The Story of Ascension
We almost called it quits before getting started.
Would you believe me if I told you it took eight months to produce this one shirt? Throughout those eight months I often asked myself if this was all just a waste of time? I even contemplated quitting. I’ve been told that the most important skill an entrepreneur can have is the ability to withstand the test of time. Here’s a little bit about the trying period leading to the creation of Ascension.
The Art
Can you see the resemblence? The Ascension design was originally much more “abstract”. Friends and family referred to it as “scary”. This was not the look we were going for. We redrew, modified, and redrew again until we landed on a drawing that resonated with us the most. Little did we know, redrawing was the easiest part of this process.
How to Handle “No”
I never knew there were so many different ways to be told “no” until searching for a manufacturer.
Though challenging, there was never a question on if we should concede to screenprint because of cost, complexity, or scrapping the design altogether. There was going to be someone somewhere who could produce our clothing in the way we imagined.
There is Someone Somewhere
We could have continued to search for a manufacturer online, but as you read this was a long painful process. Our next idea was to shop the design around in person at Sourcing. I find much greater value in meeting manufacturers face-to-face as opposed to over the internet. The internet is low-touch, there is a lot less stake in the game for a manufacturer when turning someone down via email or WhatsApp as opposed to in person. The expense was well worth it, the trip to Vegas resulted in us finding the factory with the capability we hoped for, we were off to the races. I’ll save the challenges of production for another blog.
Burden of Proof
The T-Shirt has been our best seller to date. This validated the process of getting the shirt into production. In spite of the many challenges we faced, it was worth our time and energy. We stress being different, if we were making something that fell in the same realm as other brands make, we would have gotten a yes at inquiry one or two. We want to continue to raise our bar in this way. Every problem is solvable. A “no” or “not possible” only means we are dealing with the wrong factory.
P.S.
As a gift to you, being a part of the community, shop the “Ascension” tee. Use the code “BUILDINPUB” for 25% off.