowd was steady, it seemed like there were more browsers than buyers, and a lot of people were clearly looking for bargain purchases. Although I still made more than enough to cover my expenses and make it all worth my while, it wasn't exactly the business boom I was hoping for. But what made up for all that, as always, was the people.

Included in the people were folks like Kyle Crawford, the owner of Electric Zombie (the guy I poke fun at in my first Vimeo video), Rob Dobi, the founder and artist behind Fullbleed, and Ray Masaki, the guy from Lowdtown, another clothing line. Aside from them, there were a handful of other reputable designers and illustrators that came by the booth to introduce themselves and say hi. It was awesome to get that kind of welcome. So if you guys are reading this, thanks!

And in addition to those folks, there were other vendors there like the mighty David Murray of Seibei, the trio of John, Mike, and Justin of Fuzzy Ink, and the incredibly inventive Jon Wye. At the end of the first day, Vincent and I went out to eat with the Fuzzy Ink guys and Jon Wye and his apprentice, Jeff. It was great to relax a bit, talk business, and strategize for the next day.

As it turned out, the second day was a lot better for me. I'm not sure exactly what the reason behind this was, but the sales were much more constant, and at the end of the weekend, I was satisfied. Not thrilled, but not disappointed. We packed up, crashed hard, and headed out on Monday for Raleigh. Vince had friends there with couches and floorspace, so we crashed there for the night and finished the final 6 hours today.

All these shows and events are really taking a toll on my energy, and it kind of feels like I'm making up for all the work I didn't do while I was cruising for 3 months in China. In any case, it's pretty cool to be able to see so much of the country before going back for good, and the summer always lends itself to travel. Now for a few days of rest before I visit family out in Cali... Time to sleep for like 17 hours or so. G'night.

You've probably noticed...

2009-06-02T22:17:00.002-05:00

Yeah, so... No tee this month. Apologies! I was supposed to have a special new product out for this month, but it got held up and I'm still waiting on it... Aside from that, things have been a little hectic dealing with both the upcoming show I have in Brooklyn and the back-and-forth with China. Last night I was on a business call with my translator/adviser for a couple of hours sending files back and forth and trying to figure out what the heck an .SHS file is. I'm super thankful to have the help, though. I know for a certainty that if I didn't have this particular contact, I'd probably let this opportunity slip by. If all pans out, I'll likely be hiring her full time as a secretary/personal assistant. She's excellent at chasing down information and getting things done, and has an uncanny sense for business and marketing.

Case in point: last week while trying to come up with a Chinese transliteration for "Linty Fresh", she sent me a mini report which included a bunch of insights into the Chinese language and the following suggestions:

1. 灵T匪思 (ling2 T fei3 si1): I decided to use alphabet T in the name. I think it is funny and everyone can read T and know it means Tees. 灵T means smart, active and bright Tees. 匪思 is from a Chinese ChengYu 匪夷所思， means fantastic and unimaginably unique.
2. 灵T斐思 (ling2 T fei3 si1)The last part is changed, 斐 means colorful and brilliant, so斐思 means colorful and brilliant ideas or thinking.
3. 灵T斐世 (ling2 T fei3 shi4) The last part is changed, which is more close to the pronunciation ‘Fresh’. 世 means the world, so the whole image of the name mentions the awesome tees will be brilliant in the world.

I went with option 2. Keep your eyes peeled and you should see it start popping up as I catalog the adaptations I'll be making for Linty Fresh in China...

So the show this past weekend: good, and gratifying, but a little strange for me in certain respects. I mean, I guess it's natural that as the brand grows, the site and this blog also grow in popularity and readership; still, it was funny to have people come up and mention specific details about my life, or me, or ask how China was. My mind would reel for a second with, "Huh? How the heck did..." and then the "Oh right, I broadcast every detail of my life through Twitter and my blog" realization. Oh yah, the internet. Huh.

It's great to see all the hard work paying off though. Seeing repeat faces, or hearing about how a certain customer always got compliments on his LF gear is something that never gets old, and genuinely feels good. Of course, a lot of this is due to me being based here in Atlanta, and having done a few local shows. New York should be interesting. Although a lot of tees go there, it'll be the first time I'm showing in person.

Either way, I'm looking forward to it. My friend Vincent will be tagging along and helping out with the show. If you watched my 3rd LF chat you'll know him as the web guru friend that cohosted with me. Should be good times.

This summer is going to be crazy

2009-05-29T20:02:00.004-05:00

I knew it leaving China, and I'm feeling it now. But crazy is good! The last 3 months were pretty laid back, so it'll be nice to have a change of pace and make a bit of cash before I head back in August.

Today I tried to get everything ready for the big show tomorrow. I really love what the Indie Craft Experience people have done with their shows so far, and weather permitting (it was incredible today, hopefully it'll behave again tomorrow!) I think it'll be pretty killer.

There's a couple of things I'm doing differently this time around that should be interesting to see in action. One new feature is the "Linty Fresh Styleguide", which is basically a laminated menu which will serve as a quick reference to perspective customers. As my inventory has expanded, it's become impossible to display everything, so it's crucial to come up with new ways to show a customer all the goods without having piles of junk on the counter. (If you've seen my video on doing tradeshows, you know I like keeping things tidy.) The styleguides are also nice because they tell a little bit about each item, which is a reflection of both the website and the brand itself. I've really tried to set myself apart from other brands by putting a lot of meaning into each product, and it's important to me to convey some of that to attendees at a show.

Another new feature this year is a discount rack that will have items dating back to December 07. I debated for some time whether or not to do this, but I think it's good to have low price points for people who are there to bargain shop. Of course, they won't be getting what full-price-paying customers get. In some cases, these discounted tees are simply so old that they're no longer congruent with the LF brand. In others, they've got either printing or manufacturing flaws. Either way, they're $10, and I hope to move them all if possible.

In other news, tonight I was reconnected with a Chinese business contact from last year (no connection to this new one). He wants to partner up with the brand and take it into the world of custom sneakers. A year ago I felt this was a pretty far-fetched notion, but now I'm feeling adventurous. We're meeting next week. Who knows?

Here I am

2009-05-25T02:46:00.000-05:00

My last day here, sitting in the Pudong airport in Shanghai, waiting on my delayed flight back home. It was funny to watch the other passengers' reactions to the news of the setback. The flight seems to be about 25% senior Americans, who were on the verge of lighting torches and storming the check in desk. When the announcement came through in Chinese, the locals looked at one another, shrugged, and started reading or sleeping. I couldn't think of a more appropriate setting to illustrate the fundamental difference between these two cultures. After three months, I've learned to chill out a LOT. It's the Chinese way. It's probably why they live longer.

When I got up this morning at 8:00 I packed up a few things, got dressed, did a bit of work in preparation for my shows, and headed out for the airport. There were a number of options to get here, the most obvious being hiring a taxi. But at 160¥ I decided to try something else, something more... adventurous. And cheap.

Those two options were a airport shuttle and the Maglev train. Since the shuttle was only 23¥ I went for that first, but couldn't find anyone that knew where the nearest stop was, and the directions online were sketchy. Since I was lugging around over 100lbs of my crap, I decided to just go for the Maglev. That meant braving the subways with luggage and a couple of transfers, but I went for it and relished the fact that it was a good way to end the trip.

I finally got to the Maglev station, bought a 50¥ ticket, and hopped on. I wish it took longer to get to the airport since it was so comfy, but at 430kph, I was only sitting for about 6 minutes. Boo.

Anyways, the trip ends here, but I'm going home feeling so different about things than I did 3 months ago. The opportunity to open up Linty Fresh here and the countless adventures it'll bring is absolutely irresistible, and I can't wait to get back here and go crazy with it. The contract's first draft will be written up tomorrow once I send in one last file I'm working on, and from there they'll start on production. The website goes up in a couple weeks, too. Craziness.

Aside from business stuff, I've learned a ton about Chinese culture and the people behind it. I've made some stellar friends, and we'll be keeping in touch as I tour around the US for the next few months. What an incredible 12 weeks it's been!

A concert in Shanghai

2009-05-24T06:09:00.003-05:00

Before coming to China, I did a little research online about the indie music scene here. I'd had conversations about it with friends prior, and we'd all surmised that the underground Chinese music scene was like the US scene a decade or so ago. There, and growing slowly, but not thriving. The radio sufficed.

Upon doing some poking around online, that hypothesis turned out to be pretty accurate. In this article written by Chinese indie musician and writer Wan Li, a very detailed explanation is given for the current state of the indie scene here. This quote pretty much sums it up:

What controls circulation is capital. The distributors' only thought is to make money, fast, so they have no interest in nurturing a market, building for the long-term. They'd rather spend millions to snatch up Dao Lang's latest record rather than spending ten thousand to buy a record of rock music.

Interesting, but not surprising. I think the same thing could be said of practically any young indie scene. Too much risk for the labels, too little money, and too few listeners. But China is a big country, so there was bound to be some good indie bands, and some good venues to showcase them. Most of them, it turns out, are from up north in Beijing, but there's a couple of places in Shanghai that they occasionally come to play at, so I made it a goal to check one out while here.

So yesterday, after lunch, my roommate (who decided to come join me for the few days in Shanghai) and I navigated our way across the city and found the venue, which was strangely situated in the corner of a public park. From the outside, it seemed very Chinese, but as soon as we entered through the hanging plastic-strip doorway, it was all very familiar: black walls, photographs of previous shows on display, a billboard littered with band flyers (all in Chinese except for the band names, which were all English), a thin bar lined with stools, a slightly elevated stage, and the band that would headline that night in rehearsal. So. Awesome.

We asked about tickets and were told they'd go on sale at 8:00 at night, and that they'd be 40¥ (about $6 US). Score!

So after a day of shopping and dining at some of Shanghai's many sprawling malls, we caught a cab and slid our way back into the venue, grabbing a Qingdao beer and settling into a spot in the back just in time to catch the opening band.

They were just ok; a punk cover band that did a bunch of 50's and 60's American rock classics with a faster tempo and more distortion. The levels were kind of out of whack so it was just noise a lot of the time, but what made it cool was that the lead singer and drummer were Americans, and the guitarist and bassist were Chinese. For me, it's just cool to see how music can bring people together like that, even on stage.

I think one of the most interesting aspects of the show, though, was the mixed crowd. There were a ton of American ex-patriots, and you got the feeling that they were there all the time, missing home and looking for anything that felt familiar. So you had your middle-aged, middle-class couples, your hippy backpackers, your weird guys dancing by themselves in the corner between songs, and your foot-tapping, brooding wallflowers. Normally, I doubt they'd all be found at the same show back in the states, but here they were, smiling and getting along. But the crowd was far from just American. Between songs I could hear people speaking French, Russian, and Japanese. And aside from foreigners, half the crowd was local Chinese, representing every possible cross culture in existence from your post-emo technicolor kids to plaid-jacket v-neck hipsters, B-box boys, and would-be club DJs. And then, randomly, you had a handful of upper-crust Chinese girls in velvet-y dresses who appeared to have mistaken the venue for a wedding reception.

The headlining band, Casino Demons, were all Chinese, and much better than their opener. Their music wasn't groundbreaking, but it was well rehearsed so their sound was very tight and there were some catchy riffs that had everyone dancing and cheering. And on top of that, all the lyrics were in English! I'd almost forget where we were for awhile, and then the song would end with some banter in muffled Beijing Mandarin, and only half the crowd could laugh.

Then, when they were finished, a line of new musicians filed in from a side doorway, carrying cow-hide drums and various other percussion pieces. They were dressed in what looked to be traditional African garb, and sure enough, that's what they played and sang. I'm no expert on African music so I'm not sure what region it was specifically, but suffice it to say, it was awesome awesome awesome.

On the way out, we asked the bartender if the music was usually this varied. He shook his head in a look of amusement that mirrored our own, and it was obvious that he dug the music as much as we did. We finally left the building to find that some locals had set up a little grill and were cooking up chuars (meat skewers). What an amazing experience. China never ceases to amuse me.

I. Am. Exhausted.

2009-05-22T10:21:00.002-05:00

Flew into Shanghai today at 9:30 in the morning, and got into a friend's house an hour later. Crashed till 11:30 in the back room of his apartment. He's on the 17th floor, so there's a nice breeze that comes in through the window and it was perfect for a nice, long, nap.

When I got up we went to grab lunch in an area called XinTianDi. I swear, I have had some of the best food of my life in the last three months in China, and today was one of the highlights. There was this amazing spicy peanut noodle dish, dumplings, dim sum, duck egg soup, and on and on. Incredible.

