From Blueprint to Screen Print

Happy Hump Day! I hope your week has been as fun & exciting as mine has been so far. Today I’m going to let you know how I got started doing screen printing. Ever since I was a kid I would always enjoy drawing & coming up with creative pieces of artwork that I would get to show off to my family & friends. I got so good at it that some of my artwork was entered in local art shows here in Charlotte. My artwork was always showcased in school also. I wasn’t the greatest artist but my creativity was what caught the people’s attention. Not to toot my own horn but I had & still do have an extraordinary imagination. I love coming up with things that may be over your head at first but later it comes to you like a boomerang at high speed. I figure if you say it’s “over your head” then I can call it “Fly”. That’s just how I look at things from a creative perspective. Anyways, back to the subject at hand… I used to come up with the coolest sneaker designs also. Back when the early Jordans & Max’s started having the air bubbles in the soles believe it or not I was already drawing up sneakers like that. It was like the designers over at Nike & I was thinking on the same level at the same time. The only difference was that I had started drawing my sneakers with air bubbles inside the front, middle and back of the soles. Nike hadn’t even started coming out with those yet so when I used to show my designs to my buddies they would be like, “Wow, Nike should come out with sneakers like these too…” I used to say, “Yeah, I want to go show these to Nike so I can design sneakers for them”. I used to go to my parents with my new designs and ask them how can I get the opportunity to show them to Nike & they would tell me that they have no idea. I wish they would have known someone would could have helped me or tried to help me themselves. Even though I used to get discouraged because I had these amazing new designs that I was doing nothing with I still understood that my parents were busy working hard to raise six loving children & didn’t have the money or time to invest in my talents. As time passed I was still creating new designs but I stopped after I started seeing more & more sneakers very similar to my designs hitting the sneaker racks in the stores left & right. It was a total disappointment & had me feeling like all of my hard work was for nothing. I went to my mom & told her that all my designs were coming out in the stores & all my hard work was for nothing & she would give me that “disappointed but there’s nothing we could’ve done” type of look. I would get upset at times but I still loved my parents very much & was very thankful for everything they provided for me. That sneaker disappointment didn’t stop me from creating the latest greatest artwork I could come up with. I’ve always had a deep passion for creativity. I remember my mom always saying, “You’re a creator of things & that’s a blessing because God is the creator of all things”. That used to make me feel so good inside & motivate me to keep creating whatever I could come up with. Back in 6th grade up to about the middle of junior high I had decided I wanted to create my own comic strips so I created a character named “Casey the Crime Fighter”. I used be in class, on the bus & at home every day working on episode after episode. The “Casey” comics were about an ex-cop named Casey that had been fired from the squad because he had gotten framed while being undercover. Still having a passion for crime fighting, he decided to take matters in his own hands while having his younger brother “Rocky” as his sidekick/protégé. Together they conquered the rough streets of LA & beyond leaving no witnesses. Because of the amount of violence I used to put in these comics, they probably wouldn’t have been able to be published at the time but they were real & exciting to read. Every time I was finish an episode I used to give it to my buddies & they would each read & pass it around saying they couldn’t wait to read the following episode. I always ended each episode in a way that would make my buddies want to see what’s going to happen in the next episode. I never made copies of any of them to give out because I didn’t want anyone to steal my ideas. I had only created the comic strips for my buddies to read also. I had become more protective over my work after seeing all of my sneakers designs hit the stores. Even though I knew they hadn’t been stolen I just didn’t want to feel that type of disappointment ever again. Once I had gotten into high school “Casey” had been a thing of the past along with doing artwork period. I had started getting older & had a newfound interest in girls & being “cool”. I had a great high school life & graduated with honors then went to college in Greensboro, NC & then discovered a new passion in Hip Hop. I used to write rhymes sometime back in junior high & high school but never anything serious but this was different. I was actually going to a real recording studio or recording on “rigged up” stereos in dorm rooms. I had been inspired so much by how well my peers could flow. I would be in “aww” from some of the stuff they would say in their rhymes. I began to think & live hip hop day in & day out. It’s all I ever wanted to do at the time. I would be in class writing rhymes, in the cafeteria, outside at the fountain, in my dorm room, staying up late nights writing… it was like I was an addict to writing rhymes. I then became more & more vocal about my hip hop skills & used to love being part of freestyle ciphers. I had met so many more people that were into hip hop just as much as I was so I began collaborating with more & more MCs. By the time I was suppose to have been graduated with a degree I had hooked up with a group of