The blog for all things mayamada
Nigel
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Homepage: http://www.mayamada.com
Posts by Nigel
The Problem of the Last Mile
Feb 27th
Ideas are easy, but finishing is (disproportionately) harder.
Our website is almost done and we’ve also just finished rebranding efforts including brand new designs (available now). The whole experience has been a lesson in seeing things through to the end.
Everyone has good ideas (just as the Winklevoss twins). As I’ve learned over the past year, that’s not difficult. You may have some good ideas, some bad ones and one or two will probably be excellent. But generally it’s something anyone can do.
So you have a bunch of good ideas, you pick one and run with it. Putting in the work to implement your idea ranks a little higher on the difficulty scale, but getting 90-95% of that killer idea is still quite achievable.
The truly difficult task in any pursuit, is finishing it. Getting to 100%
That last 5-10% is where winners are separated form everyone else. For some reason that last mile – when you can see the finishing line but aren’t quite there yet – tests you much more than whatever work took place beforehand.
I don’t quite understand it myself, but maybe Malcolm Gladwell will write a book explaining it one day.
That is when you been at it for months or maybe even years and just want to see the finishing line. When things are taken longer than expected and when the problems seem to want to crop up. If you’re going to be successful, you can’t stop and call it ‘done’ at 90% – you have to persist all the way.
It helps if you have a good team of people around you to fill in the gaps that you leave (like graphic design ability and patience!), but however you get there just remember that you’re not done until you get to 100%.
What For?
Jan 8th
The pieces are coming together as we prepare for the release of our new range of t-shirts and hoodies. We have to get the t-shirts tagged, packaged and shipped to our first customers, sort out the website and organise a photoshoot all inside three weeks. This month is going to be crazy!
If you’ve been following us from the beginning you’ll probably have seen our previous efforts to sell t-shirts…which didn’t go so well. I’m one for learning from failure and since then we have completely rebranded our efforts and are almost ready to re-launch.
Towards the end of last year, I was asked why we we’re going at this again after our initial efforts didn’t go as planned. The question took be by surprise, not because I didn’t have an answer, but because it was obvious to me. So obvious I never actually stopped to think about the answer before.
Because this is what we want to do.
Because we want to create a really cool brand that people can related to, create something that takes our interest in Japanese culture and puts our own spin on it. Because we want to make something great.
I recently watched the Social Network and for all the negative perceptions of Mark Zuckerburg and the general concerns over Facebook (security, privacy etc), for me the biggest takeaway from that film (or “movie” if you’re reading this stateside) is that at the end of this day he went and did something great because that’s what he wanted to do. He didn’t ask for permission, didn’t check with anyone along the way (except Justin Timberlake). He just did it and that spoke volumes to me.
Now, before someone make a crazy assumption, I’m not saying mayamada is going to be Facebook. What I’m saying is that creating anything from nothing is hard, but that doesn’t meaning you let setbacks stop you if that’s what you really want.
So here’s to making things happen and to a great 2011 for everyone reading this!
Never Too Young To Start (Apparently)
Nov 8th
As we continue to make progress with the mayamada re branding. I’ve taken to reading a lot more about this whole t-shirt business thing. Reading books on branding, business etc. Checking out blogs and other brands is also a really good way of getting to know the industry, seeing what’s out there and being inspired by other peoples efforts (there’s some seriously good stuff about).
But I was really surprised by this brand I discovered via an article on IAMTHETREND. The founder Local Advancers posted some good tips for start up a t-shirt brand too. One that really spoke to me was the call to visualise every detail of your brand. I learned (and still am learning ) this the hard way.
I think if you are going to start something and do it properly, you have to have the end in mind. Visualising every aspect of the brand i.e. what the brand means, how the designs will look, how the tees will wear, what the packaging will look like etc is crucial to making a consistent and hopefully successful brand.
What’s significant about though this is the founder’s age: only 15 years old. Now I don’t know about you but I was nowhere near starting a business when I was that age and I’m only slowly getting the hang of things now. So to see that kind of drive at a young age is remarkable (and doesn’t make me feel like I’ve wasted the last 10 years of my life at all!). What’s more is the t-shirt design look good, check out the site for yourself.
I just hope our launch will be as solid.
New Tokidoki Purchase
Oct 9th
I may be late to the game here, but I recently picked up a couple tokidoki tees from TheGiantPeach.com.
Couldn’t decide between the two so I got both. Choice paralysis averted.
I like to see different brands come together and collaborate to create something interesting. Also that Marvel let their characters be re-imagined like that. Cool stuff.
Now I’m on the look out for more interested t-shirt collaborations. If you know any drop a comment below!
