I came across this little article about why growing up sucks. http://steelcloset.com/2009/09/15/7-things-that-suck-about-growing-up/

Everything is pretty obvious, but reading it just makes me feel like shit lol. The part that really bugs me is about how shitty kids today are. Even kids just a little younger then me are huge cock suckers. I’m not saying all of them are, but I just notice a lot more youngins who think their shit doesn’t stink. I’m not the classiest of guys, but show some fucking respect. All these young meat heats are ready to fight the world. That’s one thing I wish people grew out of. That macho, “I’m gonna beat your ass” attitude. Who are you trying to impress? I don’t know. There are too many things I can bitch about in this world and about life and it never does any good. Just thought I’d share the link for those of you struggling with growing pains.

So I’ve decided to take my television out of my bedroom. I feel like everyone makes there room and there house set up all perfectly till the point were they have no reason to get up or leave. I fucking hate that. I won’t lie to you, I am bored without the television and its only been a few hours. But I refuse to build this nest. All it does is contribute to my procrastination and laziness. I don’t know why I feel the need to be so productive all the time. I have such an existential outlook on life so I never really get the point to anything I’m doing. I hate this Peter Pan Syndrome bullshit. I just want to be fucking 17 years old again. Illegal drinking at random places in town, high school, girls. Fuck, we had more restrictions then, but for some reason I felt like I had more freedom at 17 then I do now. I think I’ve just been digging my own grave by forming all these bad habits that I never thought would catch up to me. I’ve had this “wing it” attitude almost my whole life and I’m finally realizing I can’t wing everything anymore. I actually have to go make things happen, make moves, take chances, live. I’ve always just sat around and just waited for things to come to me. I know taking my TV out of my room isn’t about to fix all these problems, but it’s still a habit I’d just like to break just for my own benefit. I can’t stand laying around, forever stuck in a nostalgic coma. I’ve been making a few more moves with the new brand. New logo still in the works. I don’t have a lot of money to spend with the rebrand so I’ll probably just be printing the logo on tees, tanks and hoods and try to scrap some money for new designs. I feel good about the new name and logo though. Summer is coming and the rest of my friends will be back from school soon. I’m usually more excited for summer, but for some reason I’m just not feeling it yet. I use to be more of the party goer and now I just don’t give a fuck. Maybe the first big patio bash will change my mind. I’ll be 21 saturday so maybe I’ll be in to this bar thing, but I don’t like drinking that much so who knows. It’s just a matter of getting out of the house and doing something social again. I fucking miss school. I don’t know why. I was miserable there also, but I suppose I’m only remembering the good parts of it. I really just need to leave the past though. The television is just a small start in the changing process. I hope to start some ‘good’ habits… whatever that means.

I turn 21 on the 15th this month. Get ready for this cliche - I know it’s young, but it feels so old. What have I done in these 21 years? Finished grade school, work, travel, started a business and a clothing line, drank till I puked, basically just killed a lot of time. I feel so bored with life. I have no desire to get married or have kids in the future. I’m planning on buying my boss’s screen printing company in 2013, so that will be a new challenge to keep me busy. I’ve really grown to love screen printing. I love the industry and all the new technology that continues to develop within the industry. I guess I’m kind of a nerd when it comes to screen printing. I just get freaked out when thinking about working 24/7 and being an “adult.” What happened to manhunt? Cabbage night? Fuck, I even feel too old for beer pong. It’s like steve-o from SLC Punk said “You see life is like that. We change, that’s all. You see, the guy I am now is not the guy I was then. If the guy I was then met the guy I am now he’d beat the shit out of me. Those are the facts.” Being freaked out is just normal, I already know that. I need to stop worrying so much. Just kick back and enjoy my 20’s. So I will.

