Identity Crisis? PPPP?

i have wondered recently if Antidote is in something of an identity crisis. it's certainly fun for me (which is certainly a requirement for its continuation), but basically i just design whatever i want to make myself happy. the net effect of putting products by THAT description (whatever makes Greg happy) out there is, the consistent shoppers are people who happen to agree with my personal taste all around. that's certainly, niche i guess. seriously, though, i mean, are there kind of three identities to Antidote? drug free, vegetarian, and positive? they're all important to me, but i'm feeling that if i want to be ambitious with Antidote, which i do, is some way to either tie it all together, or to start trimming out items that are not consistent with SOME not-so-blurry positioning.

i think about cutting out the straight edge stuff and just being a make-a-difference vegetarian company, but thats somehow not a wholly satisfying prospect. i do believe that i am going for something different than just an outlet for vegetarian stuff. and i'm not ashamed of the drug free stuff in the least. in fact, originally, when i conceived the idea of Antidote, it was to be a positively positioned drug free clothing company. and the drug free stuff is possibly the most attractive part to some people who are sick, as i was, of the current state of drug free fashion. even from a strictly business standpoint - it sells the best! so, no, many things in me resist cutting that stuff out.

opening a second clothing company specific to drug free stuff, i would consider, maybe. but something about the drug free stuff being in the way of a person otherwise shopping at Antidote for positive clothing is attractive. it lets them wonder 'why's this in here? i guess drug free is a positive thing.' maybe they haven't even made the connection before because of the other sxe 'kill your neighborhood drug dealer' stuff out there. it's drug free's second chance for these people. for reasons like this, i LIKE putting out all these ideas together - i believe they CAN be cohesively grouped, and successfully, fruitfully cross pollenated...

y'know what? the more i think about it - there IS a central theme - to me, and to the line. it's positive, and political - but not separately. it is caring, wanting to make a difference, wanting to show it, but in a fun positive way. it's "positively presented personal politics." is that memorable? hmm, well, it's certainly well alliterated!

Week 1 of the Webstore

Check me out in the new SXE is Sexy shirt!

The way Antidote is set up now, I receive orders all week, I order the blank garments necessary to complete orders on Monday, and then press the orders I've received onto the blanks I've received on Friday. It's going to be a system I love, I can tell already, after getting through week one.

Now, one day, Antidote will be a major operation, I'm sure :) but for right now it is completely run by just me, so has to function within parameters that allow for me to get it all done around my regular life schedule (work, teaching, etc). It does fit well in my schedule, I can tell already, and once early hurdles (which I'll describe below) are behind me, I'll hopefully be able to up production to twice a week, meaning shorter wait times for customers anxious to receive their ordered items.

Besides the schedule of operations, what I love already about the new set-up is the thing I hope customers love the most - the customization offerings. This week I printed designs I've seen a million times, but in combinations I've never seen, which made the whole printing process very exciting for me. 'What will the Bubbles design look like on Navy?' 'What would the Bigwheel shirt look like on Army?' These were questions, I'd barely asked myself - but creative customers did. Of course, I hadn't pressed these combos before, but now I have, and I liked how they came out!

I found this week that American Apparel hoodies (which I understood to be available to me within a few days by placing an order with them directly) are back-ordered 3-4 weeks. This meant solutions had to be found for the customers who had ordered American Apparel hoodies during week one and the early ordering period of week two. I learned something about supply chain here, and have decided in the future to make American Apparel's hoodies available only through 'Special Order,' since that's how they appear to view orders from smaller wholesale purchasers like me. (T-shirts are a non-issue, because those I can purchase through a different distributor.)

Overall, there were really only minor setbacks during this first week, my learning curve period :) ... but I am very excited about the future of Antidote (as usual). I enjoyed pressing, and love the back-end of my webstore, which allows me the ability to view informative reports about orders and 'click trails' and all sorts of goodies. Most of all, I love the feedback I get. When I get a myspace comment, or an email from someone who has somehow been touched or affected by one of the designs, it seriously makes my day. The idea that someone 1000 miles away or further from me sees something Antidote put out there and relates or is inspired, even if only to pass a note along to me - leaves me with a great feeling, and gives hope that greater and farther reaching inspiration can be brought about in Antidote's future.