Some Thoughts On Developing A Brand
Sep 23rd
We recently decided to completely re start or t-shirt brand. Everything is being done from scratch as we look to make a really great brand and product for people. I always thing it’s good to know when something isn’t working and make the decision to stop, make changes and most importantly, learn from the experience. As we go through the process of building a brand, some thoughts came to mind so I thought would write them down for anyone in a similar position.
When you start out a brand I think there are some crucial things to consider:
Brand
Image source: logodesignworks
If you are looking to put out a brand that can be recognised it must be given serious thought.
You t-shirts must have some kind of link between them, something to hold them together something that people can sink there teeth into so to speak. There are so many brand out, what makes your different? They don’t need to look the same, they don’t need to even all be t-shirts, but there should be something to attract people beneath the designs themselves. That just my opinion anyway. I like the brands developed by people Johnny Cupcakes, Tokidoki and Superdry because of their strong concept that shines in everything from the website to the product to the people behind product.
Team
Image source: icebirdy
Are you doing it yourself or in a group? If by yourself have you got the right skills? You might be good at design but if you can’t get the business right then you might find it difficult to get traction.
I’m a fan of working with other people who are good at what they do, so we have a small team of people here. If you have a team make sure you’ve got the might mix of people to cover all the angles.
- Vision – What is the long term plan for your brand, Where are you going with this?
- Product – The designs you create to the physical the t-shirts you put them on. Print, material, packaging etc
- Business – The foundation of it all. Sometimes the boring parts, but essential to making something successful
Even if you’re in a group, be prepared to wear different hats when starting out. We recently had to do taxes for the first time and the only thing it taught us is that we needed someone to do this for us next time! Really, it was not fun (respect to people who have to do this for a living!)
Plan
It’s an oldie but a goodie: “He who fails to plan is planning to fail” – Winston Churchill
Once you have all the pieces together how exactly are you going to make it happen? What’s the next step. I’ve never been a big fan of pages and pages of documentation (you’ll see why in a bit), but you need something on paper so you (and everyone in the group) know what you are going can coordinate actions. If you don’t have the discipline to even write down a plan of attack, you’ll probably never make it to the castle gates (not sure where that analogy came from…).
Adapt
Allow me to contradict myself. As soon as you start that plan you scribbled down, it’s going out the window. Let me explain. Things change and rarely ever go exactly as planned and you need to be flexible. This is why I’m not for hugely detailed plans, because that’s fairytale and it won’t happen like that.
Enjoy it
Image source: mjagiellicz
Last, but probably most important. Don’t do something you’re not going to enjoy. We only at the very start of are journey and it been tough, I can’t imagine what experienced and successful brands are going through but I hope to find out as I’ve enjoyed it so far.
Do you agree? Disagree or have anything to add? Drop a comment or vist our Facebook page.
A Little Known Gem in Camden Town
Jul 1st
At least I didn’t know it was there until last week…
Last weekend, I took a trip to Camden market to visit a shop run by the ifreecans Collective. I first meet these guys at StreetFest and thought I would look them up after hearing they had a shop in Camden. It’s a celebration of arts in various forms: music, painting and tees all in one space.
You might miss the shop walking around the maze of clothing food a tattoo spots in the market area, but the standout feature of this I hung out for a while chatting to the owner Kiboko, who seems to be working on a mural every time I see him! Check this one out:
We chatted for a while about all things t-shirts and I got the chance to look at other bits of art that will soon go up in an exhibition in London (check our Facebook page for more details when we get them). I got these pic from there website, but there was a lot of other nice pieces and I should have taken some pictures of my own. Oh well, I’ll be back there soon so keep an eye out for more.
A.Sharn Dialekt Video Teaser
Jun 10th
Last Friday, I was at the home of one A.Sharn Dialekt as he, along with director Jabril Muse were putting together the video for “By My Side”. It’s A.Sharn’s first major video and an ambition piece that comes off really well. A music video sandwiched in between a short story…remember when music video were like that? A lot of effort was put into this, I know because I was there with them editing until 5am…why I was there I still don’t know! I spent most the night half asleep, but from what I saw from half closed eye lids was looking good, very polished. You can watch the trailer and sneak preview right here:
I’ll be sure to put up the full video when it comes out, we’re also working on a new t-shirt in collaboration with A.Sharn that takes inspiration from the song. You’ll have to wait and see the final thing, but I hear it’ll look good. Head over to our Facebook page to be the first to find out when it’s available.
Don’t forget to also check out A.Sharn Dialekt’s facebook page for news on the video.
Mayamada Interviews Asili
May 24th
We recently got some time to chat with Rex Osafo-Asare from Asili. For those that don’t know, Asili is a London based clothing company focused on promoting Africa in a positive light. I won’t give everything away though, that’s what’s the interview is for!