talented MCs & we had formed “The Network Coalition”. In that group I had became one of the lyrical favorites & I had also started producing a bit. We worked together & ran “The Network” like a business. We did local performances, had songs played on the radio & in the clubs (mainly the strip clubs my old roommate used to DJ in), we recorded lots of songs, mixed & arranged our own album & created our own CD covers. We were a real independent label. Everything was going so fast & so much was going on in each group member’s lives that as time past the group began falling apart more & more. I think some of the guys started their own smaller groups & duos but I had decided to move back to Charlotte due to things moving so fast & getting so crazy in Greensboro. I needed to come back to Charlotte to get my head straight & start all over. Fast forward to a few years back around 2003, I had played a prank on my niece buy putting a hand drawn sign on her bedroom door that had a hand pointing (kinda like the uncle sam pointing hand) calling her a funny name so she would see it as she went to her room. When she saw it posted up on her door she laughed & laughed & that moment right there gave me an idea of making designs for funny signs kids could post on doors. I didn’t want to create the typical “Keep Out!” type of signs, I wanted to create some that would be funny & like nothing else you’ve ever seen in stores. From that point, I started created different designs no computer. I didn’t have much experience with any graphic software but I know how to use MS Word & Paint. So one day as I was on the computer working on a design for a sign, a friend had came over to visit & he saw what I was working on & asked me if it was a design for a t-shirt or something. I told him no but it could be… at that moment my mind was working again & thinking, “Wow, that’s a great idea… I could start creating these designs for t-shirts instead of door signs”. Even though I had no idea how & where to start to get something printed on a t-shirt, I still thought the concept was a great idea. I figured people probably would buy a t-shirt quicker than a door sign. Then again I thought, “Well I could do both…” I remembered the hand drawn sign that I had posted on my niece’s door & I told her that I wanted to get it back so I could use it for an idea & she was cool with it. Once I got it back, I scanned it and put it into MS Paint & cleaned it up as well as I could leaving nothing but the pointing hand. I then imported it into MS Word and put the words, “Stay On Point” around the pointing hand. I then made it lots of different colors to see how it would look on different color t-shirts. For a while after that, I continued creating lots of different t-shirt designs. I had been introduced to Adobe photo deluxe where I could do much more editing and add cool effects to my designs. I had also started back doing the music but I was mainly making beats & I had came up with a name for my productions company as well as a logo. I wanted the logo printed on t-shirts so I did some research on what steps I’d have to take to get the ball rolling & I had found out the process was called “screen printing”. I think looked in the local phonebook & started calling around local screen printing shops searching for the lowest price quote I could find. While I was doing all of this I was learning more & more about how the pricing worked & even a little bit about how the process was done. The first company I had decided to have print my tees was cool on the first order but then had me waiting for about 3 weeks for my second order & kept giving me different lame excuses on why they couldn’t print them yet so I decided to cancel my order & take my business elsewhere. I then found a company who seemed to have there stuff together & the owners were really cool. I remember walking into their shop like it was yesterday. The owner had invited me back into his office instead of having me go to one of the sales offices. He asked me what I wanted to have printed, how many & what colors & sizes. He was so cool & down to earth that I couldn’t believe he was the owner. Anyways, we got my order completed & he told me when the tees should be ready & I left. They did such a good job on the first order that I continued getting t-shirts printed by them after that. The owner always told me to just go straight to his office instead of the sales office. One day I was in there placing an order & the owner just simply said, “Hey man, why don’t you just buy a screen printing machine & start printing t-shirts yourself? That way you can cut out the middle man & make more off of the t-shirts. Screen printing is not that hard to do”. From that day on he had me thinking & I decided that was exactly what I was going to do so I saved up enough money & bought my first screen printing machine along with all the initial supplies I needed to get the job done. (Do your research on screen printing machines before deciding what type you want to buy and make sure you have enough space to fit it if you do not have a shop yet.) I didn’t know anything about screen printing & I had acquired a few customers who were friends & family members. I basically learned how to screen print through trial & error & once I got the hang of it I was in business. I started Shirtgame, took a few screen printing classes & I’ve never looked back since. If you’re interested in getting into the screen printing industry, let this real life story be an inspiration to you & understand success will not happen over night. You’ll have to learn how to print & then market your business to build clientele. I’ll show you what it may be like from that point by letting you see some of the things I had to go through to get where I am today so stay tuned…

