win a FREE shirt

Guess what, shirt-wearing public! We have some new designs!

With these, however, we are doing an experiment – of which YOU can be part! If you can help set up “odd guy art” with a shop in your area, we’ll send you a FREE shirt.

Sound like a lot of work?

Not really. Think of all the little gift shops, boutiques, and coffee houses in your locale. Just send us their contact information, we’ll wow them with our goods, and if they order from us, YOU get a FREE Shirt (a $28 retail value).

If you can help us find a home for our new designs – or ANY of our designs – we’ll order them in larger quantities so that we can sell them on our website as well.

 

Cheers!
Marie and Graham

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odd guy’s index

As our one year anniversary approaches, let’s take a look at what we’ve accomplished, shall we?
 • Hours spent defining and researching our target audience: 84
• Number of logo fonts considered before deciding on “Hasty Pudding:” 23
• Number of hours logged on Skype: 328
• Miles from Lake Michigan our OGA studio is located: .2
• Hours spent hand-drawing much of website: 42

• T-shirt designs created: 16
• Miles walked/ran for mobile business meetings: 124
• Ranking of “raspberry” among best-selling OGA cap colors: 1
• Hours spent ironing tote bags: 35
• Number of T-shirt-shaped OGA brochure designs created: 2
• OGA YouTube videos launched: 6
• Number of foreign cameo appearances in videos: 1
• Number of cameo appearances by Walmart employees: 1
• Number of small fires accidentally set during filming: 2
• Penalty points assigned for finger quotes during filming: 10
• Hours spent editing footage: 853
• Size of OGA festival canopy: 10′ X 10′
• Ratio of Diet Cokes consumed to ounces of water: 245 to 1
• Miles biked round-trip to printer, per trip: 26
• Ranking of EnMart among most-active OGA Facebook friends: 1
• Number of celebrities named Yoko Ono who follow OGA on Twitter: 1
• Number of national magazines that featured OGA on the cover: 3
• Number of stores in which OGA shirts are currently sold: 3

Thank you for joining us in this, our first year of business. If you have any questions, or if we can help you in any way, just let us know!

Marie and Graham

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poll: how do YOU overcome designer’s block?

Many of you in the T-shirt design world find yourselves looking for that one perfect concept – a design with that special something that catches on globally and launches you into extravagant T-shirt-selling wealth.

For those of you who’ve watched “The Making of ‘odd guy art’ Part 2: The Designing,” you already know what a mentally-challenging and physically-taxing process T-shirt design can be. Sure, it’s fun; but sometimes “fun” can be fleeting when you’re faced with mounting bills and, in Graham’s case, an ongoing tea addiction.

Plus, there are as many potential T-shirt options as there are people on the planet (6,894,185,175 as of press time). When faced with a blank computer screen or canvas, where does your inspiration typically come from?

Take a second to click below and add your voice to this universal question!

Thanks!
Marie and Graham

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T-shirts now available at…

As we enter 2011, we are excited to feature two retailers who are now selling our T-shirts and caps.

The photo above depicts our “odd guy art” display at Paradigm Coffee and Music (on 8th Street in Sheboygan). They are currently featuring our “Bike Me” design as their “Shirt of the Month.” Our 1970’s vintage banana bike adds more fun to the display and has been attracting a lot of attention. For those of you with an eye for old bikes, this is a Columbia Tripper.  Paradigm Coffee and Music is a very popular coffee shop (with great food, too) that attracts nationally known musicians to its stage.

When you venture down to the Blue Harbor
Resort along the Sheboygan River, you will discover “Aras, Beks and Pottiers,” purveyors of fine gifts. They currently stock three of our T-shirt designs. We are very happy to have our shirts included in this high quality gift shop in the centre of Sheboygan’s resort and conference area.

Stop in at both when you are in town. You  won’t be disappointed. Buy a shirt!