But I gotta say, Shanghai is so different from other Chinese cities. Where I was previously, no one really spoke English, so knowing a bit of Chinese was really useful (though I wouldn't say really necessary for a visitor). But in Shanghai, a LOT of locals speak English, and they speak it well. At the table next to us in the restaurant, everyone was using English, even with the waitress, and they were all Chinese! It sounded good, too. I was impressed. On the other hand though, it's a weird feeling to be around so much English again.

Thing is, there are TONS of foreigners in Shanghai, including lots of Americans. It's weird to say this, but I have to admit that now I feel like a foreigner when I'm around them rather than around Chinese people. I've gotten really accustomed to the Chinese styles of interaction, manners, and behavior, and to be back in the company of Americans is a strange, almost jarring experience. I've got this feeling that adjusting back into US life is going to be really difficult for me.

One of the things that I find exciting about life here is the challenge of it all. Whether it's speaking, reading, or simply understanding the local culture, it constantly feels like there's something to be discovered, something to be conquered. It feels SO GOOD to be able to try something new, visit a different place, or have a conversation with a local and know what's going on, and it's a huge motivation to keep working on it all. And with the innately encouraging nature of the Chinese people, it's less of an uphill battle and more fun.

But back home, life is life as life has always been. There's not a whole lot to be discovered, not a whole lot new. I'm not saying I can't learn anything from it, but I just feel... restless, ya know?

The funny thing is, I knew this was coming. When I was 13 years old my folks moved our family from Hawaii to California. As you can imagine, I was bummed about it and pretty resentful of the whole situation for a year or so until I realized all the benefits that came from experiencing a new life for a change. Two and a half years later we moved again, this time to Atlanta, and this move was instantly better than the last. It was here that I finished high school, started and dropped out of college, and started Linty Fresh. I've loved it since arriving, but poking at the back of my consciousness was the realization that one day I'd move again.

And here I am!

Putting the cart before the horse?

2009-05-20T03:03:00.002-05:00

Ha. Probably!

In any case, things are moving quickly, so I'm just hanging on and seeing where it leads.

After doing the factory tour they asked me to show them thumbnails of the designs I wanted to print so they could get a quote to me. Once that was out of the way, I got them measurements for the tees since they will be producing them from scratch (!). This was something that I think is especially important here, because often times the tees are cut too short or the sleeves are fit weird on Chinese brands. This way I get to specify everything that I want. It'll be the same for hoodies, jackets, and anything else I produce down the line.

With that out of the way it's just a matter of opening a webstore, which is even easier here than in the US, so that'll be up right after the tees are printed (early July, it looks like). I'm a little apprehensive about being overseas when all this happens, of course. Kind of feel like the dad that misses his kid's first steps... But all should be well. I really trust the folks that are going to be running it for me till I get back. I actually met with one of them today, who helped me get a bank account set up locally. How will I ever pay back all these favors? I have no idea.

Anyhow, with all these wheels in motion, I realized that getting a bigger place was pretty essential. The place I'm in now is roughly 1,000 square feet, which is actually big for China, but still not quite bit enough to run a storage facility and shipping operation, even a small one. So we (my roommate and I) put the word out to some friends and today arranged an appointment with the owner of a former cigarette factory that is being renovated into a small community of lofts, restraunts, and shops. Unfortunately it was a bit far from where I want to be, but the rooms were absolutely massive. We checked out one 2,000 square foot place with a 20ft ceiling that was amazing, and super reasonable. We'll see. I've always wanted to live in a place like that, and now I have the perfect excuse!

After touring around we grabbed a quick lunch and then got a massage at one of the nicest places in the city. Private room, giant flat screen TV, someone dedicated to bringing us fresh tea, and super nice masseuses. Does it get any better? Um, no.

So here's my plans for the next few months - on Friday I fly down to Shanghai and kick it with some friends for a few days. I'm actually catching a concert for a Chinese indie band I heard about in the states, too. Stoked! Then on Monday I fly back to Atlanta and have exactly 3 days to prep for the Indie Craft Experience on May 30th, 31st. After that I head up to New York for Renegade Brooklyn and the next week I'm in California visiting family and friends. Then it's back on the road for a couple of shows in North Carolina and New Jersey. Then, if I'm still alive, I hop on one final one-way flight back to China, where I begin the next chapter of both my life and Linty Fresh.

It's crazy how much has happened in the last 3 months since coming here, and I truly never expected to love it this much. Every day is a new adventure. I know it sounds cheesy, but I really feel that way. I've met some great people here, too, some of whom have really made everything possible for LF to this point.

Man, I'm gonna miss it here.

New Song

2009-05-14T00:18:00.003-05:00

Across the street from the apartment there's this row of shops and restaurants that we frequent for groceries, snacks, and full meals. One of these shops has a little cart out front that sells Jianbingquozi, a local favorite snack and approximate equivalent to a burrito back in the states. But what's remarkable about this cart, or specifically, the lady that runs the cart, is that she's out there 7 days a week, 15 hours a day. Rain or shine. Not only that, but she's always smiling and super nice to her customers. My roommate said that I ought to write a song about her. So I did. More or less, anyways. A lot of the details I made up and added extra elements to it, but it's based on her, at least. Enjoy:

She's Not Unhappy

LF Chat 5

2009-05-11T02:41:00.003-05:00

Stoked to be announcing the 5th live Linty Fresh chat. This one will is sponsored by WatchTeeV.com, meaning that there should be a bunch of new faces and questions. Since the question queue is usually pretty bogged down, feel free to post questions in the comments section here and I'll try to get to those first. See you next week!

LF's Ustream Channel

The Big Tour

2009-05-10T09:21:00.002-05:00

Can't believe I let 2 days go by without blogging about this, but it's been an insanely busy weekend, so you'll have to excuse me. Man. Where do I even begin?

I guess I ought to start by saying a big thank you to Jiale, a friend of mine whom I met back in the states that was able to get me the contact for the factory. A lot of business here is done via connections, so without her help it's likely I would have never had the opportunity to tour and get this far with things. So thanks!

The day started downtown around 1:00, when I met the contact in a small noodle restaurant on a busy corner next to the bus stop. We chatted a bit in Chinese and English and talked about the city, my business, and China. When we were done there we hopped in a car driven by the manager of the factory we were about to tour and drove north, away from the city.

It's crazy how quick the scenery can change here. I have it pretty easy here in the city since a lot of things have been Westernized and modernized, but just a few minutes away it becomes farms, rivers, and traditional country-side villages. And then it all changes again, and the surroundings were all very commercial and industrial - huge factories and sprawling business complexes. After winding our way into the heart of the city, our car finally squeezed its way into a narrow alley that opened into a courtyard filled with a scent I immediately recognized - screenprinting ink!

The owner and a few other managers led me into a small but comfortable room with a long table and invited me to sit down. As I did, a young aide slid up behind me and delivered a cup of hot green tea. I sipped it as we began to talk about Linty Fresh, my goals for the company, and what I was looking for in China. Soon the table was piled high with clothing samples from Disney underwear to trendy Japanese skirts. They did it all! Then we started the tour.

It began with a walkthrough of the post-production/stitching floor, where dozens of young (college age) workers were running all sorts of sewing machines. They explained that they also did all the tagging and bagging of the garments, too. I think I was drooling at this point, but it's a bit fuzzy. Next we went to the oversize printing floor, where a team of guys were screenprinting a 100-meter stretch of fabric with a 1x2-meter screen. It was nuts, and so incredibly fast. My mind was spinning with ideas for things I could start producing with these types of contacts at my disposal.

After touring this facility we jumped back in the car and headed over to a second location, which was owned and operated by someone else. While the first complex we toured impressed me, this was something else entirely. Instead of pulling into a narrow driveway, the entrance of this place was huge, clearly meant for constant traffic of goods. The factories were immense, too. I'd say each floor was 200 meters long by 50 wide. And there were 4 floors per building. Needless to say, I felt way out of my league. Instead of a 16 or even a 24 station press, there were literally hundreds of stations on each line, and the workers were so efficient in laying down the ink. It blew my mind.

One thing that really impressed me was the working conditions. I was dreading walking into some dimly-lit rat-infested sweatshop straight out of a stereotype, but I was pleased to see that the workers were surrounded by natural light, a really comfortable breeze (plus overhead fans), clean conditions, and even some music. I later asked how much they made per month, and was further pleased and surprised to find that it was fairly good money (by Chinese standards, of course).

The tour finally ended with a meeting upstairs in the second factory, where we discussed quantities, colors, garment sizing, etc. I even threw out some really bizarre requests just to see if they were willing to experiment, and while some of them were received with puzzled expressions, the answer was almost always yes.

Now, all that said, there are still no guarantees about any of this. Because my starting quantities are so low they've had to adjust the quote (plus they're making the tees from scratch, so they need to experiment with a few things). There are other variables in the mix, too, and of course there are the copyright issues than need to be addressed. So we'll see. But I'm stoked. The sky is literally the limit here.

Pretty nuts!

More pics on my Flickr photostream here!

"Have you thought about ________?"

2009-05-05T21:18:00.004-05:00

When I printed my first tee back in 2006, it was nothing more than a way to get one of my designs out there. I thought it was a cool tee, and just having it produced in real-life was reward enough. It wasn't meant to be a hugely profitable thing. However, I had in the back of my mind the realization that if they did sell, the profits would allow me to print a second tee, and so on. That eventually did happen, though it took awhile. The mentality, though, stayed pretty much the same for the first year and a half. Although I used the name Linty Fresh for the storefront, it wasn't a brand.

Of course, as 2008 rolled around, things began to quickly change. I switched to a newer, more versatile shopping cart provider and focused entirely on branding myself. As this happened, LF quickly picked up speed, and I started getting more pointed feedback: "You should start making _____!" "I wish ______ was available as a ______!" and so forth. But the one comment that always really struck a chord was: "Your stuff would do great in Asia!"

It struck a chord because I knew it was true. Blame it on my half-Japanese ethnicity or just an individual preference for cartoon iconography, but the fact remains: my stuff definitely lies on a similar plane with Asian pop culture.

Of course, the notion of expanding into places like Japan or China was kind of ludicrous to think of. Although I had friends in those countries who wanted to help out, none of them were really in a position to do so, and with the language and distance barrier, it was impossible to attempt it on my own. Sigh.

But then I came here.

To be honest, I didn't think anything much would happen for LF here. My Chinese is just barely above survival level, and trying to hook up with a clothing manufacturer here was terrifying (to put it mildly). Who'd want to tour around some American kid with a few tees in his apartment back in the States and a pipedream to go big in China? So I kind of put off the idea. I brought some of my stuff along, of course, and wore it occasionally, but was here primarily to enjoy the experience of my surroundings.

And that's when the bull that I neglected to take by the horns charged. People started asking about my brand, my clothing, and where they could get it. I actually started getting orders on my site from here in China, which was a first. And above all else, I kept hearing echoes of what I'd been told all along: My stuff would do well in Asia.

Well, here I am, 10 weeks into my stay here, and things are finally rolling. I've got a price list in front of me for a first batch of tees (5 designs) and I'm touring a local factory on Friday. The tees will be custom made to feel and fit similar to AA back in the states (tees here tend to be too short in the torso). This, of course, is not a 100% guarantee anything will happen, but even to get this close is exciting. It's a fresh start. A new slew of marketing strategies (very guerilla here!), ad campaigns, and overall branding experimentation that China is ripe for.

Stay tuned!

May release!

2009-04-30T23:01:00.001-05:00

Woot! First Atlanta LF tee. Done especially for an upcoming show here, but available online for all!

Well tomorrow is the 1st...

2009-04-29T23:50:00.004-05:00

Is it just me, or did that last month go by super quick? I can't believe it's already the last day of April. Sadly, that means my trip is speedily nearing its end. On May 21st I'll be flying to Shanghai for a last hurrah before jumping on a plane on the 25th bound for Atlanta.

Sigh. I'm gonna miss this place. Life is simple, people are awesome, and food is great. Hopefully everything will work out for me to come back soon. I'm shooting for August, actually. We'll see. The Chinese market is looking ripe for LF, but the language barrier is a scary thing when you start thinking about production.