I just feel the need to write down some thoughts that have been stuck in my head for quite some time. No matter how much it is said, I still can’t believe how fast time is going and how quickly things change. Maybe we’re all destined to feel nostalgic at some point, but I can’t help but feel that way all the time. Starting this clothing line was fun, but I know it was started for the wrong reasons. I can’t say I regret it, because I don’t. However, this commitment took a toll on my wallet… at least for a 20 year old. Most people don’t understand what I gave up to start this line. Since I was about 15 I played paintball competitively. At 18 I traveled the country to play in national events. It was my life. Every dollar I made went to plane tickets, entry money, hotels, practice money. After the 2008 season, it was clear that there was no way to start this clothing line and have enough money to travel for paintball. So here I am, on my second season of hiatus and nothing to show for it. Looking at this line, I can’t say I’m pleased. The quality of everything is top notch, but I personally just don’t like my own products. The artists did an amazing job with the art. I’m just not the type to wear bright colors. I’ve made countless mistakes with this line. I’m not angry or upset about them because I’ve learned so much and just gained more motivation and experience. With that being said, I won’t be closing down the line, but I will be doing a rebrand and that includes a name change (more information about that soon to come). I’d just like to share with anyone that might be keeping up with this brand or blog that all the new stuff will strictly be designs that I want to wear. I think my passion for the rebrand will be self explanatory upon its release. I’ve done some growing up in the past year and I hope these new ideas and experimenting with new designers pays off. I may not be able to play paintball for a few more years, but with this new line at least I’ll be able to sponsor the team I played for and still be involved with them, which is what I miss most. I apologize for the sloppy post. My brain is all over the place right now.

In order to get ready for the new and improved release, all shirts will drop to $10 starting in January. I decided to go in a different direction, not because I wasn’t into the current designs, but because I wasn’t a fan of having our company name all over the art and also because the message of this project isn’t being reflected what so ever through the current designs, with the exception of the Liberty design. Our next release will be mostly 1-2 color designs. No more flashy, bright colors. And we will be focusing on what Disillusion really stands for. More information on this when the weather gets warmer, so stay tuned and pick up some low priced, quality shirts! 

-Jake

This article was taken from www.iamthetrend.com. Check out their site for a ton of cool stuff. 

5 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD BUY INDIE CLOTHING

1. SUPPORT INDIVIDUALS THEY ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT THEIR LINE

The majority of people that are starting these indie clothing lines deeply care and our passionate about their brand.  They pour every ounce of extra time, money, passion and creativity in their line trying to put out the best product possible.  Dont get me wrong they’re individuals out there that simply think that starting a clothing line is easy and a quick way to make a buck, but those people are quickly proved wrong and usually do not last long. Economies are also built with entrepenuers and small business growth and by supporting up and coming companies it’s a great way to help encourage the entrepreneurial spirit that drives innovation.

2. INDIE BRANDS USUALLY HAVE CHEAPER PRICES

In today’s economy everyone is looking to stretch the dollar further and further.  People are looking for ways to save money and find deals.  Well here is a definite avenue to cut clothing costs and buy cheaper and smarter.  Indie brands tend to have lower prices and offer more deals and incentives for purchase over mall brands found at Zumiez, PacSun, Hot Topic, etc.  Just last month I put together an article showing how you could buy 16 Tee Shirts for only $100, if you can do that at a mall please let me know!

Also indie brands tend to have a ton of really great sales. For Black Friday we complied a list of our 40 brands that were having sales, some of which were 50% off or more! Even when the brands are not on sale your can typically find high quality items for $20 or less. They’re a ton of t-shirt blog sites as well as iamthetrend.com that promotes these sales, so continually be checking sites such as iamthetrend, cotygonzales.com, popculturetees andhideyourarms because these sites are an incredible resource for showing who has what on sale.

3. HAVE SOMETHING THAT NO ONE ELSE HAS!

For me there is nothing worse than rocking your new favorite shirt, jeans, jacket, etc to come across someone else wearing the exact same thing! When you buy from indie clothing startups you are going to greatly diminish the chances of running into someone with the same shirt that you have. Most of the upcoming brands you find online run a very limited amount of shirts per design. Having such limited number of shirts per design is not only awesome because you have something “rare” but you are in a sense “thetrend”. You will be the person all your friends and peers will be asking where did you get that, or who is that made by and let’s face it most of us like to be the ones setting the trend and finding the coolest clothes out there!
Say it with me now “iamthetrend” : ) I cant even count the amount of times that I have been asked by friends and peers where I got a particular shirt, it’s a great feeling when people go out of their way to recognize and appreciate awesome clothing.

4. GREATER DIVERSITY AND SELECTION

Your options in clothing and style are pretty much limitless, this is one of my favorite aspects about the indie clothing world. No matter what you are looking for you can find it, from the most offensive tees, to the most loud colored illustrated tee all the way to a tee that barely has anything on it, there is an indie clothing company that fits your style. You really cant get this sort of diversity by visiting the same mall stores buying what is being spoon fed to you.