"2 Cents Extra..."

Now let me clear something up right now. Lots of people think that when someone has no job and they’re making good money doing something else then that person must be dealing drugs. Let me tell you folks, just because a person doesn’t work a regular job but makes good money and you don’t know what they do for a living doesn’t always mean that they sell drugs. What a lot of people fail to realize is that there are so many ways to make money anywhere in the world. You just have to be creative and use your mind. Of course whatever it is you’re doing you have to at least learn how to do it somehow whether you take courses, pay for some type of package training, or just become a protégé of a business guru who can teach you everything they know about a certain business venture. Some people are just that gifted with words and know how to sell a product to almost anyone. Other people may need specific training to do so. The thing that the two have in common is that they’re both “Go Getters”. They don’t just sit in front of the TV at home all day long learning nothing about making money. Lots of people don’t have that “drive” to go out and pursue any kind of money making venture. Most people have a fear of failing and losing everything they’ve put into the venture. These types of people will always have to work a regular job and hope to retire from it. There’s nothing wrong with doing that if you’re that type of individual then more power to you. I respect that to the fullest. Just remember that when you’re on the outside looking in, you don’t really know what it’s like to be an entrepreneur so if I were you I wouldn’t be so quick to doubt that a person pursuing a money making venture will never make it happen. You have a different mindset when it comes to work and earning money so you have to understand you’re not going to view money making ventures the same as an individual with an entrepreneur mindset. Just think about most of the multi-millionaires and billionaires in the world. When most of them started their business venture lots of people probably told them how crazy they were and how what they were pursuing would never work. Look at them now… extremely wealthy and can do whatever they want, whenever they want, where ever they want and however they want to do it all because they believed in themselves and their business plan which provided them with the means to do so. They don’t ever have to wake up early every morning to punch a clock and be on someone else’s schedule. They don’t have to schedule their life or vacation around someone else’s time. They are not controlled by anyone and no one controls how much money they can make per year. Bottom line, they’re not working to make someone else richer. Instead, they’ve worked to make themselves rich. These people are on a level of what’s called “financial independence”. They never have to worry about getting laid off from their jobs and losing their homes due to foreclosure. They’re able to make as much money as they want to make at any given time anywhere in the world. They’re able to give huge donations and contributions to churches and great charities to help other people here in the US and around the world. They can really make a difference in peoples lives if they really want to. They’re highly respected and admired by almost everyone. I’m not saying that everyone who’s earning a living as an entrepreneur is going to become a millionaire or billionaire someday. I’m just saying they have a much better chance of seeing that type of success than they would just working a regular job. Working a regular job can be rewarding if you actually have a good paying career but the likeliness of you becoming very wealthy from it is not the same as being a business mogul. Let me differentiate something right quick though. In my opinion a job and a career are two different things. Let me explain… A job is a way of earning income on an hourly wage, being granted short routine scheduled breaks and lunch times and only staying “Just Over Broke”. A career is a job you work after you’ve completed specific courses of study and achieved a degree of some sort that prepares you for the specific field of work you’re hired into. Most career people work on a yearly salary plus bonus and incentives and never have to punch a clock or abide by strict scheduled short breaks and lunches. Most career people do not have a set schedule of hours to be at their place of work either. They may also leave their office at any given time to handle company business and in some cases, personal business. Some may even work from home. At a job, you’re basically stuck that place of business until your scheduled shift is over. Some jobs don’t even have break times (which are 15 minutes most of time); they only have lunch times which range from 30 minutes to an hour. Most people work a job that doesn’t require any form of higher education and the pay isn’t really competitive. The pay is just enough to cover monthly expenses and maybe have a small amount left over for other things. With most full-time jobs, you only work a limited set of hours per week which is normally 40 hours. You are only capable of earning a limited amount of income per year and that’s broken down into weekly or bi-weekly pay periods so therefore you’ll have to budget your income to pay your bills on time and pay for necessities such as groceries, gas, clothing, etc. Most people who work regular jobs only have a small amount of money left over after paying monthly expenses so they have to budget that small amount of money for the things they would like to do for fun or leisure. Most of the time people with regular jobs have to save up portions of that small amount of left over money to be able to buy expensive things such as cars, furniture, appliances or fund planned vacations and family events. The time needed for those planned vacations and family events may most likely need to be pre-scheduled and approved by that person’s boss at their job. As you see and the majority of you already know, life is not a beach for most people with regular jobs. You can still have fun and live a happy life with a regular job but it won’t be as easy to live your life to the fullest like the big time money makers who run big businesses and possess major investments. The choice is yours whether you’re willing to settle and live an average lifestyle or get more and live an extraordinary lifestyle. For some people, to them there is no option. They all have families to take care of so they believe they have no choice but to work a regular job that can pay enough to cover their living expenses. In today’s economy so many people are struggling because there is a major job shortage now. Lots of people have lost jobs and careers and I believe this has caused a lot more people to build up a new found “drive” within themselves and pursue some type of money making venture of their own. Some of them have even become far successful then they could have ever imagined when they were stuck working at their old job. Seeing and hearing about this type of success really excites me because I like to see people becoming very successful and being able to really enjoy their lives. I think when our economy has overcome the recession it’s in now, there is going to be an amazing amount of new baby boomers. For all you folks who’ve doubted the person you know pursuing a money making venture now, don’t be surprised if you see or hear about them living a life of luxury in the future. Always remember, you can do whatever you put your mind to as long as you keep God first.

