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!

Had a great chat today – thanks to all of you that stopped by to say hi, ask questions, and hang out! For those unable to make it, you can watch the recorded version here:

Linty Fresh Live Chat #6

To sum it all up, here’s what went down…

Starting in 2010, Linty Fresh will no longer release items on the first of every month at midnight. Items will instead be released in batches seasonally. Smaller releases may still take place at various times. This allows me to be more flexible with my release times, get everything perfectly in line before they happen, and make each release more special with more items coming out. It’ll also allow me to have the items photographed professionally at once. (Right now it’s too inconvenient to have a photographer take pictures of one shirt each month) Newsletters will still go out each month, though, with special announcements and news about Linty Fresh.

Also new in 2010 will be a special affiliate program that allows people to buy in bulk from my store at a discounted price. The minimums will be lower than for wholesaler and the price will be slightly higher, but there will still be a large margin for profit. This program will help other entrepreneurs get their feet wet in marketing and sales without having to build their own brand from scratch. I’m doing this partially because I get so many emails from other guys and gals trying to start their own brands, and the first and most formidable obstacle is building a name. This way they can just focus on dealing with customers and seeing if it’s something they want to pursue for themselves and their own brand. It’ll also give them a chance to make a more immediate profit since their overhead (for my products) is relatively low.

I also rambled on a bit about life here in China, some of my latest experiences, and things I’ve had to adjust to from life in the states… See the videos for more!

It’s live now! Limited-time discounts on all bundles and hoodies!

Check it out!

I bought a bike two days ago.

Every time I’d visit this particular town (about 30 minutes from where I live by bus), I’d stop by this bicycle dealer and have a look. I’ve wanted a bike ever since moving here but was discouraged by all the locals. They assured me that since there aren’t many bikes in the city (rare for China), the ones that are here stand out and are often stolen.

I wouldn’t be swayed, but I kept it in mind while picking one out. I wanted something very basic, plain, and cheap. Nothing that would draw attention. I finally settled on this:

As you can see, it’s about as basic as you can get for a bike. Brand new, it cost me about $20 US. At that price, it’s not even a big deal if it gets stolen. I want to paint it though. Not professionally, for fear of making it look too good, but I may take some spray paint to it or something.

Of course, once I purchased it the problem was getting it home. I assumed it’d be an easy thing to just follow the 606 bus I rode in on, but that proved impossible, since the bus enters a highway right after leaving the city. So I sat there, on my new bike, watching the traffic climb up the on-ramp and wondering how I’d get home. I finally spotted a little dirt road that ran under the highway and assumed this would be my best bet home. It wasn’t.

When the dirt (mud) road finally let out, I was in a strange part of town I’d never seen before. It was filled with factories, swamps, and hardware stores. I located the nearest bus stop and examined the routes for local busses. None of the stops looked familiar. Discouraged, I headed back to the dirt road.

As it turned out, the road I’d used followed a different highway. The one I wanted branched off of the overpass far above my head, so I didn’t notice. After another hour of riding around and examining the roads, I finally determined the general direction I needed to be heading in, and set off on a small strip of pavement next to an industrial runoff stream.

It was really a glimpse into another world. Small shops and restaurants were carved into the wall on my left, with patrons milling around smoking cigarettes and telling jokes. Women did laundry in old rusty sinks, sleeping babies strapped to their backs. A pack of mechanics deliberated under the hood of a truck, dark grease smeared across their faces and jumpsuits.

My shortcut finally let out onto a road with car traffic, and to my excitement a 606 bus crossed my path. I finally knew where I was. In another 20 minutes I was home, massaging my aching legs (my bike only has one gear) and taking swigs from a bottle of local beer.

Another day, another adventure.

One thing that can be frustrating about running a brand is that there’s never a shortage of folks looking for handouts. You’d be surprised to hear some of the pitches I’ve gotten from people who apparently like Linty Fresh stuff a lot, but not enough to pay for it…

The most common is a request for sponsorship. A band, athlete, or performing artist will come along and ask for a boxfull of free Linty Fresh swag in exchange for “exposure”. What is exposure anyway? Could anything be more vague? And when did exposure become such an automatic booster of sales? I had one of my shirts on TV once, viewed by millions, but can’t be sure it even resulted in a single sold shirt.

My point isn’t to discourage sponsorships, though. When done right, they can be beneficial to both sides. But it’s got to be a symbiotic relationship, and not parasitic. The sponsored party has to know that more is involved than just wearing the items around. (This isn’t Nascar.)

Of all the dozens of requests I’ve had for sponsorship, I only ever accepted one of them. That’s probably more conservative than most other brands, but I can tell you what stood out about this particular case. First off, I was approached by a representative of the party (the band’s manager). I was given very specific figures to gauge the band’s popularity, so that I could be assured I wasn’t just tossing items into a black hole. I was promised specific things too, to show the band was indeed getting by brand the promised “exposure”.

So my point is this: if you’re reading this thinking you qualify for a sponsorship, get your numbers together and come up with a plan before approaching the sponsor. If you were them, would you give yourself a sponsorship?

For the last 4 days I’ve been laid up in bed with a nasty 感冒 (ganmao, a cold). Normally I don’t bother seeing a doctor when I get sick since it usually passes fairly quickly, but this one’s been a bit more menacing with cold sweats, a soaring fever, back aches, and all sorts of other gross symptoms. So I decided it’d be wise to get it checked out.

My appointment was this morning at 10:00, and I was pleasantly surprised with the whole experience. Before going I was kind of nervous that I’d get some local doctor who wouldn’t understand my explanation of my symptoms and would misdiagnose me, but when I went in I was delighted to find I’d been matched with an American doctor. English ftw! He was kind and efficient and knew exactly what to prescribe.

The best part was the cost. The appointment was $3 USD, and the medication was $2. About the same cost of my journey to and from the hospital by taxi. Amazing!

Off to watch some movies…