Let’s just say that you have a favorite brand that is being solid in malls, for example Obey, Lrg, DC, or Nike, guess what, there is a brand online that has a similar style that in all honesty is probably doing a better and more creative job making eye catching clothing.

5. QUITE SIMPLY IT’S JUST MORE FUN!

Honestly finding new brands that no one knows about is just plain fun! Think of it as a treasure hunt, the deeper you dig the more your going to find and the more rewarding its going to be! I can’t even begin to put a number on the amount of indie clothing companies that are out there, which can be very exciting and very daunting at the same time! If your the type of person that loves to dig around the internet looking for the next greatest thing, searching for indie clothing is right up your alley! Even if your a person that would rather just have people point out to you what’s cool and upcoming we have you covered, because quite simply that’s what we do at IAMTHETREND!

CONCLUSION

The bottom line is buying indie clothing can be a very fun, rewarding, and even save you a few dollars. When giving the gift of indie clothing this year for the holidays you can now look forward to that person opening their gift and absolutely their unique gift and possibly even turning them into a fan of clothing line that they never heard of before! The indie clothing world is a community and we all need to stick together and support each other to make sure everyone becomes successful at their passion and to make sure the indie clothing world thrives!

The first batch of Disillusion hoods came in today. They look amazing in person. A very simple, clean black hood with our logo printed in white on the chest and down the sleeve. Each hood will include a free zombie tee with purchase, so hurry up and order before they’re all gone!

So in the past few days the online store got some online sales! Nothing big, but it was still exciting to know people that I don’t even know will be wearing my brand. That probably sounds lame, but after I put all my time, effort and money into this, I’m glad there is at least a few people that like what I’ve done. I sent a few shirts to the designers, so far everyone loves them! I’m really glad I was able to put their hard work on an actual product for them to wear. I’ve been doing some prep work for my side project, Trew Jersey. I even got a pre-order on that line before Disillusion made its first sale! I thought that was kind of funny because I didn’t even market that line, and within 12 hours of making the site live… there was an order! That was even more exciting because everything with Trew Jersey is done by me, including the designing and printing. So the fact that someone is not only wearing my brand, but my actual DESIGN is just overwhelming. I can only imagine how great designers like Crawford and God Machine must feel with such large clients. The designing aspect was never something I was great at. I have the vision, just not all the skills, but I’m seeing an improvement. I’m already thinking about the new releases for 2010 and I have some wild ideas. If I have any followers, get ready for a drastic change.

So I officially launched the website. The web designer I hired is sick with swine flu so the real website is going to be delayed for a little longer. I figured I should get the store up at least so I can make some sales while getting ready for the winter line. All the shirts came out amazing, I’m really happy with them. I’m getting screens ready for the logo tees, hoodies and long sleeves. Lots of BMX riders are showing interest which I’m stoked about because that’s the main market I wanted to hit. No online orders yet which is kind of upsetting, but I did sell a handful of shirts to people I know. Need to figure out better ways to market. I’m thinking about going to the Pool Trade Show in February if I can save enough money. I’m working on sponsoring a few BMX riders and some bands soon. I’m mailing my artists the shirts they designed so hopefully word of mouth starts to take effect in the next few months. We’ll see. 

First blog post! This is probably just going to be a temporary blog until the final website is finished. The website has been giving me the most grief lately. I hired a web designer over 2 months ago, and although he still responds to all my E-Mails, I have a sinking feeling that he scammed me. He tells me a few more days and then weeks go by and… NOTHING! I paid him 50% up front. I’ve decided to cut my losses and just move on. I’ve contact two other well respected freelance designers, but have not heard back from them yet. So basically everything is at a freeze right now, which I cannot stand. All of my shirts are due to ship next week, I’ve just ordered photography studio equipment. It’s nothing spectacular, but we’ll be able to get some sick shots with it, and it beats hiring someone. Worse case scenario, I’ll launch using my own, poorly designed Big Cartel page. That doesn’t seem to be a wise option though. I’ve started brainstorming for the winter line because I figured by the time the Fall line launches it will be winter anyway. 

While waiting on web designers I have been putting together the free gift packages that I’m including with every order. I don’t want to give anything away, but I think everyone will be pleased. 

So anyway… Things that I am anticipating: 

-FINISHED website!

-Finished products!

-October photo shoot! 

Here is the little studio kit I ordered. 

Can’t wait to launch!