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February, 2023

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What does it take to start a small clothing brand like Arsenic or Vishnu

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bogust
Posts: 552 - Karma: 5,718
Not saying I'm going to, just curious.

Also this has probably been asked before but I couldn't find anything on it so I thought I would make a thread.
Jan 20 2022 9:49PM
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CatdickBojangles
Posts: 5884 - Karma: 59,251
A solid vision of what you want to make. Business sense. An audience. And some money doesn’t hurt.
Jan 20 2022 9:51PM
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bogust
Posts: 552 - Karma: 5,718
CatdickBojanglesA solid vision of what you want to make. Business sense. An audience. And some money doesn’t hurt.


What about in a practical sense. Like how much initial investment is required and where do you got the get the clothes made
Jan 20 2022 9:53PM
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TOAST.
Posts: 6738 - Karma: 25,738
About tree fiddy
Jan 20 2022 9:54PM
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r00kie
Posts: 4577 - Karma: 50,261
No experience myself but knowing who your buyer is and how to reach them is key. If you want to sell to a ns forum dweller who wants to be as indie as possible you'll have to behave very differently with your communications than if you were going for the typical weekend warrior crowd. And even if you do do everything right some kid on here will make a whole thread about your brand being whack just cause they're not the target buyer.
Jan 20 2022 9:56PM
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CatdickBojangles
Posts: 5884 - Karma: 59,251
bogustWhat about in a practical sense. Like how much initial investment is required and where do you got the get the clothes made


I can’t speak for initial investment, it would just depend on what kind of scale you are going for. Small boutique company’s hand make stuff. Larger scale stuff you can find many companies that will make a large run of clothes. @-Dan can probably give you a better advice.
Jan 20 2022 9:57PM
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bogust
Posts: 552 - Karma: 5,718
r00kieNo experience myself but knowing who your buyer is and how to reach them is key. If you want to sell to a ns forum dweller who wants to be as indie as possible you'll have to behave very differently with your communications than if you were going for the typical weekend warrior crowd. And even if you do do everything right some kid on here will make a whole thread about your brand being whack just cause they're not the target buyer.


Yeah if I was to do something it would be mostly for fun and to be more apart of the community. I get what you mean though
Jan 20 2022 9:59PM
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Treegrabber
Posts: 811 - Karma: 11,656
Get cool smelly guys to do cool stuff in using your product
Jan 20 2022 10:04PM
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KilaTsunami
Posts: 1807 - Karma: 15,909
Tenacity
Jan 20 2022 10:09PM
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bogust
Posts: 552 - Karma: 5,718
CatdickBojanglesI can’t speak for initial investment, it would just depend on what kind of scale you are going for. Small boutique company’s hand make stuff. Larger scale stuff you can find many companies that will make a large run of clothes. @-Dan can probably give you a better advice.


yeah I'd like to do small boutique hand made stuff
Jan 20 2022 10:11PM
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Icant_kfed
Posts: 998 - Karma: 8,707
Put stickers on everywhere to build a name for yourself
Jan 20 2022 10:19PM
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dwt802
Posts: 2324 - Karma: 20,687
Keeping at it.

Dan sold to simply his friends he knew in the early days and didn’t have too much of a following until like 4 years ago. Takes being persistent and doing it out of love.
Jan 20 2022 10:28PM
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-Dan
Posts: 6942 - Karma: 45,891
Step 1 is Start.

Step 2 is Dont Stop.

and I really mean that.
Jan 20 2022 11:42PM
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bogust
Posts: 552 - Karma: 5,718
-DanStep 1 is Start.

Step 2 is Dont Stop.

and I really mean that.


how do you start? my guess would be make some clothes, make an Instagram, sell said clothes on said Instagram.
Jan 20 2022 11:45PM
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SimpleSkier
Posts: 23 - Karma: 145
As a consumer of small brands, I really like something that makes your product (that is generally the same as tons of others) unique. Something like design, color scheme, or combination of materials can really catch an eye
Jan 21 2022 12:36AM
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TRVP_ANGEL
Posts: 12203 - Karma: 109,710
Assless chaps
Jan 21 2022 1:06AM
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cndr
Posts: 101 - Karma: 488
-DanStep 1 is Start.

Step 2 is Dont Stop.

and I really mean that.


As ambiguous as this seems, it's truly correct. When you dive into a project like this, you'll understand. I've been running the day to day operations for a very small apparel brand for a while, it's 90% fun as fuck and 10% nightmare.

A little bit of starting capital helps, cause business can be ruthless. Prepare to write off your initial investment and you'll feel better about it.

Find your niche, and make designs that people like. It can take a while. When your friends who can get it for free actually want to pay for it, that's a good sign.
Jan 21 2022 2:07AM
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armchair_skier
Posts: 1755 - Karma: 21,272
TreegrabberGet cool smelly guys to do cool stuff in using your product


and then get an air bnb w some coffee tables in it
Jan 21 2022 10:19AM
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BLandz
Posts: 1053 - Karma: 16,263
TOAST.About tree fiddy


It was about that time I realized that arsenic anywhere was actually the lock ness monster
Jan 21 2022 10:40AM
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KilaTsunami
Posts: 1807 - Karma: 15,909
Giving your free merch to friends is cool, and good way to get your shit out there immediately at first, but don’t do it too often!! It’ll start to lower the overall value of your brand/products before they even take off. Instead, Give ur homies discounts so u can still cover cost and at the very least break even.