                                                                                                              Aras, Beks and Pottiers

We have several more outlets who are planning to stock our shirts in time for the spring season. We are excited to increase our growing number of retailers as we head into the new year. If you would like to see our shirts in one of your favourite apparel stores, gift shops, coffee houses, or bike stores – or anywhere – tell them about us (or tell us about them) and we’ll do our best to make it happen.

Graham

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9-1-1 transcript: art emergency

Dispatcher: 9-1-1. What is your emergency?
Caller: Uh, I just can’t believe this.
Dispatcher: How can I help you, sir?
Caller: It’s completely crazy. How can they do this?!
Dispatcher: Sir, try to calm down. Let’s take this one step at a time.
Caller: But it’s mad! They can’t be serious.
Dispatcher: Take a deep breath, sir. Who are “they?”
Caller: It’s those two, you know, at “odd guy art.”
Dispatcher: You mean those witty, artsy, T-shirt people?
Caller: Yes! Oh my god. I can’t breathe.
Dispatcher: Ok, sir, slowly: Are they threatening you? With stylish shirts?
Caller: No, no, it’s… it’s much worse than that.
Dispatcher: Then what? What are they doing to you, sir?
Caller: Fff…fff… free shipping! They’re offering me FREE SHIPPING! On EVERYTHING!
Dispatcher: Sir, I need you to step away from your computer.
Caller: Ahhhhh! Ok, I’ve let go of the mouse. Are you sending an officer?!
Dispatcher: Heck no! I’ve got to get to oddguyart.com before their stock runs out!

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what is art?

Back in college, I had an art professor who voiced an interesting theory: That a work of “art” should be defined by the artist’s ability to bring something into existence from his own imagination that did not exist before.

This professor then went on to say that a sculpture like Michelangelo’s “David” did not meet this criterion because it was commissioned by the Overseers of the Office of Works of the Duomo. In other words, because Michelangelo was paid to render someone else’s idea, “David” was not, by her definition, “art.”

On the other hand, this professor continued, Marcel Duchamp’s store-bought shovel propped in an exhibit gallery corner and titled “In Advance of the Broken Arm;” now THAT was art. It represented, she said, a completely original idea depicting the artist’s “leap of faith” in considering an ordinary object with irony and humor.

While I understand my professor’s intent (sort of), I can’t help but compare these two pieces of artwork and conclude that my professor (with all due respect) had sniffed too much turpentine. The skill and interpretation and knowledge and passion and GENIUS that Michelangelo utilized when creating “David” – who began as a 17-foot block of marble and who’s figure is so beautifully detailed you can see his VEINS – puts the store-bought shovel to shame.

Digital "Book Illustration" by Ture Ekroos

But I still struggle at times with how to define “art.” As an artist with a Fine Arts degree who also creates artwork on a computer, I often run into people who prefer to call me a “designer,” as if my work isn’t “real art” because it wasn’t created with a paint brush. I’ve heard this said about illustrators as well; even though there exists some utterly gorgeous book illustrations, they aren’t considered in the same league as what hangs in (or what’s propped in the corner of) a gallery.

How do YOU define “art?” Drop us a comment and let us know.

Artfully yours,
Marie
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are you a good salesperson? take the quiz

Now that Graham and I are wily veterans of the sales world (having pounded the pavement for five solid days now), we’d like to share our expertise with you, dear reader, in quiz form:

1. How should you dress when making sales calls?
a. Consider your potential buyers’ level of formality and dress accordingly
b. Consider the least wrinkled items in your hamper
c. “For success”
d. “Used-car-salesman” chic

 

2. What is the first thing you should do when entering a store?
a. Smile and make eye contact with the manager
b. Browse through the merchandise to see if yours would be a good fit
c. Note exit locations in case of fire
d. Note exit locations in case of humiliating rejection

3. How should you present your merchandise to a potential buyer?
a. Via a well-organized package including product photos, line sheets, contact info, and order forms
b. By acting shifty and holding open one side of your trench coat
c. Through a long-winded, one-sided sales pitch
d. By setting up a display on his or her desk after arm-sweeping all desktop items onto the floor

