First Batch of Shirts \(o-o)/
My boss told me to have the logo I once made for the restaurant printed on all the clothing in two days time. I had never done it before and I was so afraid of screwing up the expensive clothes!
After a recommendation from Copy 76 I went to Shirt a la Minute in Groningen for the first time and my first impression of the place was okay. Tiny building that looks as if the size was inspired by J.K. Rowling. A very very long queue, took me 20 minutes to finally place my order. A very ugly dog also lives there inside the shop. He is cross-eyed and his tongue sticks out a little bit. They call him Beertje and put him on the desk because he couldn't stop trying to escape from behind the desk. Walked on my kitchen clothing, too. I don't know how hygienic it is in there.
Didn't start out great.
There's something with the Tuesdays there. I think that's when the orders get back from the printing warehouse..? If you want a job done quickly your best bet probably is to place your order early on Monday so you can pick it up on Tuesday. Don't ask the lady for help on choosing or deciding on anything. She will not help. She'll tell you that it's up to you and your own choice that's important! I've watched many customers before me and know for sure.
The logo was printed in Super Gold.The first batch of kitchen and waiter clothing came out great! Super precise, too!
The T-shirt came in a few days later and turned out super good. Better than I expected! For this print the lady did give me advice. She told me screen printing would be best and wouldn't let me print it with any other methods. She told me screen printing can't be felt on the shirt after it's been applied and won't crack but will tear as the shirt tears, which can take a very long time.
I am very confused, though. She called it screen printing and the other 'zeefdruk'. Both should mean the exact same thing while they aren't. I've seen the other two options and they looked and felt so different. Will visit the shop again to ask about that and pick up a unisex shirt. Then I'll also compare the two shirts and see if fuller chests distort the art. An alternative would be to have the art printed lower? Will see... *Have tried both shirts and fuller chests distort the illustration a bit. According to others it doesn't matter and the illustration is still nicely visible.
After these successful tests I've gotten more confident in my illustrations and will sell these shirts soon before putting up a Facebook advertisement.
There are already 3 people who'd like to order a shirt and one Dutch/Taiwanese woman who's interested in ordering a big framed illustration for her home. She reads Chinese and Japanese, too. My next big step would be to ask Asian shops if they'd like to have my art on their wall. Not too confident about that.
This project has its downsides, however. I really like the idea of drawing a world of little people, but lately I'm not able to be creative as often as before and I'm considering continuing these kind of illustrations during my minor. These illustrations require lots of research and practise but can be made within ~1 hour.
This print along with two other Japanese style prints have been approved by my Japanese friends. :3
