There is A LOT of Pressure on the person ordering custom t-shirts for their Residence Hall or Organization.  They have to pick a good fitting shirt that has quality fabric but they also have to come up with a design that everyone will like and want to buy!  Let’s say you are ordering our standard 100% Cotton t-shirt, once you get the order to us it typically takes 1 1/2 weeks to get you the shirts, but designing the shirts could take a ton longer!   Here are a 3 simple things that might help:

1. Look at other designs that might inspire you.  If you were designing a homecoming design for your hall, just google “homecoming t-shirts” images and you’ll find a ton of pics to look at.  I always like to look at shirts that are sold in stores for design inspiration.  Here are a few of my favorite links:  Junk Food Tees, Local Celebrity, Snorg Tees and Busted Tees.  These companies all sell pre-printed shirts, but they might inspire you to create the perfect design.

2. Have a student in your residence hall or organization design it… Screen printers need to get artwork in a “print-ready” format and a lot of times the person ordering is not an artist with the resources to create art like we prefer, but it’s crazy how simple this can be to have a student make a design.  Here’s how you could pose it to the student, “Hey Jimmy, I know you’re a great artist and you’ve probably heard about our hall shirt coming up… well, I was wondering if you would want to help with designing it.  We could probably get you a free t-shirt for doing it, plus everyone in the hall will be wearing your design!  What do you think? Simple as that… plus if you’re doing an order over 48 pieces and offer to give him a free shirt and he takes you up on that, we’ll toss in a free shirt for him or her just for helping make your job easier… just tell your Coed Monkey Order Rep when you begin your order.

3. Try to get feedback on your design before you ever begin the order by creating either a Facebook Page for the shirt or a Survey Monkey Survey that students can actually vote on their favorite design.  This will assure that you pick the best design and it will allow you to show off 2 or 3 that you think are solid options.

As always, if you need help with artwork we can also help, but these 3 things should get you off the ground so that you can 1. Pick your T-shirt.  2. Upload your Art.  3. Get the shirts and make everyone happy!

You have any ideas on how to make art simpler?

2010 Was a year of Rising Cotton Prices

Over this past year we’ve seen a lot of things… from the giant BP Oil Spill to the movie that changed the way we think about 3-D, Avatar.  Technology has made giant leaps forward with the IPad revolutionizing personal computing and GroupOn changing the way that we look at coupons.  Who would have thought that the IPhone would ever see competition with another touch screen phone… enter the Androids!

The World Cup in Africa made the entire world aware of the most annoying instrument in the world, the Vuvuzela while internet sensation Justin Bieber captured the hearts of teenage girls worldwide… click here to see the video that put him on the map.

It seemed like 2010 was a year that brought the rise of a lot of things… including the rise of of cotton prices.  Cotton has typically not been affected by inflation in the same manner as other raw consumables, but with all-time high prices in China, the world market is being shaken. “The price increase is mainly due to the imbalance in supply and demand. During the global financial crisis the market shrank. Now the market is booming but cotton supply hasn’t increased” says Zhang Chengze, a researcher from China National Textile and Apparel Council.

It isn’t just hitting the Chinese market, it’s hitting the States too.  On November 4th, 2010, the Wall Street Journal featured an article titled “Unable to Stretch Further, Apparel Makers Raise Prices” by ELIZABETH HOLMES And RACHEL DODES, which detailed the affect on the US industry. “Hanesbrands said last week its cotton costs for year will be about 69 cents per pound, up from 55 cents last year. For the fourth quarter, it will be about 79 cents, producing $26 million in extra expense,” says the article.

Seeing these changes, we can be sure that 2011 will be a year of transition for the custom apparel industry.  Will rising cotton prices continue?  That is a great question, but all we know is that the current changes have changed the way that we look at our pricing.  To stay competitive we have looked at our pricing over and over, double checking and changing pricing formulas to make sure that we are competitive on a national level to serve our customer base to constantly remain your trusted custom apparel provider with Hassle Free Ordering.

If you had questions or concerns on the rising cotton prices, you can do a simple google search, or you can just contact us and we can give you the scoop, but either way, you can rest assured that we are trying our hardest to keep prices down for you.

Thanks for a great 2010 and we’ll look forward to an even better 2011!

T-Shirts.com Sells for $1.26 Million!

Really?  Are you for real?  $1.26 million for t-shirts.com?  Back when we first bought Coedmonkey.com it was around $10.26 for the domain… and we aren’t looking to sell anytime soon.  Looking at the $1.26 million price tag sure makes us pumped about how we’ve been growing too!  Here’s some big things that we’ve been working on lately to make ordering custom screen printed t-shirts and other apparel easier and more enjoyable…

1. Our Brand New Site!… featuring products that you actually would want to get customized and wear all around! (no stupid products that our out of date or not cool!)… check it out here.

