This is the first feature in a series on the DC-area fashion and merchandising scene.
Running Sharp Shirter in the DC community is awesome! The greater metropolitan area is constantly throwing events for local businesses to show off their stuff. I’ve noticed a real growth in the grass-roots movement over the past few years, and now’s the perfect time to be in the scene getting your work noticed.
My best-selling store happens to be Meeps at 18th and Kalorama in DC. They have been with me from the start. I first approached them as a teenager with a bunch of now-classic Sharp Shirter tees, and they were very open to giving me a shot. As my line has developed, so has my relationship with the store. I make regular stops to drop off new items and, sometimes, I bring my hedgehog, Lola, too. (They love hedgehogs there). Whenever I bump into a Sharp Shirter on the street, the person wearing it almost always bought it from Meeps.
Marketing and creating an audience for Sharp Shirter is still an on-going process. It’s largely educated trial and error with a major emphasis on perseverance. I’ve currently got my line in 60 indie boutiques across the nation, but for every store I’m in, there are 100 that deferred. One major lesson I’ve learned is: don’t sell your product where you wouldn’t want to see it. Just because a store is interested in buying doesn’t mean that it’s a done deal. Think carefully about who your target customers are and where you want them to shop.
The biggest mistake I’ve made in my company is over-inventory. If you’re just starting out, go SLOW. I thought my first ideas for tees were brilliant, and then I landed sitting stock for more than a year. Luckily, my money got tied up waiting for them to move, and I used that time to calculate how I wanted to allocate my assets in the future. You really need a wake-up call like that to learn how to manage your money well.
Lastly, I’d like to highlight a strategy that I highly recommend. Rather than viewing other people in your field as “competition,” approach them as individuals that you can learn from and potentially work with. This technique has greatly improved the sales of my company through meet-ups and brainstorms with friends like Jon Wye and John Paul. The market is far too large for any one of us to dominate, and it’s much more fun to have friends in the community.
I love the Haymaker shirt. I picked one up from the handmade craft fair in Silver Spring a couple of months ago. It’s my #2 favorite shirt behind this guy -> http://www.russellheimlich.com/blog/perhaps-the-greatest-t-shirt-ever-made/
This is an interesting story — but the fact that it’s written by the owner makes it feel kind of salesy. I wish it was an interview instead. Another author is always less biased.
@katie-oh: Thanks — We (FB editorial staff) appreciate the feedback.
I asked Dan to contribute his first-person experiences in trying to launch his line, particularly in the DC community, where fashion isn’t necessarily the first industry to be recognized. We always welcome recommendations and submissions from the greater ADCMW community that focus on the learning process of business and/or creative, which is what we think this article achieves.
We’ll keep in mind the interview approach moving forward to ensure our editorial maintains its community-building and knowledge-sharing integrity.