Despite being friend of a friend I had never previously met Rex, but we had a great talk about his business and the business of t-shirts in general. We had a lot of fun and found it really helpful as we are just starting out ourselves (I actually thought I would be transcribing all of this!). If you are in a similar position in your business, there is some good advice for you. Even if you aren’t, this is still a fun listen.
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You’ll have to excuse the rough editing. We really had no idea it would go this long but hopefully you find it interesting throughout. We’ll be doing this more often over the coming months. If you are an establish t-shirt company interested in doing an interview with us, get in touch!
Part 1
- The original of asili and it’s logo – fashionable clothing for Africa. What Asili means (you have to listen for that…or just Google it)
- How many people and why there are no women in the team!
- Rex’s role in the company
- Some of the obstacles in starting up his t-shirt company (money and awareness)
- Grafting to make the business a success and attract fans (Facebook included)
- An interlude while Rex got the door!
Part 2
- You can never beat word of mouth
- The importance of referrals
- How Asili got into brick and mortar stores
- Some tips on how to approach store owners and dealing with knock backs
- How they look to brand themselves through associations with their t-shirts
Part 3
- Online versus offline: which is better?
- Remembering the importance of getting recognition even on a small scale.
- Breaking he myth that online is easier. If you build it..they still may not come. You still have to put in the work
- We were working on the new site design while doing this interview. You can check that out now!
- Asili reaching as far as America!
- Thoughts on appealing to different demographics
Part 4
- Having realistic goals at the beginning – you have to measure using realistic standards.
- Sometime things don’t do to plan, reality can be tough sometimes.
- Breadth versus depth when it comes to products
- What’s coming up next for Asili, looking to the future
Don’t forget to check out Asili – World cup tees are out now
Websites and Brand Perception
May 18th
If you’ve been following us on Facebook and Twitter (you are following us right?) you’ll have seen we updated the our website. We’ve been getting plenty of good reactions from fans and it made me realise how important a website is to the perception of a brand. So for people in a similar position to us here a few tips from my experience …
Get the colours right
Colours are so important to perception in ways that I don’t even fully understand yet! What I do know is that even I get a different and better feel looking at our new site than the old.
Think about how you want people to feel when they look at your site. This isn’t just about you favourite colours but about what each one represents and how that relates to your brand.
I’m not even going to get into colour theory because I’d be way out of my depth. However, you might want to take a look at helpful article from Smashing Magazine we used to get us to think about this.
Show, don’t tell
If you’re selling something, visitors should be able to go on the website and immediately see what you sell. Don’t make people work for it, because you usually only have a few second before they go back to Facebook so don’t waste time!
If you didn’t know about us, it wasn’t easy to tell what we did looking at our old site. There’s no question now: T-Shirts (OK, we do hoodies to but stick with me here I’m trying to make a point).
Pictures help in a major way as they let people see your product in action and let people get a better idea of what you are about. Hopefully they like it and look deeper.i.e. start browsing your shop.
Let the world know!
Don’t just keep it to yourself, tell the world. There’s always a danger of being blind to your creation’s faults, but your site can always be improved so be on the look out for opportunities to do just that. It is so important to get feedback from people who have had nothing to do with the development.
It never ceases to amaze me how someone can point out something that I had been staring at for ages, but never even noticed. Plus, getting people involved engages your audience and makes them feel part of the process, which is a good thing.
It never ceases to amaze me how someone can point out something that I had been staring at for ages, but never even noticed. Plus, getting people involved engages your audience and makes them feel part of the process, which is a good thing.
And on that note…What do you think of the new site? How important is the website to a brand? Let us know your thoughts here or on our Facebook page.
Just Start Running
Apr 25th
I stumbled across this presentation via the How To Start A Clothing Company blog. It features Jeffrey Kalmikoff and Jake Nickell, co-founders of Threadless. They talk about how they turned a hobby into a multimillion dollar business and more importantly (for me at least), a leader in their market. Only a few companies are able to dictate trends in it’s market and when it comes to crowd sourcing t-shirt designs, Threadless are the go to guys.
What really struck me was the way they approached their business in the initial stages. When I first came across Threadless, I never really thought of how it got started. I would have thought that for a company so big, there much have been some corporate business plan indicate how they were going to utilise crowd sourcing to maximise profits or something like that, but apparently not. It was simply two guys doing something they loved. The most important thing I took from this is that they just started doing something. That’s a really important lessen for me. If you want to go somewhere, just start running. Don’t get caught up in how things could turn out or what happens if…just start doing it. You never know what a start could lead to.
