Final Report.

This is the binding design and layout of my business plan.

Further Designs...

Toms Design, Sketch to Outcome

The Experience Economy

By Joseph Pine II and James H Gilmore this book is giving me great insight into seeing a product and its process as a service and experience to the customer.

Networking and Selling

BIG CARTEL SHOP and FACE BOOK FAN PAGE now up and running!

http://tattooshu.bigcartel.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tattooshu/

Packaging

Flexoplate made in print rooms to print cards, stickers and packaging as well as embossing the front cover of my report.

Toms Packaging

After purchasing a pair of Toms to experiment on, I found the packaging as well as being very nicely printed also included a small tote bag to carry them in. This small extra gave great added value to the product as a whole.

Likes and Dislikes

I think as well thinking about designs I would like to put on shoes, it is important to recognise designs I dislike and what does not work well so that I dont make the mistake of producing anything similar.

Here are some shoe designs I find aesthetically displeasing / upsetting:

http://mimedesign.com/product-gallery

http://www.etsy.com/search_results.php?includes[0]=tags&search_query=hand+drawn+shoes&search_type=all&page=1

How those Vans turned out.

Remaking my original squid vs whale design in black and white on high quality Vans has really brought life and value to the design.

Packaging.

Looking at the packaging of these vans, nice print tissue paper and a silica gel sachet makes the product seem well packaged and looked after, therefore adding more value.

I will be packing these shoes a similar way but with added stickers and promotional pieces to make it a nice bundle of 'good post' for the customer.

Materials.

My shoe boxes and paints have arrived, lets make some shoes!

My shoe boxes and paints have arrived, lets make some shoes!

Contact.

Here is a list of other companies and related businesses that I have been in contact with, asking questions about their business and suppliers:

http://www.pimpmykicks.net/about-us/

http://www.pimpmykicks.net/about-us/

http://shop.vans.com/catalog/Vans/en_US/category/custom-shoes.html#/selectShoe

http://www.vans-otw.com/search/label/mr.%20cartoon

http://www.zazzle.co.uk/custom/shoes

Paint Tests!

The first hurdle is finding a medium that is better suited to this product than sharpie paints and fixative spray. Although they create a light water resistant finish, I need something more heavy duty. I sold one pair in 2010 only to find out the customer had worn them on a long rainy walk and now the colours had run. This is not the a standard I am happy with.

I have done some tests with some paint samples I received from fashion textiles. They are water-based but once sealed with heat provide a durable water resistant cover that doesn't crack from movement. In these tests I have just been gaging how much water and scrubbing these paints can take before they smudge or run.

The end result is that the lighter, more diluted colours run easily but you have to fully dip the solid dark colours in water and scrub them hard with a wet cloth before the paints run. I think I should have also left the paints to dry for a few hours before fixing them in this test. After a long talk with fashion textiles tutor, I deem these fabric paints in their undiluted forms to be water durable and resistant enough to withstand daily use. I will issue a note with each pair explaining the extent of their durability in order to inform the customers and avoid complaints.

Martin Margiela.

The fashion designer Martin Margiela created a line of shoe which was essentially taking a standard trainer and coating it in emulsion paint. Although my plan is to make much more detailed shoe designs, the fundamentals are the same and the mark up on price he was able to make is admirable.

Inspiration: Jordan Buckley.

Jordan Buckley, the guitarist from Everytime I Die, is also an amazing illustrator and the original inspiration for me to start drawing on shoes. He has also moved onto his own clothing line JBWW where he sells t-shirts, hoodies and shorts with his designs as well as prints and originals of his artwork.

  

http://www.jordanbuckleymadethis.com/

Original shoes.

Here are the designs I made in the summer of 2010. It was originally just to try out hand drawing on 3d objects. They were only done with sharpie pens followed by a fixative spray I bought from schuh. When they got a good reaction off friends I thought about pursuing it further.