Should be interesting. I feel like the stuff I cook/bake here either turns out exceptionally better than in the states, or disappointingly worse. There’s a lot of factors that could be contributing to this. One is our oven, which is actually a toaster oven that doesn’t seem to reach the high temperatures of a standard oven. Plus, due to its small size, things like cookies are a hassle and a nightmare. Ingredients are a bit different here too, I’ve noticed. Sugar tastes a lot better, but baking powder behaves differently. It takes a lot of getting used to. Stir fried things are easy though, and great. Plus the ingredients are stupid cheap. You can buy a huge bag’s worth of assorted fruits and veggies for about $5 US. There’s no reason not to eat healthy.

Anyway, I’m baking a peach cobbler tonight and I’m stoked. I even bought 3 tubs of vanilla ice cream (the large size is our small!) and a big bottle of Baileys Irish cream. It’s gonna be a good night. On top of that, I’m having some local friends over to teach them some drawing basics: shading, perspective, proportion, etc. Looking forward to it a lot.

Later this afternoon I’m heading out to meet a friend (and now, employee/secretary) for dinner. We’ll be going over some of the things she’ll need to handle on her first week on the job. The list of tasks I’m giving her continues to grow. When I first realized I’d need an employee to run errands and pick things up from the printer, I thought that’d be the extent of it. But as I think it over, I realize how useful it’ll be to have someone translate all my order forms for the coats into Chinese, fill out slips for the post office, find new products to outsource, and even help with filming new episodes of Life in the Middle. The list is endless, and I’m glad to have the help. I don’t like working too much. I’m here for the experience, not the cash.

Seriously, it’s so easy to order a custom coat now… There’s no excuse not to get one!

(Right click the files below and “save as” or “download link”)
.docx Order Form
PDF Order Form

I’m having a ton of fun with these coat orders coming in. Yes, it’s a lot of emails and back-and-forth emailing, but the ideas that my customers are coming up with are just fantastic. I was especially impressed by this order that came in last night from Danny. Great job on the design and specs, man!

The first batch of orders were turned in two days ago and should be ready this weekend. I’ll post pics as soon as I pick them up. So excited!

Life in the Middle – Episode 2 from Eric Terry on Vimeo.

More butchering of the Chinese language, look out! In the second episode of “Life in the Middle” I visit the downtown printing and computer district to ask some questions about the business cards I’ve started outsourcing.

These technical terms are proving to be a challenge for me. Because I don’t use them every day they’re easy to forget or mix up. I think this episode is a very accurate representation of the kinds of communication hiccups I experience each day.

Here are a couple of pics of the first batch of outsourced cards I did (the ones I pick up in the video).

Emails have been coming in like crazy about these custom coats, and in an effort to get it all organized I went back to my seamstress contact and got a few things ironed out. The system for ordering these things is completely set up and I encourage everyone to have a look at the Custom Coat Order Form before emailing with specific questions, since it should answer most of these. This video also mentions a few other things regarding ordering. Let’s make some cool coats for the winter!

Instructions on coat ordering from Eric Terry on Vimeo.

Ok, so unless you’re in a tropical zone right now, you’re probably cold. If you’re fortunate, you’ve got a great coat to keep you warm. If you’re not, you’re no doubt wishing you did. I can help you.

A few posts back I showed off my new custom coat that was done by a local seamstress. I got a lot of emails about it wanting to know if I could be the connection for other people getting them done. I gave it a lot of thought, discussed it with the tailor, and decided to give it a shot. The below 2 pics show the styles that are currently available, although since these are made to order, just about everything is customizable. And I do mean everything.

(click the pics to see a large version)

Now, onto the pricing. Please keep in mind that these are BASE prices. Adding bells and whistles like zippers, extra pockets, and other things will increase the cost. Still, you can see you’re paying just a fraction of the cost of the same quality jacket from a mid-to-upper quality retailer. And it’s custom tailored. One of a kind.

Now, in order to organize all of this, I’ve put together an order form via Google docs that can be accessed here:
Custom Coat Order Form
Once you’ve figured out what you want from the above two pics, you can fill this out, making little notes along the way.

The order form’s last page asks for specific measurements in CM. Here’s a chart to show what those measurements are (the form also describes how to go about measuring yourself).

Anyhow, that’s that. Email me if you’d like to know more:
chinadoesitcheaper[at]gmail.com

Yesterday was long and tiring, and I’m glad I decided to document it. It began before the filming started, a couple hours spent in the printing district downtown negotiating prices and explaining the jobs I was bringing in for the business cards from the states. From there I caught a bus to another part of town, where I picked up a made-to-order shelving unit.

The video below follows this adventure, and finds me briefly interviewing the driver that delivers the shelf to my house. It’s not especially long or exciting, but I think it’s an interesting and accurate look into my life here, and I’m happy to share it with you. I plan on making this series, “Life in the Middle”, something I update regularly. There are certainly no shortage of experiences to document.

Enjoy!

Life in the Middle – Episode 1 from Eric Terry on Vimeo.

If you were in the chat I hosted a couple of days ago, you probably heard be mention the printer that I’ve hooked up with downtown to start producing paper-related products. As you can imagine, China is much, much cheaper than the US for getting things done. I know that some of you have been asking for connections to these places, too. I’ve given it some thought and done the math, and have decided to offer my services to get your stuff outsourced, starting with business cards.

In the above picture, you can get a good look at the first batch of cards I had done here. They’re on thick paper stock (approximately 110lb) with a goregous satin-matte finish, measuring in at a standard 9 x 5.4cm (3.5 x 2.1 inches). The quality is on par with the more prestigious printers I’ve worked with in the US, like 4by6.com. The upside is that it’s a fraction of the cost.

Below are two examples of pricing for a similar product from big, US printers.

https://www.businesscards.com/t-pricing.aspx

http://www.4by6.com/products-and-prices/detail-BC

Here’s the price I can get for you:

As you can see, the shipping definitely plays a factor in the cost, but it’s actually STILL cheaper than the big guys, and I can probably get it done just as quick. (Last time I ordered something it was done in 3 days, and I can ship to the US in 2-2.5 weeks)

And as for color accuracy, which is probably one of your biggest concerns as a designer, I can serve as the quality control, assuring that the end result matches what you saw on your screen (I’ll need your cooperation with finding desired pantones, of course).

As you can imagine, I’m not doing this for free, but my cost has been factored into the above pricing. If you’re interested, shoot me an email at chinadoesitcheaper@gmail.com

Please don’t send emails about this to my Linty Fresh address, since this is something I want to keep separate. Also, for right now I’m just focusing on the cards. Other things may be available later on, but for now I want to keep it simple.

Check out my new custom-tailored coat. The lady I ordered it from gave me such strange looks when I was describing what I wanted – a lime-green lining with large, matching buttons. She kept insisting it was going to be “nankan! nankan!” (ugly!), but I wouldn’t let her sway me.

When I went to pick it up a week or so later, she just shook her head and admitted it was “haikeyi”, not too bad. It made me smile.

Click the pics to shop!

December tee, “Mt. Killrazorclaw”:

Poem Book for all 2009 designs:

Also, you may have noticed that the Black Friday discounts are still in effect for all bundle options and hoodies. This will remain in place till January 1st. Act now!