In the middle of all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season... there are some serious questions to be answered... Who is going to design our team's cycling jersey this year? Which manufacturer are we going to use? Can we find someone to meet our budget? What about sizing?
December is normally the busiest time for me, as many teams are putting together their orders to guarantee their brand spanking new kits arrive in time for the their first race.
In my 14 years of designing apparel, I've seen some great designs and some not so great designs.
There are many different ways to design your jerseys. We can do full custom, semi-custom or print on an existing jersey.
- As you can imagine the full custom takes the longest to design and produce. But has the most FLASH at the finish line.
- Semi-custom means that the design is already printed and a jersey is already sewn and ready to go, we just have to print on it. This is perfect for small teams less than 24. However, you may show up race day with others in the same template design.
- Printing on an existing jersey - If you see my PBR jersey, we just printed on a white jersey and this is great for small orders and quick turnaround time.
1. Set the team's budget and collect down payment from team early on. Avoids stress and late orders. Most manufacturers require 1/2 up front at beginning of order.
2. Set a realistic deadline. Some clients work 4 months ahead. This is ideal because some production times run 4-8 weeks depending on the amount of orders.
3. Get artwork in vector or original format. Right clicking on your sponsor's website and giving me a .jpg won't work. I'll have to redraw the logo for a small fee.
4. I wish I could wave my magic wand and get your order in as soon as we talk. The clock starts ticking when artwork proof is approved from the manufacturer. Just because we talked about it Friday on Nov. 5th nothing happens until artwork is submitted.
5. I have relationships with all the manufacturers, from Primal Wear, Giordana, Pearl Izumi, ZBikewear, Sugoi, Louis Garneau, Voler, Hincapie. I've been at their plants, worked with them and have even my own designed retail apparel lines.
I'm the perfect person for you to work with, I design, gather quotes, manage the order and make sure order comes in on time and correct, so you can be out there riding. I don't know of anyone else that does what I do. Pretty cool, eh?
I would be more than happy to come to one of your monthly meetings to bring samples and answer questions. Free pizza and a couple of beers and I'll share all my vast knowledge. I'm available any Tuesday or Wednesday night and some weekends.