2. Fewer clicks to get through the order process on our CoedMonkey.com.

3. Brand New Coed Monkey Order Workflow- to assure that each order gets done the same way each time you order from Coed Monkey!

4. Fast Turnaround on Orders… Our goal is to get you the shirts within 2 weeks of ordering… but often you get them between 1- 1 1/2 weeks (pretty fast!)

5. No Screen Charges, No Setup Charges and No Shipping Charges… don’t worry about getting hit over the side of the head with additional fees from Coed Monkey… we try to keep ordering simple, so there aren’t any additional fees to worry about!

6. A Free Coed Monkey Shirts for you every time you order… just post a comment on the Coed Monkey Facebook Fan Page telling us that you’re pumped to get the cool custom apparel!

With these things (and a few other tricks up our sleeves) hopefully someday our domain will be worth $1.26 million, but in the meantime we’re just happy to be making cool custom screen printed t-shirts for colleges around the country!

After nearly a year in development we are proud to unveil the brand new Coed Monkey website! Not only does it look cooler, but it makes ordering custom apparel way easier than before!

CoedMonkey.com Then and Now

Some of the cool new features:

1. Steamlined Ordering- Fewer Clicks means that you get through the order process faster!   Simply select your product, tell us how many logos and ink colors are in your artwork, the number of pieces and you’re good to go with a custom quote!  From there you can upload your artwork and even pay online!

2. Easier Navigation- Check on the top of our website and you’ll see the top navigation bar, but look right below that and you’ll see the 4 steps to completing your order… this let’s you know that it won’t take 2 hours to order your own custom screen printed apparel.

3. Online Payment- We still offer the option of paying with a check and PO, but paying with Visa and Mastercard makes ordering online even easier.  You will not be billed at the point of sale because things can change from the order entry to the time we print the shirts- you might want more shirts or less- but you can pay with a card to make sure that you get the shirts as fast as possible without needing to worry about more paper-work following the order.

4. More Products- We have unveiled a full line of new products to meet all of your custom apparel needs… from the standard Gildan 100% Cotton t-shirt to the super-soft American Apparel TR401 Tri-Blend t-shirt.  If you can’t find the product that you want, just let us know and we’ll try to find it for you!  All of the pictures on our site have been created using our own models, so you will not find these pics anywhere else… if you want to model a Coed Monkey shirt drop us a Contact Us Message and you might be the next face of Coed Monkey!

5. Past Orders Gallery- Check out past Coed Monkey orders… you can send us pics of your crew in the shirts and we might just put the pic on the gallery… or better yet, make a blog post about how cool your custom screen printed apparel turned out!

6. Brand New Coed Monkey Order Workflow- We’ve been doing this for 7 years now and over the past 9 months we’ve totally redone the way that we interact with you on every order.  Rest assured, we meet deadlines and your order will be done the right way the first time… because we have implemented a new Coed Monkey Workflow that allows us to offer the same high quality of customer on each and every order… so you can feel comfortable referring your friends to Coed Monkey for their custom apparel orders and know that we will give them the same amazing service as we just gave you

As always, we try to make ordering Custom Apparel Easy… so we offer the “Coed Monkey No Hassle Guarantee” that there are No Setup Charges, No Screen Charges and No Shipping Charges… To assure that your order is done the right way the first time, you’ll receive a Coed Monkey Art Proof that you verify before we ever print anything!

We’re pumped about the new site and don’t forget…  Join the Coed Monkey Facebook Fan Page and post a comment when you order… then you’ll get a Free Coed Monkey t-shirt whenever you order! Any website suggestions?… drop us a “Contact Us Message” today with your thoughts!

If you want to get a free Coed Monkey Ice Cream t-shirt just post a reply to this blog post or post a comment on the Coed Monkey Facebook Fan Page and we’ll hook the first 3 people up! Just give us your email and size!

Take a quick look at this video and pass it along to friends to spread the laughter… and don’t forget to check out Coed Monkey the next time you are getting custom t-shirts for you on-campus event. Any suggestions on our next rap video? Leave a comment, we’d love to know!

“Remember like 2 years ago when that one guy from that one wild floor did that one crazy thing in the commons area… haha, that was sure funny! What was he thinking trying to balance that on his head!?”

… That’s kind of what college memories are made of. The names, dates & exactly what went on might be kind of fuzzy, but the memories are still strong & very much alive when you sit around reminiscing with old friends.

Remember your hall t-shirt from homecoming sophomore year? Yeah, the one that everyone bought for $7 and wore to the big game? It’s crazy how those custom hall t-shirts can evoke so many memories and take you back to those “warm fuzzy’s” of college life. That’s one reason it’s so hard to “grow up” and eventually throw away those cool t-shirts when they get old, faded and filled with holes from countless times through the spin cycle.

When you are making a custom t-shirt it is so much more than a shirt that you can buy for around $5 and sell for $7 or $10 in the dorms. That shirt represents a way of life, a milestone in academia and a brief connection with a simpler time in life before the stresses of a job & “real life” hit.