"H.U.S.T.L.A."

Welcome back! This is my first official post here and I’m glad you’re here to experience the beginning of something great. Okay, now let me ask you something… What does being a “Hustla” (Hustler) mean to you? Back it in the day most people would probably say it meant a “con man”, drug dealer or someone who would make you feel like you just got an unfair or dishonest bargain out of a deal. Others might even say a “Hustla” is someone who doesn’t want to work a regular job so therefore he/she earns a living doing whatever they have to do to survive. Nowadays, most of the youth use the term “Hustla” (in a glorified manner) to define a person who earns a living through illegal or dishonest acts such as drug dealing. There are many other types of “Hustlaz” other than drug dealers and lots of them earn a living in perfectly legal ways. I break down this type of “Hustla” as a:

Hungry
Undeniable
Salesperson
That’s
Lucrative &
Aggressive


Now this could very well define any type of “Hustla” when you just read it for face value but as I break it down word for word, you’ll see the difference between my type of “Hustla” and the other typical type. Now let’s start with the first word:

“Hungry”

When you think of hungry you think of someone who is craving some type of nourishment and will do whatever they have to do to get it. Most people crave or want things they can’t easily get their hands on. When you’re hungry most of the time you just go grab something to eat but if you have nothing to eat then you either go to the nearest grocery store or fast food restaurant. Therefore you go out and work hard to get it. Most successful and smart drug dealers don’t have to go out and work hard to get whatever they want. Most of it comes to them.

“Undeniable”

This word could pretty much work for both types of “Hustla”. When done right, my type of “Hustla” could be quite undeniable. The difference is that they’ll have to work 10 times harder than the drug dealer type because no customer of a drug dealer is going to deny them and not want to buy their product even if they have to steal or do something worse to make a purchase. The likeliness of this happening with a customer of my type of “Hustla” is slim to none. My type of “Hustla” has to work and use marketing and sales strategies to sell a product while the drug dealer doesn’t.