In the meantime, this summer is going to be packed with shows. I've signed up for 4 already, and if I can squeeze a 5th I'll go for it. The first two are coming up in the next few weeks, so here's the lowdown: The The Indie Craft Experience is here in Atlanta and will be held on May 30th & 31st from 11am-7pm in Centennial Olympic Park. The second is Renegade Craft in Brooklyn, New York, and will be on June 6th & 7th, also from 11am-7pm, at McCarren Park. If you need more info check out the sites.

If you're in the area please stop by and say hi!

Oh, and while you're browsing my Flickr you can check out these vids that I shot last week:

Cool hidden alley of restaurants and hotels...
Weifang Kite Festival drumming ceremony
Me saying nonsensical stuff in Weifang

Writing Music

2009-04-24T07:41:00.002-05:00

Before I left for China, a friend from Atlanta made me promise to do some collaborative music work with him when I got settled in my new place. We figured that my surroundings would be an inspiration for lots of songs and music. It didn't take long to track down a local music shop and purchase a decent guitar (my roommate actually did that part), but although I've been playing it a lot and teaching myself a bunch of songs that I never previously had time to learn, the drive to write my own stuff wasn't really there.

But randomly, today, though faced with a large list of LF to-dos, I picked up the guitar and wrote a song. After an hour or so it was completed so I recorded it and added some extra vocals. It's a very simple song (C, F, C, G, C, F, C, G, C) but I'm happy with it. And yesterday I went back to the music shop and had them order some shadan (Chinese for "sand-eggs", those percussion thingys), so hopefully I'll add a little rhythm layer to the song when they arrive.

I'm also working on translating some American songs into Chinese, starting with Feist's "1234". It may be a disaster, but if not perhaps I'll record it.

Here's the song I did today for download: Stick Around

DVD adventures in China

2009-04-20T05:10:00.005-05:00

There's a DVD shop not too far from the apartment that my roommate and myself occasionally drop by. While they carry your usual selection of Chinese cinema releases, their specialty is foreign films, 80% of which are from the US. Needless to say, these movies aren't imported from overseas. Even though they look pretty convincing and even come with the official DVD sleeve insert and box packaging, they're replicas. But aside from the occasional misquotation on the jacket and a blip here and there during viewing, you really can't tell the difference, and at 7 kuai each ($1 US), our movie collection has bulked up pretty quickly. And yesterday, my roommate found this gem: the newly-released "X-Men Origins" movie.

Now, having been out of the US for 7 weeks, I assumed I'd been pretty out of the loop with this stuff, but as far as I could remember, this movie had only just come out in theaters. After 20 seconds on google, I found out I was wrong. It doesn't come out till May 1st, a week and a half from now. Oh man.
Turns out it's an early version of the film (though in its entirety). What makes it particularly amusing is the lack of a bunch of key special effects and editing, to the extent that you get to see cables on the actors and green screens behind them. Amazing! And in the shots that require total CGI, there are just grey, opaque 3D models moving around to sound effects.

But I sat through the whole thing nevertheless, imagining the scenes in their final, polished cut, and I gotta say, it's still not a very good movie...

Poem in progress

2009-04-19T01:42:00.002-05:00

Usually the poems for the designs each month are written pretty quickly. I have the concept in mind, get into a rhythm, and it sort of writes itself. But the poem for next month (May) took much longer. Here's a direct copy + paste of the text document I used (minus the final draft, of course)...

Greetings from Atlanta,
We're writing you to say:
We're looking for new visitors
So you should come and stay!

Sure the weather can be fickle
And the ......
But those are quirks and nothing more
..........

And yes, we had an incident,
Our landmarks brawled it out
But it shows the stuff we're made of
And what we're all about!

Of course as much

So come and take our place

But every place is like that!

But overall we're happy here
It's green and lush and warm
And springtime is magnificent
If you like lightning storms

Not sure if you saw the news
About that monster brawl
Our landmarks turned to living beasts
And grew ten stories tall

Don't mind the propaganda
That you saw on CNN
Our landmarks are quite peaceful
From dawn to 10PM

=OR=

(Of course, there are our landmarks,
Occasionally they brawl
La-la-la la la-la-la
"And grew ten stories tall")

We're so close to the ocean
Just a half-day's drive away!
But hey there's Coke and Turner Field
So you could watch a game)

Our city is a beauty,
Full of legacy and lore
...

Our beloved peach went crazy

The furnace of the south

We hope you enjoy your stay

Welcome to Atlanta,
Where landmarks are crazed
They fight every night
With the tourists away

No retreat on these streets
Till pits are rollin'
??...

"It started with an insult"

"You're an relic," piped the peach
As he glared the chicken's way
The chicken rolled his eyes and said,
...

Pitted to the death...?

Said the peach back to the fowl
???
Said the chicken to Mr. Fuzz
I'll meet you down at Piedmont

..

When the fowl's last feather is plucked

Anyway, that's Atlanta,
We hope you're doing well.
And yes, it's hot as ever
As far as we can tell.

END:
So pack all your belongings
And catch a flight today

Doesn't make a whole lot of sense now, but once you see the design it'll come together. It's interesting to look at these files after I'm done and try to retrace the brainstorming process. I was also careful to track the different stages of the design itself, so I'll post that once I release the tee.

成功!

2009-04-15T09:44:00.003-05:00

FINALLY. Man, ever since I first started seeing pictures of vinyl toys a few years ago I've dreamed about designing my own, but like most projects that I undertake, it was one disaster after another. My attempt to cast my own toys a few years ago just ended up in a lot of wasted time and supplies. My attempt to build my own with clay was eventually abandoned after realizing that I could never achieve the mechanical precision by hand (duh, right?). And my purchase of blank toys at Rotofugi while in Chicago for Renegade ended up in... toys that stayed blank... Actually, I did one of them, but it turned out that I accidentally used oils, which means the paint job is wet (and unfinished) to this day.

Not one to be defeated, I found a vinyl toy vendor locally and decided to give it yet another go. Part of it was the price, I admit. Originally he wanted 68 kuai per toy (that's $10 for a 10" toy, a good deal!), but I was able to get 2 for 100 kuai! One was a Darth Vader Quee that I'll post pics of later. It's super awesome. The other was a blank Mon Quee, and today, using a simple black sharpie, I went for it!

Being old in China

2009-04-14T10:19:00.002-05:00

I've been to this local park a couple of times in the last few days, and from my observations of Chinese people and their culture, I've gotta say: being old in China is a pretty sweet gig.

Growing up in America, you kind of begin viewing the elderly as antiques. You get to thinking that they belong on a shelf somewhere to be kept out of harm's way. It's a common rationale, but life for them is admittedly pretty bland, spending time in front of the TV or crossword puzzles or sitting in an old folks home watching others quickly decay around them. From what I've read and observed, this kind of sedentary lifestyle can trigger or accelerate disorders like Alzheimer's and dementia, and this is on top of the obvious physical atrophy.

But life for the elderly here in China is a world apart. I'm constantly amazed at both the mental and physical abilities of the locals in their 70's and 80's (and maybe older). There's a game they play here that is the equivalent of hacky sack in the US, and I kid you not, the participants are often old enough to be my great-grandparents. Some of the moves these people pull off rival even my 7-th grade self in my hacky sack heyday. It's ridiculous!

And aside from the physical exercise (which also includes a lot of dancing, jogging, and stretching), they just know how to have a good time. I'm not gonna lie; sometimes I feel a little jealous! Today at the park there were about 4 or 5 different groups of old folks sitting around singing Beijing opera at the top of their lungs and laughing and applauding themselves between songs. I found myself wishing that the elderly back in the US were able to experience this, spending the last of their years with friends in a park, singing, playing games, breathing fresh air and just enjoying life.

How miserable would it be to spend your last months or years in a stale hospital setting watching everyone die around you?

Got a haircut and a lesson in chinese...

2009-04-09T11:13:00.003-05:00

My hair grows pretty quick. It's actually a little annoying. I've got like a 2 week window of ideal styling length, and then it gets a bit shaggy for my liking and I start whining. So after being here for 5 weeks, I realized that I couldn't avoid the inevitable: I WOULD HAVE TO GET MY HAIR CUT IN CHINA.

I thought about doing it myself. I was actually poised with comb and scissors in hand, shaking nervously as I watched my reflection in the bathroom mirror. It was like Russian Roulette, to be honest. But I caved. So I asked some foreigners where they go for haircuts, and a few recommended a barber downtown. They said I'd get my hair washed before and after the cut, and that the barber's English wasn't too bad and he was familiar with American styles. This was all very good to hear, and for 40 kuai, very much worth it. (6.8 kuai = 1 US dollar, btw)

So yesterday I planned to venture downtown (2 kuai each way) and make it happen. But fortuitously, while taking a morning walk in the apartment complex I live in, I spotted a little jianfadian (barbershop!) at the ground level of one of the buildings. Just one barber, and by no means a fancy place, but SO DANG CONVENIENT. And likely, cheap. I returned home, got some work done, and thought my options over. Then, mustering up my courage, I went for it.

When I got there the lady was on the phone but motioned for me to sit down. I felt like a little kid at the dentist. Absurdly nervous about the whole thing. And she seemed to be wondering what the heck I was doing there, too, because she mentioned the oddity of having a foreign customer to whomever was on the line. It felt like an eternity sitting there, staring in that daunting wall mirror.

When she finally got off the phone she asked what kind of style I'd like. I pulled out my ipod and showed her a pic I took of myself when I got here and proceeded to explain (in Mandarin, obviously), that I liked it pretty short on all sides and a bit longer on the front. She nodded, and explained, "Xian yao xifa" (first let's wash your hair). We went over to her sink thingy and as she washed it she began asking what I did for work. I explained that I was a clothing designer for my own company and told her a bit of the story of myself, what I do, and why I was in China. Then she told me about her daughter, and how her English was really good. I'm pretty sure she was trying to hook us up. Americans, believe it or not, are pretty prized finds here in Asia.

Anyhow, once the hair washing was done she took me back to the chair and went to town, a furious blaze of snipping and clipping. Turns out she's been a barber for 24 years, and she was pretty darn good at it. She even gave me a shave! It all took about 15 minutes, and it came out PERFECT. She asked me how the length of everything was and I told her how impressed I was, and she simply said, "I've been cutting hair your whole life!" Nice.

The total cost was 6 kuai. About 80 cents.

Attention all cool cats

2009-04-08T00:16:00.001-05:00

Hey guys, I've been meaning to do this since I first got here, but it's taken awhile to get my stuff together - apologies! Anyways, I'm finally ready to go live so I've set it up, as usual, for a Sunday night at 8PM USA EST. That means 5PM for you Californians and 1AM for you UK'ers.

And for me, being way ahead of y'all time-wise here in China, 8AM in the morning. Sweet.

As you might expect from reading this blog or seeing my Twitter tweets, during the show I'll probably be talking a lot about life here; adjusting to the language, getting around, seeing the sights, etc. But I'll also be talking about what I've learned from running my company abroad and a bit about my plans for the future.

See you guys there!

Check out my channel here.

Teaching drawing techniques in Chinese

2009-04-07T09:44:00.003-05:00

Well, that's the plan anyways.

About a week after arriving here in China, I was speaking with a local and we got to talking about art and design. She made an interesting comment, saying that as a people, the Chinese have an incredible knack for replication, but they aren't truly creative.

Of coruse, that's a pretty broad generalization, but the more I've thought about it and observed my surroundings, the more that seems to be the case. For instance, when I go shopping at some of the night markets or even the formal malls, I can find a TON of amazing stuff if I'm looking for a style that's been popularized elsewhere (the US, Europe, Japan, UK, etc), but if I'm looking for something original, that can't be found anywhere else, it's a dead end.

Cars are another example. China has their own automobile manufacturers, but the models look IDENTICAL to Nissans, Hondas, Jeeps, Toyotas, and VWs back in the states. None of it's original, only replicated.

And the list goes on. MP3 players, phones, electronics, computers, clothing, shoes, etc etc. It's all copies. As far as I can tell, people here aren't taught to think in terms of originality. It's my guess that this is part of the reason that my drawings at the beach fascinate them so much. I mean, I'm by no means that fantastic of an artist in that medium (I cringe looking at the landscape I did earlier due to all the mistakes), BUT it's different and unique (to them, at least), so there's a certain appeal there.

So, unsurprisingly, there's a lot of folks here that want to learn how to draw, to paint, to design, and to create. I'm no master at any of these things, but I feel I have something to offer, so I've decided to set up an appointment with a few locals (and a few English-speaking expat's) to do a sketching day around the city.

Of course, that means a WHOLE new vocab set. Yikes!

