The blog for all things mayamada
Posts tagged t-shirt
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