So next time you think of making a custom t-shirt with Coed Monkey for your hall, floor or on-campus event, think about how that simple shirt will be something that someone could wear for the next 5-10 years… Each time remembering what that shirt was all about and what was going on in their life at that moment in their life.

It’s a great responsibility to make a custom t-shirt, use it wisely!

Do you have any hall t-shirt stories?  We’d love to hear it!  Comment here on our blog or on our Facebook Fan Page… the best story will Win a Free Coed Monkey T-Shirt!

“How do I make good artwork to print on my t-shirts?” That’s a question that might be going through your head right now… well, here at Coed Monkey we don’t make you use stock clipart images or pick from a list of templates like other t-shirt companies. So when we say “Custom,” we mean “Custom.” If you are looking at getting Custom t-shirts printed for your Residence Hall, Dorm Floor, next hall event or whatever, here are some things to think about as you are making your artwork:

1. Get the Tools. To start creating your custom artwork, we suggest using a program like Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop. Both of these programs will allow you to make great artwork that can easily be screen printed on t-shirts or other customizable apparel. We prefer Adobe Illustrator files saved as “AI” file extensions and Photoshop files saved as “PSD” file extensions.

2. Use cool fonts… you can check out a ton of them at www.dafont.com. Once you use a cool font you should convert the fonts to outlines or flatten them so that we can see them because we might not have the same fonts on our computers.

3. How Big is too Big? Photoshop files can be saved in the dimensions that you would like it printed… but with Illustrator you don’t need to save it in a specific size because the logo is vector based (fancy word for “we can shrink or enlarge it as needed). In most cases, when you think about how large you want your logo you’ll need to plan around the smallest t-shirt size ordered. So if your order consists of small through 2XL t-shirts, then whatever logo size looks good on the small will need to be used for all the shirts up to 2XL. We’d suggest around 12-13 inches wide for a front logo across the chest on most shirts.

4. Placement, Placement, Placement. This can be difficult because today there are so many different options for where to print on the shirt… from standard across the front chest or back, to a wrap around the side of a shirt. One of the most popular locations has been on the front shoulder area of a shirt, above where a left pocket would be and going slightly above the neckline. If you are ordering for both a male and female crowd you have to think of possible locations that might not be ideal on both genders. For example, sometimes girls don’t like attention drawn to their hips, but the waist wrap does just that, so it’s not always the most popular placement with the ladies.

5. Get Inspired. Look at other clothing companies! Some of our favorite companies to look for design inspiration are Abercrombie & Fitch, Obey, Affliction, Threadless, but never underestimate the creativity that you might find at your local Goodwill or thrift store, because vintage t-shirts are always awesome! A simple Google search of “Vintage T-Shirts” could give you the inspiration you need for your next design.

6. Ask for Help. If you are still stumped, you can always ask us to help you create custom artwork for your next t-shirt. We include 15 minutes of art time in each order, but if you wanted us to create some thing more we are very reasonable. Prices start at $15 but we make it easy on you to get an idea from a napkin or scrap of paper onto a t-shirt. You can always ask your Coed Monkey Order Representative, or just give us a call and let us know what you are thinking.

Designing cool shirts should be simple, so if you had any questions feel free to contact us and we’d love to help you get your idea onto a t-shirt. You make the memories, we make the shirts… what happens in between that is just artwork

In 1978 when this t-shirt hit the big screen in Animal House, it started more than a fashion craze, it encapsulated a way of life on college campuses around the country… this simple $10 t-shirt was so much more than a t-shirt, it was a friendly spot in our memories for everything that college stood for… the life-long friends, the long classes, the hours of studying and of course all the fun!

There’s so much more to this t-shirt than the 7 letters that make up the word “COLLEGE,”… there’s the memories of that amazing homecoming football game… there’s a group of close friends sitting around a table talking about what “someday” might look like… there’s even the memory of a late night study session that really had nothing to do about studying, but all to do with hanging out with close friends over a cup of coffee at some dive coffee shop that you might never go to again.

College t-shirts aren’t just made of cotton and some random screen printed logo, they’re made of memories that make graduating so hard! So next time you think about making a custom t-shirt for your residence hall, floor or on-campus event, just know that you are making more than a t-shirt, you’re making memories that will last far beyond graduation!

Author and Branding Genius, Laura Ries

Probably the most famous person to ever grace a Coed Monkey t-shirt… Branding Genius Laura Ries, co-author of “The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding” is seen here sporting the Coed Monkey Ice Cream t-shirt!  Laura’s book “The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding” helped shape our company and inspire our name, Coed Monkey.  This is a must read for any marketing/advertising or PR majors in college, or anyone interested in advancing their business!

The book that changed our business: The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding

Check out Laura’s new masterpiece “War in the Boardroom” for brand new pieces of marketing genius!