So here we go moving quickly into 2012. Last year was our most productive, innovative, and challenging year yet. We are ready to accomplish even more in the coming months. This year we attended our industries largest trade show in Long Beach, CA. I spent 4 days with our apparel vendors, ink suppliers, equipment producers and printers from around the world. I attended seminars all morning and was on the floor right after taking in all the new and exciting things. It was an inspiring way to start the year. Some of that California sun didn’t hurt either. Periodical is what we have come up with to help us with communication. To help us build on our conversations. Luxe Riot will be using this publication to showcase new apparel, processes in printing and embroidery, sales ideas, interviews and much more. The lookbook will be season specific with our goal to eventually put one out every month. We want this to be interesting and contain value you can use in planning for your business. Our world is full of options to create meaningful products that will be used everyday. Luxe Riot has our own unique way of provid-ing that and by showing you through Periodical I think soon you will agree.

We always appreciate feedback. Let us know what you would like to see. How could periodical help your business? I hope this tool will help us work together in new and creative ways throughout the year.

Thanks Eric Green eric@luxeriot.com

Welcome,

6.oz 100% Cotton Tubular Jersey, Double-needle bottom hem and sleeves shoulder to shoulder tape. Preshrunk to minimize shrinkage. Visit Alstyle online

1301 adult short sleeve Tee.

“Nothing beats this classic silhouette.”

Alstyle 1301

5PANEL

HATThese hats are great and can be a versitile piece for a clothing brand, retail store or outdoor brand. You can keep them very simple. For applications you can screen print certain parts of the hat and the top, embroidery, sewn woven lables or patches work great too. Every style is different so where place-ments can go will vary.

fall in soldiersit’s the five panel

Whatever you want to call these styles of hats their background comes straight from the military. The first versions were used in the “Korean War” where is was dubbed the “patrol cap” by US Army Rangers. The hats were constructed soft enough to be worn underneath a M1 helmet. It was famously worn by Fidel Castro and the Cuban resistance. Even in a rare apperance you can still see him wearing one. The patrol cap was reintroduced in the 1980’s. The military has managed to offer it in M81 Woodland Camo, 6 different desert camo’s and the universal camo pattern. For the past few years it’s also been a staple in fashion. You can find custom made versions with plaid patterns, pink and purple camo-flauge and lots of distressed logos.

“These hats are unique and can be a versitile piece for a clothing brand.”

5 panel hats

Coach’s jackets can be a great addition to your apparel program on or off the field. Perfect for those warm days of Spring. A Coach’s jacket will also stay in your buyers closet for much longer than a t-shirt. Your print placements do need to stay fairly traditional. Large backs, left chests and sleeves. Get creative we’ll see you at the first pitch!

artistseries

AguilarCarlos

Artist Series collaboration

Has it ever crossed your mind to bring in an artist to do a take on your logo, to use a local photographer on a collaborative project or printing a shirt with a image a customer was inspired to show you. From our standpoint it’s easily executed and can bring an entire new angle to what your doing. There are also many directions you can take. You may want just a new shirt design. Maybe creating an artist collaboration that benefits both parties with increased awareness for your brand and the artists network. Contests can be created via your store, Face book, Twitter with artwork submitted and the winner gets their design on your shirt. All of these can bring more creativity to what can be a tedious process when coming up with new designs or hitting a wall on new ideas. It’s a process that can be beneficial and profitable for both parties.

Next question you might have is where to find a talented artist. Most of us don’t have to look far. Through our network of friends someone loves shooting photos, possibly your cousin is great at drawing and you just saw your old friend is getting ready to graduate from graphic design school on Facebook. You want a professional; locally get familiar with art shows in your area. Look for work that stands out to you and might compliment what you are doing. Local artists frequently attend their shows and are more than happy to discuss any opportunity to do more work. Want to go big time, if there is an artist you are looking at try to get in touch. Through the Internet it’s never been easier to contact those artists that want to be contacted. You may not always get the answer you would like but you never know until you try.