So today when I met my Chinese tutor at Starbucks I told her I wanted to skip the book lesson and talk about drawing stuff (she's actually going to be one of my drawing students, ha!). So we discussed values, forms, shapes, lighting, reflection and refraction, transparency, texture, line weight, pencil pressure, erasing techniques, and composition. All in 90 minutes. WHEW. I took a ton of notes and need to study a bunch before we go out, but I'm stoked to have it written down, at least. As it turns out, the words were super versatile and useful for things not pertaining to art, too, so that's pretty great. It's still mind-boggling how many times a day I realize I don't know how to say something ultra simple... one day!

In Linty Fresh-related news, I'm just polishing up the design now for next month. It'll be the first time I'm doing an Atlanta-themed tee, but since LF is based there and I've got a show there in late May, it's about time! I'm just hoping Atlantans won't be miffed by seeing two of their beloved icons battling it out above their city's skyline. Lolz.

By the way, I just got my acceptance email from Renegade Brooklyn. If you're in the area be SURE to check it out. It'll be my first time at this location, and from all the things I've heard I'm 100% stoked about it. See you guys there!

Sketching at the beach

2009-04-05T11:12:00.003-05:00

The last few days have FINALLY been warm enough to hang out at the beach (albeit in a hoodie), so yesterday and today I brought my watercolor pad along. Although it's China, this area has an interesting European influence dating back to the first World War, and a lot of the architecture still reflects this. Anyways, I drew some of the European-looking homes across from the beach and the surrounding foliage. I decided to go straight to ink because A) frankly I didn't have the patience for pencil, and B) I didn't need it to be perfect. And it isn't. There are a few obvious perspective issues and mis-drawn angles, but overall the idea is there.

It's pretty entertaining to be an artist here, though. Chinese folks, by nature, are super curious, and are quick to form a crowd when anything unusual catches their eye. And an American dude drawing buildings is, apparently, pretty unusual. At times I had almost 20 people crowded around! Sometimes I wouldn't say anything, and they'd never bother me (probably because they assumed I didn't speak Chinese), but once in a while I'd ask if something looked right, or get an opinion on the angle of a rooftop or something. Even minimal knowledge of Mandarin will make the locals flip out, so usually a brief conversation about what I was doing in China, where I was from, and whether I was shangban or shangxue (studying or working) ensued. The kids were pretty hilarious, too. This one little girl was super insistant on watching me finish drawing one of the houses and kept whining "Wo yao kan yixia! Hen piaoliang!" to her mom ("I wanna keep watching, it's very pretty!"). I thanked her in Chinese and she responded in ENGLISH, "You're welcome!" Super rad!

Anyways, I've included a pic of my drawing/painting so far. It's got lots of work left, but it should be done after a few more sessions. I'm going to add a giant monster crashing through a building in the background. Otherwise it's just boring, yanno?

I'll get a better pic of this in the morning. Lights here in the apt SUCK.

The 1-month mark!

2009-04-02T09:58:00.002-05:00

Before coming to China I had studied Chinese for about 2 years, an endeavor which was initially sparked by a visit here in '07. To be honest, I'm a little surprised that I stuck with it so long, because as anyone in their right mind might expect, Chinese is a BEAST. And like most BEASTS (caps is fully warranted), right when you think you have it tamed it bites off your arm and runs away from home.

No joke, after my plane landed and I got to hear the locals speak for the first time, I thought I had been studying the wrong language. It's not just a regional accent like you've got back in the states, it's a whole set of vowel and consonant shifts that SOUND NOTHING LIKE STANDARD MANDARIN. So, while I was able to rattle off my own ideas to others, when they responded I had no clue what they were talking about. It's a pretty sucky feeling, let me tell you.

Well, I've been here a month (as of Monday), and I'm FINALLY getting the hang of what the heck is happening around me. Part of it is the Chinese tutor I have, who is really pushing me to get more comfortable with day-to-day vocab and grammar. (Today I had to explain in Mandarin how to make an omelet. Not easy, dudes.) The other part, of course, is just being submersed in it all day every day. I can actually eavesdrop on conversations on the bus now, which is strangely thrilling.

Of course, this is just the spoken aspect of the language. The other (more formidable) half is the writing system, which I'm trying to tackle as well. Not easy, but it feels darn good to be able to read signs, even if it still only amounts to "mountain - something - tree - something - something - something - beer!"

But for all its struggles, life here is such a rush, full of crazy adventures and really cool experiences. The locals are so eager to talk with foreigners, and are willing to go WAY out of their way to help. So yeah, it's worth every moment.

Now, how to get Linty Fresh here?

Howdy, April!

2009-03-31T22:38:00.002-05:00

Internet, I give you Mr. Hairy Harry. As mentioned yesterday, this was a collaborative effort between myself and Will Bryant, aka Mr. Fancy Pants. As you can see from the collab process, there wasn't a whole lot that was changed from Will's original type treatment of "Linty Fresh" because it was just THAT AWESOME. Hope y'all dig!

Get it HERE!

Poll: What tee should reprint this summer?

2009-03-30T04:27:00.003-05:00

I have a pretty solid idea of which ones I should do, but thought I'd take a poll just for fun...

green card lottery 99polls

Incommunicado

2009-03-30T02:25:00.003-05:00

Sorry for yet another long silence...

I've been fighting a cold for over 2 WEEKS now, and this past weekend was the worst of it yet. I've heard it's pretty common for foreigners to get pretty worked over by local germs for the first leg of their stay, but that doesn't make it any less of a huge pain to deal with. To top it off, the last week has been pretty cold and damp, and against my better judgment I went for a jog on one of the clearer (but still cold) days, resulting in several days of being completely laid up in bed. BLARGH. Colds suck.

Anyways, the new tee is coming up in just a couple days, so I thought I'd talk a bit about it here and reveal a few details before its release.

First off (and I totally can't remember if I mentioned this already here), the artist that I collaborated on the design with is Will Bryant, aka Mr. Fancy Pants. I was actually introduced to Will's work by another artist that I originally had contacted for the collab. Unfortunately this artist wasn't able to work with me on the project, but after checking out Mr. Bryant's work, I was pretty enthralled, particularly by his psychedelic color palettes, clever geometric patterns and intricate linework. I sent him an email in February and he was in. Within less than 2 days of me sending him the original character and concept work, he'd come back with his part, and it was cool. But he didn't stop there, and within a week had sent me a second file with some hand-drawn "Linty Fresh" typography. I liked it even better than the first, and decided to completely scrap my first idea and instead work with the type treatment to create something new. I came up with a concept for it, wrote up a poem, and altered and added to it to produce the final piece, "Hairy Harry".

As for the original piece that I sent Will, I went back to square one with it yesterday (since I was feeling a little better) and finished it off, as you can see here. I actually really like the result, though I don't feel it meshes with Linty Fresh. I decided instead to submit it to Design By Humans this morning. I wouldn't mind a little extra cash, and if nothing happens there I'll report back here and see if I can't find a buyer.

It's been awhile!

2009-03-16T04:00:00.002-05:00

Yikes, been ages since my last update! We had a bunch of delays in getting the internet wired here at the apartment due to local techies being totally unfamiliar with Apple computers (and even telling us, at one point, that it was impossible to get online with them). But anyways, we finally got it working today, so I don't have to sneak on the neighbors network anymore (it only worked 10% of the time anyways).

So. What's new. A lot, actually. I've been touring around the city almost every day discovering cool new spots of interest. Yesterday I found a great, cheap DVD shop, a shopping mall with awesome gyros, a Korean BBQ place (considered pricey, but was only about $5), and a skate park. There were a couple of American teenagers skating there, which was really odd to see.

When I first came here, I figured that I'd be able to blend in to some extent since I have a semi-asian look, black hair, am short, etc. As it turns out, apparently I'm very obviously a foreigner because I get stared down all the time. At first it was disconcerting, but I've gotten used to it, and people are super friendly after a simple greeting. Usually very helpful, too. At a clothing store at the mall I wanted to try on a jacket and was immediately attended to by 5 girls - one took my bag, another took my jacket, and the rest picked out a bunch of sizes and styles for me to try on. It was pretty nuts, and a little overwhelming. I didn't buy the jacket.

And yesterday was similar. We went to go look at some new furniture to replace the ugly stuff that's in here now, and stumbled on a cool modern/Euro place downtown. We went in, and in an upstairs balcony window they had all these stylish, comfy chairs. Since it was such a great view we joked about how it would make a great coffee drinking spot, and a minute later an employee came back with cappuccinos for us and we all sat and hung out for a bit. So awesome!

Tonight I think I'm gonna head out to a night market that I keep hearing about. I want to get myself some jogging shoes and pants and go exploring around the nearby neighborhoods. I hear it's a short bus ride to get there, and for 15 cents a ride, you can't really go wrong...

4 days in and doing great!

2009-03-06T09:43:00.002-05:00

Man, I love it here.

If you've been following my Twitter or Flickr, you're probably already sick of hearing me rave about this place, so just go ahead and skip this entry, BECAUSE I AINT DONE TALKIN BOUT HOW AWESOME IT IS.

I think the thing that gets me the most is the prices of everything. It's actually cheaper to eat out than it is to make food, which is great if, like me, you'd rather be out exploring the town than worrying about a grocery list. There's a place 3 minutes away (on foot) that has a line of these tiny little shops that make just about anything you can imagine - a lot of grilled stuff, but everything else as well. They had these spicy pork skewers that were incredible, and were just 2 RMB each, or roughly $0.40 US. And I had a whole plate of dumplings for just 15 RMB, or $2.20 US.

Prices aside, the scenery here is pretty awesome. It's been cloudy the last few days so I didn't get a real opportunity to see what's just beyond the neighborhood, but today was perfectly clear and I snapped this shot when I woke up. Decided a little later to check out the beach for the first time, too. Brought along my sketchbook and sat for a few minutes drawing some rocks on the shore. Chinese are, by nature, really curious, so several people stopped to look or say hi. We conversed a little, which is great for me and my bad Chinese.

One thing I've been stressing over, of course, is how things with Linty Fresh are going back home. LF's first "employee" (technically a sub-contractor, but the other term is way cool!) didn't actually move in to my place till just a couple days ago, so she was slammed with all the orders for the new stuff. I have full confidence in her abilities, though, and sure enough she's been handling it all very well, and those of you who've put in orders know that from the emails she's sent out. Thanks Michelle!

Final little thing - the tee for April is all done! Finished it up completely today and got the cards all squared away. It's a great little collab between myself and Will Bryant. I've been a fan of his psychedelic stylings since I was recommended to him by another artist, and couldn't resist pitching the idea for a collaborative piece a few weeks back. It was a kind of a backwards process this time around, but I'll explain that all later. For now, I've got studying to do! I got myself a tutor for Chinese - $5/hr, 3hrs a week!

STOOOOKED.

I'm here!

2009-03-03T08:35:00.002-05:00

What up peeps! I'm in China! Just finished my first day here, in fact. I've only traveled around a little bit (still jet laggin') so far, but it's pretty awesome. This morning I had breakfast at this super loe-key family owned restaurant (I don't think they were too used to seeing foreigners), and had the most delicious breakfast I've eaten in awhile. It was kind of like an egg breakfast burrito, but the wrapper was lightly floured and thin. Then I was served these dishes of steamed and salted broccoli and spicy scrambled eggs to fill the wrappers with. SO STINKIN GOOD.

Definitely gonna be back for that tomorrow.

The prices are just ridiculous, too. I went to a large department store down the road (Costco meets Walmart) and couldn't believe the prices. I was looking at this one sound system, for example, and it was $250, which I was thinking seemed pretty US-ish, but then it hit me that I was looking at the Chinese price. In American currency, it was about $38. Amazing!

Anyhow, still a bit tired from the jetlag, but so far not so bad since I went to sleep on their time last night and woke up with the sun this morning. I'm told the sunrise was beautiful (I can see the ocean from my room), but I wasn't up quite that early. Maybe tomorrow!

March tee!

2009-03-01T00:06:00.001-05:00

Howdy! It's midnight of March 1st, which means I'm on a plane in just a few hours for China, but more importantly for you, that there's a new tee in the shop!

It's called The Petrol Kid, and it's based off a character I drew a while back. If you want to get the full story, as usual, it's in poem form and comes on a collector's card with the tee.

This one is my first collab release of a series I'm doing this year. The other artist was South Africa based Theory One. I think it came out grrrreat. To see more on the collab process, check this out.

Also, I'm having a Spring Cleaning sale. Check the store for specifics on what's been discounted...