Weeks one and two will pass with word-of-mouth promotion only. My friends and current Antidote customers and myspace buddies are the only ones in on the new online store. I think soon it will be time to roll out advertisements (which I've been waiting to assess my operational process to do), and bring more people in to the store. Part of me wants to do it right now, but I'm waiting until my systems are effortless and flawlessly in place before potentially overwhelming myself. Stay tuned, and pick something up if you haven't already! :)

After Yellowcard, Pre-'New Site Announcement!'

3 shows down! Yesterday Yellowcard was in town, and, after spending an awesome day hanging out with my friend Ryan (including introducing him to the wonders of China Pan for lunch), I set up my stand as I had my first two nights at the Webster Theatre. The show had to be nearly sold out - it was packed! I was glad, for Ryan, and for the chance to present my wares to so many people :) I had almost no inventory, because of the Gym Class Heroes and TREOS shows, but did seem to have just barely what I needed as people chose what they wanted. Response is great generally. No one really bothers talking to me unless they like it, so of course I enjoy myself every night i show up! I took a pic with some cool people who I got to spend a little time with, and who made themselves customers. Check us out in the pic here...


As far as showing up at shows and vending, I'm hoping to be able to do Sugarcult and Jack's Mannequin next Tue and Wed (also at the Webster), but know for sure that I will be bringing my stuff to three Manic Productions shows next weekend: Elf Power on Friday, Sean Na Na on Saturday, and Ambitions on Sunday. Check the Manic site for location/price/time details. Ambitions is a band I may create some sort of endorsement relationship with. Their sound and energy generally remind me of some of my absolute favorite bands growing up - the kind largely responsible for my view of the 'scene' as a place that offers pride and support to the kids in it. Sunday is their record release.. you should check it out if you're from the CT area! If you are from the area and planning on coming to any of these Manic shows (the ones i'll definitely be at), and you know you'd like something from the Antidote catalogue (check the myspace for something of a catalogue), drop me a line and let me know to bring it for ya! If you are not from the area, and even if you are, my next bit of news is gonna be big! It will relate to the new website, complete with new webstore, and a HUGELY increased selection :)

Stay tuned...

First night out

For awhile, I've been hoping to get my stuff together and find a way to present and sell it at shows, where people can touch and see the shirts in person. Since I became a more permanent resident of CT, recently, I made it a mission. After much effort getting my stuff together, tonight was my first night out...

I went to the Gym Class Heroes, Cobra Starship concert at the Webster in Hartford. Located in the separated front room, I didn't get to see much of the actual performances, but did make sure to pop in and catch a song or two of each band. I thought Cobra Starship was super fun and retro. Gabe is an old friend, and this was the first time I'd seen him as a standalone singer. He's really tall and dances around a lot, which is awesomely entertaining, and his banter was hilarious. So, as always, was Travis from GCH, on and off stage. I talked for a little while to Disashi from GCH as well, who told me about his side project The Midnight Society, who I just checked out and enjoyed.

Mostly, I spent the night manning the merch out front, but had a ton of fun. This was something of a test run for me - for my little self-made display, and also generally, for whether hitting shows with Antidote would be rewarding. Turns out, it is! Look for Antidote at more CT shows soon.. I'm thinking TREOS Sunday, and Yellowcard (whoa, check me out in Ryan Mendez' music choices on their myspace!) Wednesday if possible. I look forward to associating the Antidote brand to the local scene this way, because underground CT shows were such a huge positive thing in my own life. As I've stated before, much of the intent of the company is to give that back. Now that I see its possible at shows, I see much more of events like tonight in Antidote's future :)

On a sidenote, tonight was also the first night Punchline (the band from which i recently resigned) played with their new guy, my replacement and friend John. I hear their show went great as well, so I'm really happy that all around, it was a night of successful new beginnings :)

Official Launch of Antidote Blog!

Here it is, the official launch of the antidote blog! Check back here for news and information updates, emailed in journal-style entries by me. Here's me hearting tofu in NYC (and seeing if I can handle gettin pics into my posts :)