So you spoke with the artist that had a bunch of collage work hanging at your local coffee shop. Their going to incorporate your business ideals in a collage for products to be distributed at an upcoming tradeshow. There are a few guidelines to keep in mind to make this relationship work the best on both ends.

“Has it ever crossed your mind to bring in an artist to do a take on your logo.”

Artist Seriescollaboration

“Dont expect to get you’re artwork for

free”

1) Don’t expect to get you’re artwork for free. You are looking to gain value to your product through this experience the artist will need the same treatment. Be creative. If your looking to sell 500 bags with their logo they should expect to be paid. If it’s a shirt design going on 36 shirts and more if it does well, maybe you can give $ 3.00 for every shirt produced. Plus give the artists 5 shirts. There isn’t a perfect formula every situation will be different.

2) You always need to give a direction for the artist. Even if you’re unsure say this is for a t-shirt and tank top to go with our spring line. Our spring theme revolves around baseball (old team logos, ball parks, peanuts). If you don’t know what you want there is a much greater chance you won’t like what you get. Leaving it open can also be frustrating for the artists as they have no starting point.

3) Never make a promise you can’t keep. No matter how great the artist there can be times your vision is not the same. You get this piece they have spend 2 weeks on and you don’t think you can sell it on your new coffee mugs. Make sure you have guidelines in place if this might be the case. Maybe you buy the piece hang it in the back room and rework the mugs. Your goal is to promote your products through new outlets and networks. If the project turns into a bad experience for the artist they can be a very negative customer.

4) Set very clear deadlines. You may need to look through a few logos, photos or tweak designs just a little to get a perfect combination. Time goes quickly if you have Fall release of Oct 1st remembering time for proofing, laying out and lastly production of the goods is essential. If you get the first draft on the 15th of September it’s not going work.

5) Involve the artist in the proofing process. They will be the biggest critics of the work and you want them to be happy with the final product. Inform them ahead of time what it will be used for and explain any limitations. A printed Pablo Piccasso t-shirt could look amazing but would Pablo approve “Guernica” on a Heather Grey shirt and be happy with all of the shading. Luxe Riot can give you a good idea what your final results will be like on whatever we are looking to create. Always make sure your artist understands what the goal is for the final product

I’m sure your mind is full of ideas right now. Now here are a few things that can really create a larger pres-ence with a artist collaborative piece.

1) Plan to show some of the artists work to coincide with the release of the products. You may not have a gallery set up but hanging a few photos by the photographer will increase the presence and relevance of the collaboration. Print out their bio for all to see and educate your staff on relevance. Even online you can put together a small portfolio of the artist. Or send a link out of Facebook to their website with a bit of background.

2) Add some personality to the product. Maybe a hangtag with the artist biography that hangs from your product.. Luxe Riot has printed entire artist information in the inside of tshirts where we are putting in cus-tom inside tag prints. Screen printed gift boxes with the artists drawing and signature go over very well.

3) Keep the product limited and even hand number if the quantities are that low. Limited quantities have a few advantages. If your able to do well with the product you can create a schedule and keep new things coming out every season. Everyone loves the latest product. Your customer also feels special, they now own something not everyone has. It also keeps your inventory rotating and if you ever come across a design that just doesn’t move your not heavily invested..

“Plan to show some of the artist’s work to coincide with the release of the product.”

You’re probably wondering how do I get this painting, photograph, painted wall or charcoal drawing into the proper format? Of course it’s going to depend on the medium used. For paintings we scan the originals, we can take photographs of larger pieces and graphic designers have this part easy as we usu-ally can just have them email over their image. If you’re unsure where to start give us a call and we can help walk you through the process. Anytime your embarking on a new direction it’s good to discuss the project and we can make sure everyone involved is on the same page. There are a world of great ideas out- there we can’t wait to hear about what you have come up with.