Frequently Asked Questions

Are you really a “small” business?

Yes! We are owned and operated by a single individual at the moment. This is a passion project and a serious business, but a small one. We have big goals, including growing the business and brands to be considered some of the best out there, as well as one day employing and empowering other creatives whose work moves us. But for right now we are happy to just be a small business that is creating designs, apparel, and merchandise that appeal to people. We couldn’t be happier than when something we create resonates with others.

 

Who designs your products?

All products are designed in-house by Brand X using blanks provided by our partners as the canvas (sometimes literally), unless otherwise stated. We do collaborate with other designers, artists, and content creators for special collections, and those are always marked as a collaboration. For certain concepts, since we are a one person operation currently, we will work with an outside artist to complete a certain portion of a design to the specifications they are provided.

 

Print on demand? Pricing?

There are some great things that come along with being a small business. We can be flexible and pivot when needed, and we aren’t tied down by heavy-handed corporate overlords who are more interested in satisfying investors than customers.

One of the big downsides to not being a large business or corporation is that we don’t have the deep pockets that generally come along with that. We are currently entirely self-funded. That makes producing large runs of our various products financially unadvisable (it’s never good to risk having “dead” stock). We also don’t have some large warehouse to store all those products even if we could order in bulk. 

Instead, everything we offer on the site is currently produced only when an order comes in for it. Another term you’ll hear for this is Print On Demand. Think of it as custom or bespoke. We have been very careful to only partner with providers that meet our very specific requirements. This includes offering the best print and embroidery quality, as well as offering high quality blanks, and international shipping options, among other things.

To wrap this all up, operating our business in this manner is costly. We’ve done our best to keep prices as low as we can, while still being able to keep the business running. We hope that once you get one of our apparel products in your hands that you’ll agree that it’s one of the best and most comfortable you’ve ever owned, and that you’ll come back for more. Either way, we can’t thank you enough for your support and for even visiting our website/store.

 

What’s that smell?

Good question. We live by these wise words: Whoever smelt it, dealt it. So you’d probably know better than us. However, if you are referring to a piece of apparel you received we can most likely answer that. 

One of the printing processes we use is called DTG, or Direct to Garment, which most print on demand businesses use due to its cost effective nature compared to screen printing. DTG can print without the use of screens, as it is more comparable to an inkjet printer you might use at home, just in a much larger, more industrial and expensive way. Screen printing is more efficient and cost effective for larger runs of apparel where one screen can be used over and over again.

With the use of DTG printing a solution that has a vinegar base is often used to prepare the fabric to accept the ink being placed on it. This helps to ensure the ink bonds strongly to the fabric, creating a print that should last. The slight vinegar smell will go away after the first wash. Please keep in mind that not all apparel products will have this odor, and again, if they do, the odor will disappear after the first wash.

 

Sizing and Care Instructions for apparel?

When ordering we encourage you to pay special attention to the sizing charts found in the description of each apparel item. Using these should help you achieve the best fit. Still, that by no means is a guarantee or promise of how an item might fit you.

When you receive your product we encourage you to follow the manufacturer listed washing and drying instructions, or, to be extra careful, follow these instructions: 

• Always wash your decorated garments inside out and on a normal or gentler cycle. To best avoid shrinking and to ensure print longevity, wash on cold with like colors and dry on medium heat or below (lowest heat setting for delicate items), or hang dry. Following these steps will not only help to reduce shrinkage, but will also help to increase the life of the garment.

 

Does a portion of the proceeds from each item in the Heroes & Villains collection really go to charity? Which charity?

They most certainly do! However - full disclosure - we do not make a donation each time an item is sold from that collection. Our current donation schedule is quarterly. Each quarter we decide upon a charity to support (sometimes it’s the same charity as the previous quarter), and we update our collection to reflect which charity is being supported. At the end of that quarter (or the following quarter if we support them in consecutive quarters) we review our sales from that collection and calculate what the total donation should be and then send the money however the charity prefers to receive their donation.

 

What does a “portion of the proceeds” mean?

It means that for each item we sell in that collection (the Heroes & Villains collection) we donate a portion of the money we make off each sale AFTER all costs are covered for the actual creation of the product. That amount will vary depending on the item, but it will never be lower than one dollar per item sold.