4. When asked a technical question about your product, you should
a. Be prepared to answer it accurately and succinctly
b. Refer to your company’s specialized handbook, page 315
c. Stare blankly
d. Fake a tracheal blockage and flee the store

5. If a potential buyer says, “No, thank you,” you should
a. Not take it personally; your product is simply not a good fit for his or her store
b. Weep until you’re asked to leave
c. Ask “why?” Repeat ad nauseum.
d. Check back daily until the restraining order is officially filed

6. When the meeting is over, a good thing to do is
a. Thank the buyer for his or her time
b. Mark the building’s exterior with a spray-painted “X” so you know you’ve already stopped there
c. Squeal your tires as you drive off
d. Follow up a few days later with an elaborate gift, such as a flat screen TV (don’t forget to file off the serial number)

We are purposely being elusive with the answers to this quiz so that you can reflect and ponder the kind of impression that “odd guy art” left with its customers. Good luck to you in all your sales!

Marie

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if “Plan A” doesn’t work, there’s B, C, and D

While a successful enterprise begins with a well-researched business plan, one must also remain flexible. “Odd guy art” is no exception.

Our intent when we started this T-shirt design company was to rely solely on internet sales. But when we launched six months ago, we were immediately met with, well, cyber silence – despite months of research and prep and eager attempts at social network marketing.

So we evolved a little. We designed a display stand and began selling at local events and outdoor summer markets. What a relief to see our sales take off! But we had to pack it up when summer came to an end. (If you’ve ever visited Wisconsin in the fall you’ll understand why we don’t sell our wares outdoors after mid-October).

So we evolved again. We researched some more (we are nothing if not stat junkies) and decided to sell our shirts wholesale. So far, we’ve had great initial success approaching retail shops, so we’ll add those venues to our repertoire .

Though we won’t give up on internet sales (patience, Grasshopper…), we are very pleased with the direction that “odd guy art” has taken. Statistics dictate that a successful internet presence takes two years to achieve, after all, and we are happy to do all we can in the meantime to serve you.

Oddly yours,

Marie

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TNN documentary Part 2: The Designing

The second part of the TNN (T-shirt News Network) documentary, “The Making of ‘odd guy art’ Part 2: The Designing,” aired at 1:27 this morning. If you missed it, we’re pleased to provide it for you here, so that you may watch two middle-aged entrepreneurs navigate their way through 21st century design:

Ancestors of Marie and Graham

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we’re goin’ wholesale

This is a big week for “odd guy art.”

We’ve decided to approach several stores in our county to see if they’d like to purchase shirts from us at wholesale pricing. We figured what we’d lose in profit, we’d gain in sales quantity. That’s the plan. Fingers crossed.

If that goes well, we have a list of more shops in the Milwaukee area. And if that works, we’re off to Madison. Then Minneapolis.

"Wholesale Or Bust!"

But I’m getting ahead of myself. The focus right now is on preparation. We’ve developed some glossy, full-color, T-shirt-shaped, tri-fold brochures depicting our designs; an over-sized postcard featuring all of our products; and a “line sheet” including product photos and information.

We’ve identified our target retail market based on our designs, so we plan to approach bicycle shops, coffee houses, boutiques (both art and clothing), and book stores.

We’ve been rehearsing our message; focusing on how our products have sold remarkably well at art fairs, and how that will equate to solid resale success – a classic win-win situation. For now, instead of cold-calling, we’re going to do something called “warm calling.” This involves walking into a shop and leaving behind our materials with the buyer (and perhaps chatting briefly, but never long enough to encroach on his or her time). We’ll then follow up with a phone call.

There are pros and cons, of course, to warm-calling versus cold-calling. But our research suggests that for us, the warm call is the best approach. We can always switch to the cold call if/when necessary.

So wish us luck. We’ll keep you posted, one way or the other. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us below.

And now… Road trip!

Marie

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