The making of a SurfJoy Tee
At the inception of the SurfJoy brand I was screen printing t-shirts by hand in my tiny studio apartment. There were t-shirts hanging everywhere.
After some encouraging success at small vendor events I realized that hand screening every shirt was incredibly time consuming on top of a full time job and that meant even less time for surfing and designing. I then started running batch orders from a local print shop (Thank you Blank Canvas Print House!) to stock a small retail space on island that carries products created by local artists. The feedback was so incredible and inspiring. Locals and visitors alike loved my tees!
Yet an obstacle remained- which was creating an online store so that SurfJoy could spread more joy to the world. However, having an online store brought many obstacles with it. Obviously it meant expanding beyond my humble retail presence to being able to accommodate a larger audience. But how could I do that while remaining mindful of potential waste and harmful environmental practices? How do I keep carbon emissions at a minimum while shipping and fulfilling your orders? How to I avoid wasting resources to create potential surplus inventory? The solution to my concerns: Print on Demand!
Heres how:
- I make some cool designs for you to get stoked about
- I test print the design on a tee for printing compatibility and quality
- Once the design has passed the test I "release" it to the online store where the tees are made to order!
Because Print on Demand encompasses a global network of print houses your order takes the shortest possible route to arrive at your doorstep. And because the tees are made to order I am able to avoid wasting space and precious environmental resources. Now thats something to feel JOY about! I want to personally thank you for supporting sustainable and environmentally mindful retail practices. I sincerely hope my work brings you joy. Aloha.
p.s.
you can still find small batch and hand screened releases in store at Mori and their vendor events. So please subscribe to stay in the loop and receive groovy coupons!