I'm beat. Going to bed now. See ya in 8,000 miles!

5 airports from now, I'll be in China.

2009-02-22T23:59:00.002-05:00

I'm looking forward to being there, but dude. I am so not looking forward to going. It's just such a pain travelling, you know? And I hate to be all whiny about it, because I know that only a few decades ago a trip like this would've taken a year to make, but still... whine whine. And I usually get sick on long trips like this. Last time I went to Asia I contracted this awful flu and had chills, sweats, and a raging temperature for the remaining 6 hours of the flight. No bueno! So, I just want to be there already.

It's going to be a busy week, too. I've got to get all the preparations for the new release in order, start/finish packing, do some last minute shopping, do a bunch of tax/bank stuff, and get my first employee moved in to take my spot for the next 3 months. Here's me feeling overwhelmed...

On a good note, I've finally finished purchasing all the little toys I had on my list - got the 32gb iPod touch, the Lumix compact digital camera, the laptop, headphones, etc. I feel very equipped to be thrown into a completely different life for awhile. And randomly, tonight, I got an email from a contact there that wants to know if I can help them set up a screenprinting shop. (No, I have no plans to start printing my stuff there) Unfortunately I don't know enough to set up a shop, but still, how random and great is that?

Sounds like it's gonna be one adventure after another. Stay tuned.

February's Frequent Listens

2009-02-19T11:27:00.002-05:00

So I finally got Department of Eagles' new album "In Ear Park", and it's pretty great. I'm glad to finally hear the full version of "No One Does It Like You Do", which is a track I've loved ever since I saw it performed acoustically on one of Blogotheque's take-away shows last year. (See video below)

It's funny, to watch it again, after all these months, and see them playing in New York's Chinatown. It all seems very appropriate for where I'm going. Only 10 days left. Crazy!

Also been listening a lot of Loney Dear, a Swedish band who opened for Andrew Bird when I saw him a few weeks back. Their opening song, "I Was Only Going Out" is still my favorite. (See below)

Finally, got the new Beirut and loving it. Epic and eclectic, as usual. See the video below.

#71 - Deartment of Eagles - Part 1
by lablogotheque

An ode to inquiries

2009-02-17T23:18:00.002-05:00

When I get new emails
I try to get back.
I think it's important
Connecting like that.

There's just one exception,
And it goes like this:
"Who makes your boxes?"
That, I may miss.

Monday night dish

2009-02-16T17:13:00.002-05:00

I woke up this morning thinking about what I wanted for lunch/dinner, since I finally ate all of the huge batch of tofu fried rice that I made. I put my query out to folks on Twitter and got a bunch of yummy recipes. But when I finally went out for groceries, I remembered that I had some frozen Italian sausage in my freezer, and decided to make a dish out of that instead. I hit the pasta aisle and found some delicious-looking sun-dried tomato alfredo sauce, grabbed a fresh loaf of Italian bread, and some pasta.

I sauteed some peppers, onions, and garlic with the meat, but other than that it was a really simple meal to put together. For the bread I decided to try something a little different than the typical parmesan-toast thing I do. I instead minced some garlic and microwaved it with a couple tablespoons of butter and about 2 teaspons of blue cheese. Then I just poured that over the bread. It came out REALLY good. Definitely gonna do this next time I make garlic bread!

The finished meal:

A real update.

2009-02-13T22:07:00.002-05:00

Man, leaving for 3 months is a big deal. Especially when you run a company that releases products each month and ships orders out daily, but even if not. I mean... There's just SO much. Stuff you don't even think about at first, like bills, pets, utilities... And with China, there are a ton of other little things that need to be accounted for. For example, deodorant. They've got antiperspirant, but no de-ODOR-ant. So unless you don't mind going natural for a while, you need to pack that stuff, and lots of it, because in China, you walk a LOT. And that's just one of many things.

To make life just a bit easier on myself I finally got an iPod touch. I would've gone with the phone, but free WiFi is everywhere in China, so I figured I'd rely more on that, and get a cheap $10-a-month phone plan if I need it. But yeah, I love the touch. For the longest time I've had a 2nd gen iPod and I'm blown away by all the stuff on the new ones. I feel kind of like an old person discovering the internet for the first time...

So yeah, it's been busy.

And on top of that, there's all the March release stuff that I'm trying to get out of the way earlier - getting the tee printed, getting my collaborator paid (wire transfers = robbery, which will be ironic when you see the tee), getting the cards done, etc. Add to that me trying to get a headstart on April since I'm sure it'll be hectic when I first arrive in China, and you've got an Eric with a blown fuse. But I manage. I stay up late, put on some tunes, and get it done. And I gotta say, this April tee is already looking pretty cool. It's very different than my previous stuff, and I haven't even handed it over to the artist I'm working on it with yet. Can't wait to see the end product.

What else... Oh, right: I got my cat neutered today. Feel pretty bad for him right now. He's really drugged up and keeps trying to jump up to the window. Poor little dude.

Finally: I tried cooking with tofu for the first time ever tonight! And I was pretty pleased with it! I've been trying to eat a bit less meat lately, since I've noticed that I'm pretty sluggish after I eat too much of it. Won't be able to avoid it entirely in China, but I figure this is a start to a healthier lifestyle.

Hello Facebook!

2009-02-09T22:11:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts the last couple of days, I discovered Facebook over the weekend and have been combing over the site trying to get the hang of everything. Here's the official Linty Fresh facebook group:

LINTY FRESH + FACEBOOK

Join up and say hi!

Kraftwork

2009-02-05T23:27:00.003-05:00

So I just got in from a mini-show in Atlanta at a popular Boutique/Gallery, Young Blood. It was nice to be at a show after thinking that I wasn't going to be able to do another one before leaving for China. As my departure date creeps closer I'm beginning to think of all this stuff I'm really going to miss when I'm gone, and I think these shows are one of them.

It wasn't an especially profitable night, though. Not at all terrible for a 3-hour show, but still a little slow. Of course, with the cold spell we've been having here in Atlanta and the rough economy, that's to be expected. And that aside, my booth had steady traffic the whole time, so I shouldn't complain.

These shows, though, are really more than just making money and getting my name out there. I mean, that's the point and all, but there are a lot of other important factors that make it worthwhile, the most important of which is direct customer interaction. It's not just about ego-tripping (though that's a part), but about being able to read the customer's reaction and getting a feel for what people like and don't like. On the site it's impossible to determine those kinds of nuance preferences. And that kind of interaction is so useful in helping me generate new ideas by gauging what my selling points are and enhancing them.

On the way home from the show I got to thinking about some of these strengths I've got going, and came up with some interesting ideas that I'd like to try out this year when I get back... We'll see.

Another highlight was on my way out when I spotted a couple of original works from an old classmate and current friend Kelly McKernan. You can see some of her work in her shop here. Way to go Kelly!

Last night was awesome, by the way. For those of you who follow my tweets on Twitter, you know that I went to see Andrew Bird at a venue downtown. It was really different than the first time I saw him, but it was pretty mesmerizing.

Hey guys, meet my cat

2009-02-04T00:49:00.002-05:00

His name is Chips. (Short for Chipotle) He was a stray that kept coming to my window and watching me work, so I eventually let him in, and we got along pretty well. He's super friendly, but currently seems to have a cold (been sneezing all day, which I find pretty amusing).

Eric teaches drawing!

2009-02-02T21:24:00.003-05:00

So last week I was over at a friend's house for movie night, and a couple of the girls were saying that they wished they could draw, but could never be artists, blah blah, the typical stuff that people say when they've never been shown the basics. I told them that they were wrong, and that anyone can learn to draw realistically with minimal training. They scoffed, so I told them to come over my place and that I'd show them some basic drawing techniques.

So yesterday I pulled my couch away from the wall (so I could walk behind it and watch the students draw!), set up one of my tripod lights, put a few items out to draw (a contact solution bottle and a cardboard box, both flat white), put on some music, and ordered a pizza.

They were pretty timid about the whole thing at first, but after a rundown on the tools (6B-6H pencils and gum erasers) and a quick explanation on using your pencil as a ruler and angle approximator, they were eager to get started. Since perspective and proportions are most important to achieving realism, we spent 3/4th of the time on that, and I wouldn't let them shade until they had it down just right. But once that was down, they had already learned to really study what they saw and notice the minute details. I was actually pretty blown away by the final, fully shaded pieces. (Should've taken pics!!!) They were honestly better than a good chunk of the work I saw from classmates back in my college drawing classes! They were totally stoked on it too, and insisted that they would all practice at home and be back for a second lesson in a few weeks!

Anyways, forcing them to do a still life like that reminded me of being back in college with all the still lifes we were given, so I went digging in the garage and found a few pieces from 04-05ish. I uploaded a few to my flickr. I kind of would like to get back to it a bit.

LF Discount Bin

2009-02-02T14:42:00.003-05:00

I've had these laying around for awhile and rather than just dropping them off at Goodwill I thought I'd try to sell them off at a super discounted price. Email me if interested!

I also have 2 Snurfing Iceman shirts that are perfect except for the fact that they don't have custom printed tags inside. They're both girls' smalls.

A bit of gratitude...

2009-02-01T00:26:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago, while I was putting the finishing touches on Dr. K's Chemistry, I got to thinking about this old Chemistry teacher I had back when I was going to Homestead High School in California. His name was Mr. Nafrada and he was seriously one of my top 5 teachers from the entirety of my school days. Not only did he have his snowboard and other awesome paraphernalia hung about proudly on the classroom walls, but he'd always have music playing during our labs (I distinctly remember Weezer's Blue Album on the first day of class!). But all that hip stuff aside, he was a solid teacher and was always showing us new things about chemistry and its application in everyday life.

Anyway, I got to thinking that it'd be pretty rad of me to send him one of the shirts when they were printed, so tonight after getting the release out and posting hype on a bunch of sites, I tracked down his email on my old school's site and sent him this:

Mr. Nafrada,

Ok, so I'm sure you get these from time to time, and I imagine that with the hundreds of kids you've taught over the years, it's tough to remember any of them, but I'm writing anyway!

My name is Eric Terry and I was in your chemistry class back in 2001/2002 as a sophomore. If there was one thing you'd remember me for, it'd be the Simpsons periodic table I did...

I just wanted to thank you for being one of the raddest teachers I ever had. Although I live thousands of miles away (Atlanta GA) and it's been years since I was in Homestead, I still tell stories of all your awesome pyrotechnic experiments and interesting applications of the sciences. You made an impact on me, and I'm sure that's the case with loads of other students as well.

Now a bit about me: In 2006, in my second year of college I started a clothing line called Linty Fresh. It ended up growing pretty quickly, and soon I quit school, then quit my day job, and as of June of last year I'm doing LF full time. The tees usually have some sort of wacky story behind them, and are theme-based. Well, the latest tee I did was based on fictional chemistry. As a sort of thank you for being such an inspiration, I wanted to send one of these tees your way with some other goodies. Just tell me your size and where I should send it!

Thanks a ton, for everything!

-Eric Terry

We'll see!

February tee!

2009-02-01T00:07:00.000-05:00

Dr K's Chemistry!

January's Frequent Listens

2009-01-30T01:28:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to list some music that's been in heavy rotation this month (Songs listed as "Artist - Album - Track"):

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion - My Girls

Honestly can't stop listening. I've had this since late December and it's already my most listened to album according to iTunes.

Adele - 19 - Hometown

I'd been recommended this album by friends a bunch of times and finally got it last week. It has a really great feel to it. Check it out!

Morcheeba - Charango - Otherwise

An oldie but goodie. And I never really can get tired of Skye Edwards' voice.

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible - My Body is a Cage

Also older, but probably one of the best applications of straight pipe organ sound in modern music. Great video too. I want to see the movie.

LF soon to sponsor

2009-01-29T00:33:00.002-05:00

So I'm doing it. I'm finally breaking down. I'm gonna sponsor some bands.

I've had a good number of requests for sponsorship in the past, but at the time I wasn't ready to go that route, and frankly, wasn't too keen on just handing out free swag left and right to anyone with tracks on a MySpace page. But this year I'm trying lots of new things, and this is one of them.

I'm going to make a formal little advertisement for this and post it up on a Flickr, Myspace, and a forum or two, but if you'd like to shoot me an email now, you're welcome.

In a nutshell, I'm looking for musicians who...

1. Are proud to wear my stuff! It's what sponsorship is all about. Wear it proud when you play!

2. Will put an ad on their myspace and/or website! I'll keep you decked out in the latest LF gear so long as you give me a shout out where it counts! I'm also asking for a spot in your top friends.