*Except for stickers, those should be free, and included with each order, or give them out for free in person.
Jan 21 2022 12:00PM
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Jems
Posts: 5951 - Karma: 70,301
making original clothes and not having a stupid ass name like 90% of new clothing brands
Jan 21 2022 12:07PM
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Jacobthesadskier
Posts: 443 - Karma: 4,147
TRVP_ANGELAssless chaps


The term "Assless chaps" is unnecessary, chaps are by their very nature, assless.
Jan 21 2022 1:12PM
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sarc
Posts: 246 - Karma: 1,874
I recommend taking a class, or maybe even getting a degree, in entrepeneurship.

OTOH I have never started a company myself, you should probably learn to ignore people like me.
Jan 21 2022 1:39PM
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hi_vis360
Posts: 3932 - Karma: 35,062
you gotta come up with something unique. Both of the brands you mentioned, arsenic and vishnu, offer products that I don't see other companies making, skinny rockered full sym skis from vishnu, and dan's clothes always have a unique but timeless flavor that clearly show the effort that he puts into his products.

if you just print a logo on a regular tee and hoodies I'm not buying your shit. make it original
Jan 21 2022 7:16PM
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ASSholebomber22
Posts: 6011 - Karma: 65,736
Bro you just sell clothes it's as easy or as complicated as you want it to be.
Jan 21 2022 7:20PM
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hunternay_10
Posts: 136 - Karma: 745
JacobthesadskierThe term "Assless chaps" is unnecessary, chaps are by their very nature, assless.


Finally someone else knows
Mar 8 2022 12:54AM
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CowboySkibop
Posts: 2964 - Karma: 22,294
be creative, what will set you apart from other brands? some kids from my town started a brand which is pretty fuckin cool, they get creative with it and do a lot of different designs.

then a few others started some lame shit that is basically just typeface on gildan tees and no art or design. dont be like that

like I dont wanna be negative but if you are just gonna print a word on a hoodie I wouldn't even start cuz it'll get drowned out by everybody else doing that. let ur creative energy flow, draw your own designs, or find some artist friends to go in with you to kickstart the creative process. also like get creative with the clothing itself like arsenic and vishnu, their alterations to clothing in conjunction with creative print or embroidering is what makes them stand out. Creativity and the drive to be different than others in the field is what will make you thrive
Mar 8 2022 10:56AM
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bogust
Posts: 552 - Karma: 5,718
CrunnchyPissFartbe creative, what will set you apart from other brands? some kids from my town started a brand which is pretty fuckin cool, they get creative with it and do a lot of different designs.

then a few others started some lame shit that is basically just typeface on gildan tees and no art or design. dont be like that

like I dont wanna be negative but if you are just gonna print a word on a hoodie I wouldn't even start cuz it'll get drowned out by everybody else doing that. let ur creative energy flow, draw your own designs, or find some artist friends to go in with you to kickstart the creative process. also like get creative with the clothing itself like arsenic and vishnu, their alterations to clothing in conjunction with creative print or embroidering is what makes them stand out. Creativity and the drive to be different than others in the field is what will make you thrive


Yeah it’s cool when people actually make interesting cloths themselves. Your def right brands that only sell a logo on a shirt or hoodie suck
Mar 8 2022 11:18AM
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Young_patty
Posts: 3025 - Karma: 31,748
- a team
- a vibe
- a sewing machine
- a good plug
- a good idea
- a team video
- a kid or two with their parents credit card
- a caffeine/nicotine addiction
- a stash of cash
- a way to spread the word
- a logo
- a bit of street cred
- a good sticker or two to toss in packages


If you can acquire like a third of these then congrats, you're a small business.

Bonus points if you sell exclusively through Instagram
Mar 8 2022 11:58AM
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snowfinder
Posts: 2569 - Karma: 30,535
Key target demographic - kids with parents credit cards.
Mar 8 2022 12:07PM
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hunternay_10
Posts: 136 - Karma: 745
CrunnchyPissFartbe creative, what will set you apart from other brands? some kids from my town started a brand which is pretty fuckin cool, they get creative with it and do a lot of different designs.

then a few others started some lame shit that is basically just typeface on gildan tees and no art or design. dont be like that

like I dont wanna be negative but if you are just gonna print a word on a hoodie I wouldn't even start cuz it'll get drowned out by everybody else doing that. let ur creative energy flow, draw your own designs, or find some artist friends to go in with you to kickstart the creative process. also like get creative with the clothing itself like arsenic and vishnu, their alterations to clothing in conjunction with creative print or embroidering is what makes them stand out. Creativity and the drive to be different than others in the field is what will make you thrive


It’s crazy how much people will go crazy over the same hoodie design that is embroidered but if it’s printed they don’t give a shit, such a simple change makes the quality just so much higher
Mar 8 2022 12:42PM
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-Dan
Posts: 6942 - Karma: 45,891
Young_patty- a team
- a vibe
- a sewing machine
- a good plug
- a good idea
- a team video
- a kid or two with their parents credit card
- a caffeine/nicotine addiction
- a stash of cash
- a way to spread the word
- a logo
- a bit of street cred
- a good sticker or two to toss in packages


If you can acquire like a third of these then congrats, you're a small business.

Bonus points if you sell exclusively through Instagram

Lmao this way too on point. I was reading it in constant agreement.
Mar 8 2022 2:35PM
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