“Salesperson”

Nine times out of ten, my type of “Hustla” is really a salesperson while the drug dealer doesn’t have to actually go out and try to sell anything because his/her product pretty much sells itself at a very high rate. My type of “Hustla” sells everything from CDs and DVDs to shoes, handbags, shades,
t-shirts and other clothing, hats, electronics and lots more…

“That’s”

Well, we could actually skip this word but I’d rather have a lil’ fun with it. Here are some things I’d like to say that involves this word.

- I know that being a “Hustla” can bring you a much larger income than one “that’s” earned from a regular dead end job.
- Wow, “that’s” a really nice watch you’re wearing.
- I know a job “that’s” paying a nice hourly wage. Gee, I wonder if they’ll be laying off shortly after you get hired? I don’t know but “that’s” the reason I became a “Hustla” on the side.
- Wow, “that’s” a really nice car you’re driving. How many nice cars do you have?
- Lol, “that’s” enough of playing around with that word.

“Lucrative”

Now my type of “Hustla” could be very lucrative if he/she really apply themselves and really believe in the product they’re selling. Once you’re a believer, it’s much easier to make someone else a believer. My type of “Hustla” can use different techniques to get customers to buy their products. Some of these techniques are discounts, coupons, warranties, etc. Drug dealers really don’t have to use any of those techniques. As a matter of fact they could jack the price up of their product and still have the customer begging for a “hit”. “Hit” meaning a serving of a drug. Therefore the drug dealer’s occupation can be very lucrative but take a lot less work than my type of “Hustla”.

“Aggressive”

When I think of an aggressive person I think of a person that’s persistent and a bit forceful in getting what they want. My type of “Hustla” has to be that way in order to earn a living at all. I’m not saying that my type of “Hustla” has to be really aggressive and pressure people into buying a product from them, I’m simply saying that if he/she can’t afford to let an opportunity pass them by. My type of “Hustla” has to make moves to be in the right places at the right time to make lots of great sales. They have to be confident and it has to show in their character as well. Let’s be honest, would you buy something from someone who approached you and seemed to be a nervous wreck. You probably wouldn’t pay attention to a word they’re saying because you’d be focusing more on how nervous they are. That’s why my type of “Hustla” has to be aggressive for every sell because if they’re not then they wouldn’t completely define what it means to be one. Unlike my type, the drug dealer doesn’t really have to be that aggressive to make a sell at all. Especially once they’re established and have made a name for themselves in the streets. They’re customers pretty much flock to them day after day (if not hour after hour) to buy they’re product. Another reason that I believe drug dealers aren’t that aggressive is because they tend to have to “lay low” and choose their customers while doing business. If they were to be really aggressive to try to get lots of sales from basically anyone who wants to buy from them then most likely they’ll probably come across the wrong customer who will either try to rob them on the spot or later down the road or set them up to be robbed or arrested by police. Either way it wouldn’t be a good ending.

There you have it folks… my comparison of my type of “Hustla” to today’s type of “Hustla” which is the drug dealer. Let me know your opinions on the topic of this post okay. I would love to hear what all of you have to say. Holla @ ya folk!



Quick Disclaimer

By no means am I putting down anyone who works a regular job (part-time or full). As a matter of fact I applaud anyone who works hard to earn an honest living. In my above post I’m simply stating the fact that I myself am an individual with an entrepreneur mindset and not an employee mindset. I am speaking for myself only and nobody else.

Introducing...

Me... Lex aka "Shirtgame". Welcome to my blogspot "In My Shirt". This is the spot where you'll get the scoop on what's going on in the life and times of a custom screen printer. I've printed for quite a few locals businesses, bands and t-shirt lovers here in Charlotte, NC. Hopefully you'll be wearing a t-shirt I've printed someday soon. Along with getting you more familiar with the custom screen printing business, I also want to let you know a lil' bit about what goes on in my life aside from business. Some other topics I plan to speak on are music, family & friends, life, love, making a living, current events in our world today and lots more stuff that I'd like to share so like my homegirl Meesh says, "stay tuned and get familiar"!