{"id":139,"date":"2009-07-03T03:38:38","date_gmt":"2009-07-03T10:38:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mehallo.com\/blog\/?p=139"},"modified":"2009-10-15T05:01:43","modified_gmt":"2009-10-15T12:01:43","slug":"mehallo-merch-how-and-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mehallo.com\/blog\/archives\/139","title":{"rendered":"Mehallo merch: how and why  . . ."},"content":{"rendered":"

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i\u2019m digging all this<\/B>
\nI\u2019ve had these merchandise ideas for a few years and just never got around to building them until recently. Production issues always held me up   . . .  so did fulfillment, pricing   . . .  inventory   . . .  <\/p>\n

Then Caf\u00e9 Press and Zazzle invented themselves. What is known as Printing Upon Demand made it possible to have a product line \u2013 without it actually existing.<\/p>\n

So I\u2019ve set up stores at Caf\u00e9 Press and Zazzle. <\/p>\n

The product ideas come from \u201cwhat would I actually like to own?\u201d and I\u2019m going from there.<\/p>\n

at caf\u00e9 press<\/B>
\nis my Moderno Collection; which I\u2019m going to keep as limited as possible, swapping out designs seasonally. Featured are shirts and buttons highlighting \u201cModerno\u201d and a few dingbats from my Jeanne Moderno fonts. The style is simple, clean, wearable.<\/p>\n

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\nThe \u201cWaffffles!\u201d shirt is a favorite, it features the Jeanne Moderno fonts’ “ffffl” ligature, an unusual take on traditional typesetting’s standard “fl” ligature. The color reminds me of the old IHOP days. Which, as a side note, I was happy to see IHOP\u2019s current interiors now harken back to IHOP as comfort food. They were always a Sunday morning treat. Wear your Waffffles! shirt when heading out for a stack.<\/p>\n

over at zazzle<\/B>
\nI\u2019ve amped it up a little. Because of their large product assortment, I\u2019m only really limited by time.<\/p>\n

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\nThe Font Me mug – based on vintage printers rules and type gauges \u2013 was an idea I had several years ago. All elements came from rare type resources, and I\u2019m glad to finally see it produced.<\/p>\n

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\nZazzle makes it possible to actually do a series of shirts where you can pick your favorite style\/color\/etc. And then I thought, why not have your favorite letter printed on it? Really BIG. <\/p>\n

This is my \u201cJeanne Moderno Lettres\u201d product line \u2013 and I absolutely love that there\u2019s NO WASTE. No extra letter shirts lying around because they didn\u2019t sell. Each one is custom made, you pick your favorite letter and put it on ANY of Zazzle’s shirts   . . . and that\u2019s really cool.<\/p>\n

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\nThe Theatre, from the 20th Century Obsolete series<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve gotten requests over the years, so I\u2019ve also posted prints of some of my work. Some of my pieces are now available up to around 6 feet, if you have the money and wall space.<\/p>\n

going green<\/B>
\nI also love that it’s sort of green in that each of these products only exist if one orders it. All retail should be like that, no waste. And hopefully, that\u2019s where we\u2019re headed.<\/p>\n

pricing<\/B>
\nI\u2019m finding these are not entirely cheap \u2013 and yes, if I want my own merch, I have to buy my own merch. But I think the trade off is really worth it for what is really as close as one can get to one-of-a-kind items in the retail universe.<\/p>\n

We live in an environment of excess, making a purchase on one good mug \u2013 or one good shirt \u2013 is a great way to think about shopping in today\u2019s world. There\u2019s really no need to own a zillion items, just pick one and make it a good pick (Tim Gunn supports this thinking in his book on personal style; tho I’m paraphrasing).<\/p>\n

so<\/B>
\nPlease click on any of the images above to drop by either shop. There’s also links to the shops in the sidebar at right. Everything has been fun to put together \u2013 and as of today, I have both the Font Me and Master of Typography mugs on my desk. Zazzle ships FAST. And I\u2019ll say the 15 oz. is a good size for anything.<\/p>\n

Happy shopping and thanks for the support!<\/p>\n

o yeah <\/B>
\nMost of these designs are based on type and elements from my font collections. And of course, they can be found in their own store at MyFonts<\/a>.<\/p>\n\r\n\t

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