3. Play unique music! LF is a unique brand with a unique look, so it only makes sense to pair up with musical artists in that same vein! If you want to know what I'm into specifically, you can check my user info here. (Big on indie rock & folk, and am currently enjoying the 80's revival)

I'm sure I'll think of more, but this is from the top of my head.

PS - This collab I'm working on with TheoryOne is coming out awesome. Really stoked!

LF Chat #3 Done!

2009-01-26T01:34:00.003-05:00

Well, the 3rd LF chat was tonight, starting at 8pm EST and finishing at 10pm (though we actually stayed on a bit longer to chat with some folks and do some sketching). For those of you that participated, thanks! The questions were great. It's funny, sometimes when I'm being asked questions I end up giving answers that I hadn't formally thought through in my head, like reasons for why I've done certain things with my brand. At the time, it just felt right. But when someone points it out and asks, it makes me think about it, and I get to know my reasoning a bit better. So in a way, it's educational for me to talk through a lot of this stuff, for my own benefit.

Big thanks again to Vincent for helping me out with the web questions. A lot of that stuff is beyond me, so it's great to have someone around that's so knowledgeable about it. And he seemed to dig the chat thing, too, so who knows, he may make another guest appearance in a future show!

If you missed the chat, you can catch it in two parts below (the internet went down during the second hour so we had to make a second part):

PART 1

PART 2

Addiction over

2009-01-24T00:34:00.004-05:00

Since May of 2005 I kept an online journal with another blogging site. That's almost 4 years of entries. But tonight, after some deliberation, I finally deleted it. Most of the folks on there are personal friends anyways (so we can just, you know, talk in person and stuff), and I really want to focus more on this blog and keep everyone up to date with the latest LF news, and random tidbits in my life. Also, soon this blog will be hosted directly on lintyfresh.com (new site feature! woohoo!), so it'll be nice to have everything a bit more organized and tidy.

So what is happening with LF?

Well, unfortunately the tees still aren't done. They were supposed to be all set on Thursday, but this is actually the first run of tees my printers has done using the superglow ink, so apparently there were some kinks to work out. In any case, I stopped by yesterday to see the first one off the press and was blown away. As always, the colors are spot on and the quality is excellent, but also, this thing glows in an other-worldly way. It's so cool.

Anyhow, they're finishing the tags tomorrow, so I'll pick them up in the afternoon or something. Which means that I may just preview one at the chat! (Chat in the dark? MAYBE.)

PS:

A few nights ago I watched Kung Pow: Enter the Fist for the first time. I remember I was a sophomore in High School when it came out and it looked so dumb that I didn't bother with it. Well, I was right, it was fully dumb, but also incredibly funny. They took a 1976 kung fu movie, redubbed it, and added a new leading actor into the scenes. It's epic. If you like stupid humor, it's worth a rental for sure.

Teaser!

2009-01-22T02:02:00.002-05:00

The cards came in today for the February tee and I thought I'd share. I really love the whole process of designing, writing the poem, and then getting all the pieces produced. It's a ton of fun!

Whew.

2009-01-21T21:14:00.003-05:00

It's bee a full day, but it feels like I got ton done, which is always good.

The first thing on the agenda was to go down to Chinatown and get my visa paperwork submitted. The lady was really nice and was impressed with the whole 3 phrases I used in Chinese (I couldn't understand her English so it was easier in Chinese!). It was such a simple process though. I just filled out a form, handed over some money, a picture, and my passport, and that was it. She said I'd get a call to pick it up in 3 weeks.

Since I was in Chinatown I couldn't resist visiting my favorite Vietnamese sandwich shop (OK, so it's more Asiatown and less Chinese-exclusive) and ordering my typical $2.50 BBQ pork sandwich. Fresh bread, pickled veggies, and an amazing sauce. So incredibly good. After that I stopped by Jiffy Lube for an oil change, and came to a re-appreciation of bargaining:

Me: How much is a basic oil change?
JL guy: $40
Me (walking away): Ok, thanks.
JL guy: You wanna pull the car around?
Me: I think I'll pass. The price is almost double some others I've seen down the street. Can you bring it down?
JL guy: Uhm... Ok. Sure. How about $30?
Me: That's still high. Can I get more than just the oil change for that?
JL guy: Yeah, ok, we'll vacuum it, check the fluids, and fill the tires.
Me: Eh. Sure.

Probably still high for what was involved, but I thought it was funny how easy it was to get a 25% discount. Things to keep in mind!

Once I got back to my place I set about rearranging and reorganizing everything, making it easier to process orders and less cluttered. Threw away a ton of stuff I didn't need, and as a result the place looks almost empty! It's crazy how long it takes me to do this kind of stuff. I literally spent 6 hours at it. Crazy!

A lot of these changes were made specifically with Michelle (the friend of mine who will be taking over operations here while I'm away) in mind. Since she'll be bringing her stuff she'll need shelf, closet, and storage space. She'll actually be over in a bit for some training.

Anyhow, it's been a day.

A bit of reassurance

2009-01-19T21:34:00.003-05:00

In the last chat, someone had asked how I felt about risking my company by going abroad for 3 months. I said that I was leaving it in good hands, and the fact is that I'll still be involved with the design/production side. Still, I think I kind of skirted around the real answer, which is that, to a degree, I'm kind of terrified. The best way I can describe the feeling is something akin to leaving a child with a babysitter for the first time. Only, that child is your sole source of income, and you will not see it for 90 days.

Ohhh geez. Still, I'll be the first to acknowledge that a significant part of my anxiety can be attributed to my OCD micromanagement. Since this thing began back in '06 I was obsessed with overseeing each and every detail, and to be so removed is a scary thought.

So the obvious question is, Why go?

To put it simply, because opportunity doesn't always knock twice. I was presented with the chance to visit (accompanying a friend who just got a job there), and I decided to go for it. Going to China the first time (back in '07) was a life-changing experience for me, and I was only there a couple weeks. I actually wanted to stay. There's just something about being immersed in a culture that's so different and unfamiliar that made me realize how big the world is, that made me aware of things that exist beyond my little Georgia subdivision and the local Wal-Marts and Wendy's and Starbucks. Something about buying fresh fruits, veggies, and meats from an open-air market the same day it came from the fields. To some extent, I guess it made me realize how manufactured and processed so many aspects of modern American life are.

Don't get me wrong here - I am fully appreciative of the advantages of living where I do. Still, this is an adventure I don't want to pass up, and I know I'll be glad I made this decision. Does it mean I've lost dedication to LF? No ways! I'll still be releasing stuff each month as usual, doing my darndest to put out the best products possible. And with new artists joining the LF family, the quality will only keep going up.

Stoked!

LF Chat #3

2009-01-15T23:10:00.003-05:00

That's right, in just over a week I'll be broadcasting the 3rd Linty Fresh Live Chat. The last one was a huge success and I have every expectation that this next one will be even better. If you were present for the last one, you may have heard me mention my friend Vincent, who designs website. On more occasions than I can count, he's offered fantastic web design and SEO advice, and I thought it'd be nice to have him on the next chat to answer questions. Well, he was cool with the idea, and we set a date. Start thinking up some questions!

Also, due to request there will be "musical interlude" (lol) pre-show starting at 7:45PM (remember, that's USA Eastern Time!). This'll basically just be a video/sound/lighting check for us, and some cool streaming music for you. See ya then!

Tiny Update

2009-01-13T12:44:00.003-05:00

For those of you who requested to have Vincent make a guest appearance on the next live chat, good news! I talked to him about it yesterday and he's agreeable to it. (For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, Vincent is a friend of mine who does freelance web design and coding and has plenty of great advice on how to make your website more visible for search engines.) We're still working out a specific week that's convenient for both of us, but it'll likely be on a Sunday again, the usual timeslot.

Also, I've just heard back from an artist that I've been following for a year or so on Flickr. I approached him about collaborating for some Linty Fresh work and he's down. Really stoked about it! More details to come!

LF Chat #2

2009-01-11T23:47:00.002-05:00

That was fun! I don't mind replying to countless emails each month asking questions (honest!), but getting so many out of the way in rapid fire was super great. And they were excellent questions too. If you'd like to see a transcript of the chat, Coty Gonzales has you covered. I thought I was recording this one, but apparently I was mistaken... Bummer... In any case, Coty summarizes my ramblings to just a few lines, so be sure to check it out!

As for the song list for the sketching part of the chat, here ya'r:

There Are Birds by Ruby Suns
Doctor Blind by Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton
Rollercoaster by M. Ward
Playground Love by Air
Your New Twin Sized Bed by Death Cab For Cutie
The Engine Driver by The Decemberists
New soul by Yael Naim
Glory Box by Portishead
Nicotine by Brazilian Girls
Rag & Bone by The White Stripes
Listen To The Math by Tokyo Police Club
Innocent Bones by Iron & Wine
In The Mausoluem by Beirut
All My Stars Aligned by St. Vincent
Imitosis bt Andrew Bird 3:39
My Egyptian Grammar by The Fiery Furnaces
Lady Madonna by The Beatles

Cool Day

2009-01-10T22:55:00.002-05:00

So today I had intended to hang out with some friends in Little 5 Points. The plan was to tour around a bit, grab tickets to see Andrew Bird, and finish the night with dinner at this Mediterranean place next door. I was looking forward to it all week! Well, last minute everyone kind of flaked out, but I decided to go anyways (besides, they still needed someone to buy the tickets). Anyways, it turned out being a fun time still yet.

I decided to take Marta there, which is the closest thing Atlanta offers to efficient public transportation. I like to say that I use Marta for economical reasons, or that I'd rather not put the extra emissions into the air, but I think the real reason is that it's a taste of city life, which I've always been enamored with. It took about an hour.

When I got off it was a bit of a walk to the main strip of Little 5, aka Euclid Ave., but the rain had just stopped so the air felt really clean and the temperature was perfect. My first target was Criminal Records. It's such an awesome collection of stuff. Vinyl toys, comic books, old movies, art & music magazines, and MUSIC. I don't go too often, so I was pretty stoked to see what new stuff they had in stock. Turns out they'd moved out, and a sign on the window announced that a skate shop was coming soon instead. I kind of freaked out for a second until some guy on the sidewalk explained that they moved down the street.

Whew. Anyways, when I finally found it I was happy to see that they've moved into a much bigger place, and had a lot more available. I was there for over 3 hours just browsing around. I sampled a bunch of their recommended albums and flipped through some really awesome comics and art books that I'd never seen before (kind of goes without saying, actually) Anyhow I ended up grabbing the latest issue of Juxtapoz and a couple of albums - Ladyhawke and Ben Taylor. Also, I recognized the dude working behind the counter as being the DJ for the last two shows I did here in Georgia in Madison and Atlanta. Cool beans.

From there I cruised over to Variety Playhouse and picked up the tickets. By this time the rain was just about starting to pick up again, so I hopped back on the train and headed back up to Marietta. There's a really cool interview in the magazine I got with WK Interact. He's a French artist who moved to NYC with $3k, an inability to speak English, and a love for art. He lived off of cheap noodles in a 8-sq foot apartment and just kept painting and drawing like crazy. Now he's in galleries and is a well-known street artist. So inspiring!

So yeah. It was a good day.

Big Decisions

2009-01-08T19:48:00.002-05:00

Howdy internet people.

Well I feel like I've made a pretty major decision recently in regards to Linty Fresh that's worth sharing here. For a long time, I've been the sole designer for all LF stuff - from the tees down to the buttons. I've also done all the website design and all promo stuff, like the ads and coupons.

Of course, I've been asked more than a few times if I'd ever consider "hiring" other designers to share the workload. I usually turned that notion down, feeling that there was enough of me to go around and time wasn't so tight that pulling in new people was a necessity. The more I've thought about it, though, the more it's been an appealing idea, and not just in terms of time/labor.

For one thing, bringing in other designers to work on my stuff would help boost the variety of styles that Linty Fresh has to offer. It'd also help to reach a new audience. And as much as I love keeping the design all to myself, I'm a reasonable, logical dude, and I know that my work isn't the best that's out there.

This doesn't mean I'll be turning over all my future design work to other people. However, starting in March of this year, I'll begin offering products that are the results of collaborations between myself and other artists (much like the Eye Scream tee). It'll still be based on my concepts (and I plan to keep the poem story cards as a regular feature), but it'll have a new flair from guest artists and contributors.

It's a decision that's tough to make after nearly 3 years of going solo, but I think it only means bigger and better things for Linty Fresh's future. Stay tuned!

Twitter

2009-01-05T18:35:00.001-05:00

I'm on it now:

twitter.com/lintyfresh

LF Chat #2

2009-01-05T13:34:00.002-05:00

This past month has got to be some sort of record for the number of emails received asking for advice, tips, feedback, suggestions, etc. I try to respond to as many of these as I can, but with so many messages coming in (and a lot of repeat inquries), a lot fall through the cracks. So hopefully this will be a good opportunity to get some of those questions answered. Again, that's this Sunday at 8pm EST. See you there!

Hellooooooo 2009!

2009-01-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

And what better way to start the year than with a 20% off coupon?! This month I'm releasing 3 new belt designs (Fuschia Smile, Orange Smile, Aqua Smile) as well as a huge restock of a bunch of older styles including Busjacked, Freshmen, Cut Up as well as some even older ones, Woodie and Fantastic Rabbit, from early last year.

Get em while they last, because they always go really quick!

Also new to the LF family is Davy Bunyan. This tee is especially unique because it's the first that will ship with a collector's card. The card features a portion of the design on one side and the poem on the other. And unlike with the other tees, the poem will not appear on the website, but only on the cards. Just trying to make things a bit more special for everyone. Alot goes into these creations, ya know?

Finally, I'm pleased to announce that (as some of you already guessed)

window decals are now available in the shop! This first release of vinyl decals comes in 9 different designs, all of them being roughtly 3.5" x 3". I've had one of these on my car for the last few months and it's held up fantastic and looks great. Stoked to finally get these into everyone else's hands too!

Enjoy the new goodies, and don't forget "Hello2009" at checkout!

Busy...

2008-12-30T12:17:00.002-05:00

Oh man, it's always crazy at the end of the month trying to get everything coordinated for the next release. Yesterday I was scrambling around trying to get all the new items photographed and set up on the site, as well as getting the newsletter put together. It usually takes a whole full day to get all this stuff sorted, but I didn't quite get it all done and then, being stupid, I stayed up last last night. See, I've been on this 80's movie kick lately, so I saw Pretty in Pink, which I haven't watched since... maybe middle school? Anyways, it was so rad. To think that it came out the year I was born is just mind-boggling.

Anyways, since I was up till about 3 AM I got a late start on the day, and on top of not finishing yesterday's business I received a large order from a UK-based retailer that will put me out of stock of some of last year's designs. That's great though, because I'm running out of space on the shelves!

Anyways, just wanted to post up a few pics of my slightly bootleg photo setup with my new Ebay-purchased lamps & umbrellas. They work great, and despite my crappy Pentax point-and-shoot (better camera coming soon!), the photos turned out decent enough!

And now I leave you with my favorite scene from last night's movie:

Can I get an up up update?

2008-12-23T23:07:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posting here lately, it's been a little crazy lately, and not just LF stuff. Monday is usually my day to get a ton of business-related stuff done, but unfortunately I spent it at the airport and in bed...

See, I had promised a friend of mine that I'd drive her to the airport to see her off (she's moving back to Japan), but once I got there, I was confronted with the horror of pre-Christmas airport insanity. The line for the check-in counter was 600 people thick, NO JOKE. So I opted to wait in line with her, just to be sure she made the flight. Nopers! We were in line about 2.5 hours and probably still had another 2 to go when her flight left without her. So I called the airlines, rebooked it, and we packed her bags back up and came on home.

Anyway, all that standing in line and airport craziness combined with having to wake up extra early in the first place totally wiped me out, so when I finally got home at 2pm, I slept for 4 hours. Got up, made dinner, and put off all my work for today.

SO that's MY excuse.

Anyways, today I was able to get a bunch of stuff done, and got all the products (or, most of them, I should say), set up on on shop. Just a matter of clicking off the little "Hidden" checkbox on the products.

I won't divulge all of it, but I will tease y'all with this:

Not sure if you'll be able to figure it out from that, but anyhow... I'm excited. The cool thing was that I actually had an old friend of mine produce this. We grew up together in Hawaii, and recently got to talking about some of the cool technology he's invested in, and about the possibilities of him doing some work for me. He sent samples and they were incredible, so I'm stoked about these coming out.

Madison Georgia

2008-12-16T20:16:00.004-05:00

While at the Indie Craft Experience last month, someone came up to my booth, handed me a postcard/flier, and told me to apply - it turned out that she was the curator of the Cultural Center in Madison, GA (about an hour and a half south-east of me), and she was working to put together a market festival similar to ICE. It immediately sounded good to me, since I was thinking that I wasn't going to have the opportunity to submit to any more shows before the end of the year. So after getting home that day I went online, checked it out, and signed up. Since it was so close to me, I figured there wasn't a whole lot to lose, other than the entrance fee of $100 and some gas money.

Anyways, the date for the show (Saturday, December 13th), rolled around and I drove on down in a minivan packed with tees, displays, and other odds and ends, pleased with myself for finally remembering to bring a dolly to cart everything into the building.

I found the place easily enough, right off the main road that branched from the interstate. The parking lot was practically empty (not a good sign!), but I figured that was to be expected since it was only 8:00am, the timeslot for the first group to load-in.

The building was super cool, though, a very old red-brick structure with plenty of character inside and out.

Since the show didn't start for 3 hours, I took my time setting everything up, getting it all organized, and then doing some improvisation when I realized I was missing some crucial display hardware. All in all though, I had everything I needed and was ready to go. Now it was just time to wait, and hope that they'd done a good job getting the word out about the place...

Fortunately, it was pretty good. Not excellent by any means (I did about twice as well at ICE), but for a first-time show, I was impressed, and it's always a fun experience chatting with other vendors and interacting with shoppers.

When the show ended at 7:00, it was the usual routine of slowly breaking everything down and hauling it all back to the car. It's worth mentioning, by the way, that all the doorways in the building were too narrow for my bins, making the dolly useless after all!

A special part of the show was that at 7:30, there was a musical guest in the next building, which all the vendors were given tickets to. Amazingly, it was the Bowerbirds! I actually wrote about them in this entry here!. Anyways, that was pretty crazy. And rather than being bummed out by the small turnout, they seemed genuinely pleased to be there and perform for us. It was totally cool.

From there, I drove up a lonely road about a half hour to meet up with friends in Athens, Georgia, at a venue known as 40 Watt, to see Ra Ra Riot. It was an AWESOME show. I actually didn't listen to the CD until just a few weeks ago, and it's quickly become one of my favorites from this year.

Check it out if you don't know em!

Anyways, I finally got home at 2:30, totally exhausted from my being up nearly 24 hours and doing so much... Whew. It's almost reassuring to know that my next show won't be till June!

In case you missed it...

2008-12-07T23:29:00.002-05:00

Here's a recorded version of the chat:

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/927502

Thanks to those that joined! Great questions!

See you there!

2008-12-07T19:49:00.000-05:00

Live in 10!

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/linty-fresh

Webchat date set

2008-12-03T09:11:00.000-05:00

Woohoo! Got the shipping confirmation on my webcam, which means...

Gearing up for January

2008-12-03T00:04:00.002-05:00

As I said in the last post, the majority of the "work" per month happens before that month begins. For example, the new design that was released yesterday, The Snurfing Iceman, was designed on the last week of October and was printed and stocked in the second week of November. (It was actually previewed at the ICE show I did on the 13th)

So, being December, I'm getting ready for January. As of this afternoon, the printers have the file for the new tee, and hopefully it'll be printed and on my shelves before next weekend (so I preview it at the next show!). I also sent off my order for the next batch of belts, which will also hopefully be available on January 1st. I was reviewing some paperwork on my previous belt orders, and I couldn't believe that I had restocked them all in September. Crazy! The funny thing is that although a bunch of them have completely sold out (Keith, Busjacked, Cut Up, and Freshmen all sold out just this week!), there are a couple designs that almost haven't moved at all (Hedgemonster and Eye Scream). It's weird how that works. So unpredictable.

So, for the next batch, I'll be bringing back some of the classic original styles that I had released with the first series. I won't mention them just yet, but you'll see soon enough... :P

Also on the horizon is a complete makeover of the Linty Fresh website. This blog has been great, but having it hosted at a completely separate location from the shop is a little counterproductive, so with the new site I'll be able to incorporate it right into the lintyfresh.com site. There's also a bunch of other fun changes that I'll be making. And I'll have REAL models for the shirts, too. I just won a really nice photography lighting kit on Ebay, so once that comes in I'll be having a bunch of friends over and decking them out in LF gear. It should make for fun times!

There's a TON of other stuff too that are in the works, but I'm not gonna get too much into it. From my experience, things can easily fall through, so it's best to hold off from any announcements till they're completely done. Be excited though! I can't wait for 2009!

Hellloooo December!

2008-11-30T23:59:00.003-05:00

First off, the bad news - the web-service I typically use for my newsletter is down for maintenance until Monday at 9AM, so it'll be just a tad late this time around. So instead of making this entry in the blog any different than what's usually in the newsletter, I'm pretty much just going to copy + paste the info right here so I don't miss anything!

First up...

November Flickr Contest Winner!
Congrats, tmacm12! It's a simple, straightforward pic showing off the NOM button, and I like it. Of course, the competition wasn't too stiff this month, with only a few more pics drizzling into the pool. I'm actually thinking about temporarily taking a hiatus with this contest since the competition is just too easy! So get those photos in for the December contest, because it just may be your last chance to score freebies...

Now onto the new stuff...

The Snurfing Iceman!
I'm excited about this tee for a few reasons. First off, it's the first tee that was printed by a new printer I'm using, and their shop is literally around the corner from me. This has been a totally awesome transition for me, because even though I really loved working with my previous printer, they were based in Florida, which meant a lot of waiting on shipping, extra fees, etc. Anyways, I'm pretty stoked that these guys are so close, and were able to really do an amazing job with this design.

I'm also just happy about it because it's a yetti. On a snowboard. (As a sidenote, the "snurfer" was the name of the first commercially produced snowboard, developed in the 60's, hence the shirt title)

Oh, and if you'd like to see the tee in action (yes? no?), you can catch it in my latest LF vid, a cooking instructional on making Chinese dumplings: LF Vid #6.

New Bundle Option!
Upon the request of many emails, I've decided to also release a new option for the bundle boxes. Now you can get a hoodie, a tee, and a belt at a discounted rate (15% less, to be exact). It comes in a slightly bigger box, too. And, as with the regular bundle box, if you'd like to mix and match sizes for the hoodie and the tee, it's no issue, just shoot me an email: gameyy(at)lintyfresh.com

Other stuff!
Don't forget, the coupon is still live for the next two days! So if you were holding out for the new stuff, don't wait any longer!

Finally, I want to let all you Atlantans know that I'll be showing at yet another show here in Georgia on December 13th. Find out more here!

As always, if you're on MySpace you can check me out here! Anyways, enough from me for now!

Webchat update...

2008-11-29T10:10:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that the webchat won't be happening tomorrow. I'd hoped that the camera would arrive this week, but alas, it hasn't even been shipped...

So unless the camera comes today somehow, it looks like this is postponed. Hopefully it'll arrive in time for next Sunday. Either way, I'll give everyone advance notice!

Woah nelly!

2008-11-28T23:28:00.003-05:00

So this is a cool little tidbit... Webstats.

Usually I don't pay a whole lot of attention to them. Because I'm running a store and not just a blog site, I feel that I can pretty easily gauge how well I'm doing by the numbers in my paypal account rather than the hits on my website. Still, I decided to take a look at my analytics stats after ignoring them for almost a year. It was pretty awesome:

LINTYFRESH.COM

Sept 22-Oct 22
12632 Hits

Oct 22-Nov 22
14579 Hits

% Change= + 15.41%

LINTY-FRESH.BLOGSPOT.COM

Sept 22-Oct 22
1084 Hits

Oct 22-Nov 22
2039 Hits

% Change= + 80.10% (!!!)

So... that increase in the blog views in INSANE. The only thing I could think of was the videos, since I put those up primarily in the last month and a half or so. Well, I decided to do some digging around on google, and it turns out that they have, in fact, generated a lot of buzz in the Tee realms:

T-shirt Gang

Taddict

T-shirt Forums

Cottonable

Coty Gonzales

You Design It

It's kind of fun to do a search like that once in awhile. I mean, apart from just an ego-stroke, it's always reassuring to hear positive things from those I'd consider to be the "critics" of the tee world. Although, to be honest, that's a harsh term for most tee-bloggers. Usually they're pretty supportive and good to acknowledge the work that designers/entrepreneurs put into their brands.

It's also cool to see the videos being so well received. Honestly, a lot of times as I'm filming, all I'm thinking is, oh geez this is going to be the most boring thing to watch... urgggg...., so it's always suprising to get such good feedback. And I really do enjoy helping folks out. Even though I've kept to my new policy of not giving out my contact info anymore (sorry, gotta keep some secrets!), I do as much as I can to help out in other ways, and I feel this channel is another avenue to that goal.

Anyways.

So tonight, though sick and in bed, I decided that I had to finally get the write-up for the new tee done. (You can see a preview of it in the new video, by the way) I had the rough story in my head for it, and just needed to decide on a few of the details, and whether or not to make it just a regular mini-story or a poem. I went with poem. Anyways, in the end it became story of a legendary ice monster that lives far up in the mountains and although it is believed to be some carnivorous beast, it's really just out to find some powdery slopes to board.

Well after doing the writeup and getting a few other things ready to go on the site for the release on Sunday/Monday, I decided to relax with a movie, since my head was pounding at this point and working anymore was pointless. I threw in "Monsters, Inc.". I saw bits and pieces of this movie years ago, but never watched it all the way through. It was awesome! But what really made me laugh was the part with the abominable snowman, and then the following scene with Sully sledding down the snowy mountain - LIKE THE SHIRT! Weirdness.

Random cooking vid!

2008-11-28T00:13:00.001-05:00

Cooking Chinese Dumplings from Eric Terry on Vimeo.

Wahoo!

2008-11-24T15:03:00.001-05:00

Webchat comin' soon!

2008-11-22T02:28:00.000-05:00

Howdy all!

Just purchased a webcam on Amazon and once it arrives I plan on doing some streaming webinars/webchats. I know that despite my best efforts to answer emails and do my Vimeo stuff, you still have lots of questions, so hopefully this'll be a great way for you to get them answered.

More info when the camera comes!

-Eric

PS. Oh, I'm trying to figure out what the best time to do it would be. I'm thinking 9PM on either Wed, Thurs, Fri, or Sun night. Preferences?

LF Vid #5: Designing for Print (and finding a printer!)

2008-11-20T19:45:00.000-05:00

Designing for print (And finding a printer!) from Eric Terry on Vimeo.

Not so Linty Fresh...

2008-11-20T18:54:00.000-05:00

Ok, so this isn't a whole batch instance, just a few here and there that I don't feel right selling on my site. So instead I'm discounting them and just trying to move em!

1st:

MOST FANTASTIC THINGS (green)

These are actually just a few of the older prints that I want to move (in lieu of the brighter, bigger, reprints)

(Available in Girls' medium and large.)
Price: $10 ($12 discount)

2nd:

EPIDEMIC

Suuuper small issue here (just a little streaking in this one part!), but still, not something I want to deliver at full price.

(Available in Guys' large)
Price: $18 ($6 discount)

3rd:

CYRIL THE CYCLONE

The white ink on these just didn't get very good coverage, so it looks a bit flaky in spots. Again, not a huge issue.

(Available in Guys' large, Xlarge)
Price: $15 ($6 discount)

Let me know if you want them. First come first serve.

ICE! New printer, etc...

2008-11-18T00:48:00.001-05:00

Haven't made a real update in awhile so there's kind of a lot to report here, but I'll stick to the most recent bits.

Firstly, ICE was just incredible. The absolute BEST show I've done so far (I know, only 4, but still!). I was busy through the entire thing, from the moment I set up to the moment the show ended (and after, actually) I didn't even get a chance to eat lunch and had to rudely munch on stuff as I made transactions! It was super crazy. I think I actually lost some sales because people had to wait in line too long! Just nuts.

The cool thing was that I had lots of repeat customers from the last ICE. I remembered some of them instantly and a lot of them went kind of nuts when they saw the booth and the new products. I had a bunch of people who were shopping for others and that made it awesome because I had some deals where people could buy stuff in bulk and save, and to my amazement people didn't even hesitate when their totals came up. And it was definitely cool to see all those people walking around with Linty Fresh boxes and bags for the rest of the event.

Also of note was how many people recognized my stuff. Most of them couldn't pinpoint it, but it could be indie blogs or writeups that I don't know about. Unfortunately, it's also possible that I'm getting ripped. I actually got messaged on Myspace recently by a guy in LA who told me there's a shop there that's carrying ripoffs of my line. He's supposed to get pics and a phone #. What a headache!

Anyhow, today I had a bunch of little errands for here and there. I don't think I've actually mentioned this yet, but I just switched to a new screenprinter that's located less than 10 miles from me. It's ridiculous. And their work is absolutely unrivaled. They just finished my December tee and it came out amazing. Plus, I can just go and drop in to check on stuff. They actually called me last week to double check the colors on the tees before they finished them. I felt very cool going in there. Anyhow, I went again today to chat about some other printing services: glow in the dark, foils, bags, etc. I'm just stoked how close they are and how willing they are to try anything and experiment.

Oh, and I rearranged the apartment last night after running out of space in that back storage room. I've decided to make that my bedroom/study and make the main flat the office/storage space. Makes more sense that way. Not sure what'll happen in the next few months though. I'm running out of room again... :(

New shoes! I've never gotten into the sneaker craze, but I just couldn't resist these when I saw em at Marshalls. Plus I've been coming out with a lot of tees with that same blue so now my footwear can match. :P

LF Vid #4: Tips for Art/Craft Shows

2008-11-14T22:37:00.002-05:00

A little less crazy, a little more informative. These are some pointers I've picked up from my own experiences at shows and from talking with other vendors. Most of them are common sense, but sometimes it's good to hear things and see them in action too.

Tips for Art/Craft Shows from Eric Terry on Vimeo.

In or around Atlanta!

2008-11-10T11:05:00.002-05:00

Come check out the Indie Craft Experience!
It's indoors for gosh sakes and they've got food and drinks! Sweetness...

See a street map here!

REALLY excited for this one!

Ramblings on stuff and stuff

2008-11-09T00:02:00.003-05:00

It's for sale. It started off as an LF piece but as it developed it turned out to be something that I'm not sure I want in my line (not because I don't like the design, but because the style isn't what I'm after right now). Anyhow, I sent it off to a tshirt site and if they don't want it, it'll be up for grabs... to the highest bidder!

Anyhow, I haven't done a decent post in awhile, so I suppose it's time for a real update that doesn't involve bad Russian accents and acrobatics (aww).

SO! One question I've kind of been getting a lot lately is, "How is LF doing despite the economy?" Which is to say, "Are people really buying tshirts when they can't pay the mortgage?" Well, yes. To be honest, it's definitely slower than it was back in the summer, when LF really hit its peak (although September was the best month since I started, but only due to Renegade). And that's understandable. But all in all, I've been ok. Although, since I am paying more for rent for this bigger place, I am having to watch my spending and keep track of where my cash goes. But aren't we all?

In a way, I think the economic downturn has had some good effects. For one, it's forced people in this country to really take a look at how they spend their money (and their credit card company's money), which is important. Also, it's gotten folks a lot more conscious about fuel consumption, which will hopefully lead many of us to rethink how much we use our cars, saving our money and the environment. (I wouldn't classify myself as a hardcore environmentalist, but it does irk me to think about so many emissions in the atmosphere.) So all in all, I guess this is a glass half-full stance on the issue. We all need a wake up call from time to time!

That said, it is my professional opinion that one area that cutbacks aren't needed are in the area of tshirt spending! You can never have enough tees! :P

Geez.

In other news, my next show is just around the corner (next week! Can't believe it). In case you missed the half dozen other mentions of this and you're in the Atlanta area, here's a link to the site that's hosting it: The Indie Craft Experience". I've said it before, but I am SO happy to be attending an indoors show. Just rockin'.

LF Vid #3: Professionalism

2008-11-06T23:15:00.003-05:00

It always bugs me when people badmouth clients/employers on forums or otherwise carry on in a really unprofessional manner online and excuse themselves by saying, "Oh please, it's only the internet!" So I thought I'd make a video post about it.

Professionalism from Eric Terry on Vimeo.

The fact is, this stuff really matters, and not just if you're running an online business or are trying to get work through the internet in some other way. People forget that the only thing they have to present themselves is little bits of text on a monitor; those few words are the equivalent to a first impression, and as most people know, first impressions last forever!

Anyways, I sat down and came up with what I felt were the top 3 "tenets" of professionalism online, though I'm sure I missed a bunch more. I may do more in this series, so if you have suggestions let me know!

PS: Sorry for the terrible Russian accent/jokes!

LF Vid #2

2008-11-03T01:06:00.001-05:00

This one's primarily for those out there who're starting their own lines and trying to get their shipping & order fulfillment set up. Hopefully it's interesting for the rest of you too!

How to fulfil/ship orders from Eric Terry on Vimeo.

All kinds of new stuff for November!

2008-10-31T23:10:00.001-05:00

Cyril the Cyclone

Fish, Etc. (reprint)

Bundle Box (mix and match your own box and save... :D )

October Flickr Contest Winner:

Congrats Kelly!

(Don't forget to add pics to the flickr pool for next month: http://www.flickr.com/groups/lintyfresh)

Makin vids at 3:00 AM

2008-10-24T19:49:00.001-05:00

Hola!

Allow me to give you a tour of LF's new headquarters:

Linty Fresh "Cribs" from Eric Terry on Vimeo.

Enjoy!

Attention Atlantans!

2008-10-16T11:01:00.002-05:00

Well a couple of days ago I just got word back from the Indie Craft Experience notifying me that I've been accepted into their November show! I'm especially stoked because it's my first indoor show, which takes so much stress out of the equation. At my first show in Atlanta, it was the hottest day of summer. At my second show in Chicago, it was their rainiest day in history. And this past weekend in Charlotte, it was one of their windiest days this Fall... So fortunately, I won't have to worry about all that craziness for this fourth show. Here's some pics:

Here's the info, in case you're in the area and want to check it out:

The Indie Craft Experience Holiday Shopping Spectacular 2008
Saturday, November 15, 11-6 p.m. @ Ambient + Photo Studio
Located at 585 Wells St. SW Unit A * Atlanta, GA 30312

Anyways, I'm pretty busy getting things reorganized for my setup. Since the space is smaller than the usual 10'x10', this calls for some re-arranging of shelves, displays, and table. I'm excited, though, because I've got some sketches down for ideas I want to try out, and it looks like it'll be a pretty rad booth. :D

Oh, and last night I checked out IKEA for the first time in years with some friends. I kind of forgot how awesome it was. So now I've got plenty ideas for how to decorate my office space... Can't wait!

Yikes!

2008-10-08T19:13:00.002-05:00

Wow, sooooo sorry to leave this without an update for so long! As I mentioned in the last blog, I drove up to New York with some friends and toured around for a week or so, so I've been really out of the loop with things here... It was actually pretty crazy because I was gone during the 1st of the new month, so I had to literally launch all of my products using a WiFi spot in a Dunkin Donuts in a small town in upstate New York. Then I had to get the newsletter sent off, and in all the craziness I forgot to update here! Then when I got back I moved my office into a much bigger space, so getting everything settled there has made things even more hectic. But thankfully things are finally fitting into place!

Anywho, in case you haven't seen the site, here's the info on the new releases:

First, custom button packs! These little dudes match with various other LF items and icons. Mix and match your own packs of 5 buttons for $4. They even come in custom packaging (all handmade!).

Also, a new tee is now out! Quite a few folks really seemed to dig the scissors hoodie but wanted the option for a tee, so this one's for you guys! (Also includes full design print on the back)

Also, I reprinted the Mack Hated Mondays tee this month, so if it was sold out in your size last time, give it another look!

And here's some pics from the new office space (also my living space at the mo) As you can see from the pics, I've gone with the classic Linty Fresh green and eased it up with a dark, earthy brown. It gives the space a neat balance of vibrance and class that I'm really happy with (just finished painting last night). You can see that's it still pretty empty, but within the next week or so it should be more filled out, as I plan to hang a bunch of posters, bulletin boards, and shelves. I'm also working on some hand-painted vinyl toys that'll help serve as decoration. Exciting times!

Anyhow, that's what I've been up to here at LF. Oh, and as for that show I mentioned above, it's called the Craft Attack and it's happening in Charlotte, North Carolina. You can find out more info here.

Whew!