sex sells! well so does crack ...

[NOTE: Transferred from blog.makeitmade.com]

One of the reasons that the makeitmade designs ended up taking the form that they did is because sex sells. But as mentioned by a videogirl in the Vh1 documentary I watched last night (hop videos: sexploitation on the set) - so does crack. So does that make it right?

I thought about this a little today - whether I should feel bad that at the core, my shirts are just about sex. Yes, to me they mean more and I hope they mean more to those who buy them, but the sex part is undeniably used as a hook and is the first thing you notice about the shirts (see: angry old man's reaction in prior post).

After thinking about it I decided I didn't really feel bad. The shirts are fun and they do mean something to me. I'm not telling people to go out and bang as many people as possible (I mean I'm certainly not as daring as the those stick figures). If they want to, that's cool. But the point of the t-shirts (apart from encouraging people to do something with their lives and not be afraid), is just to be a conversation starter - something to laugh about. But even if the shirts were just about sex, sex is a natural thing and I'm not exploiting anyone or promoting something that people should be ashamed of. So yeah. My verdict is that there's nothing wrong with using cartoon sex to make money as long as it's not hurting anyone.

Now to see slightly more questionable use of cartoon sex: Budapest Marketing Campaign

I sold to strangers today!

[NOTE: Transferred from blog.makeitmade.com]

So the goal of weekly update posts was short lived. I also just noticed that someone commented on my prior post - I assume it's my brother since no one else knows about this site, but maybe not. Whoever it was, if you want to add a cart for me just let me know! I'd be game :D

Anyway, today was a turning point in the world of makeitmade. I know, after this past month of silence, it seemed like makeitmade had gone down for the count. But, it's still alive and thumping, and now with more umph than ever!

So what was happened this momentous day? Well, I sold my first shirt to a stranger! And I owe it all to my friend Nikki who really helped me get my act together :) So a big thank you to Nikki who probably won't even know about this blog until a year later!

In all, I only sold 12 shirts today, but it was just a great experience. Most of the people were really nice and it was just encouraging to hear that people liked the shirts. I'm definitely going to try to get out there at least once a week from now until the end of the summer (maybe I can finally make back that initial investment).

Apart from being a great experience in terms of makeitmade land, it was also a great "life" experience (cheesy I know). This was one of those situations where I was so scared to do it and put it off forever - but when I finally did do it, it really wasn't so bad! It was so silly of me to avoid it for so long. Seriously, sometimes you realy need to just go out and do it - and that, again, is the heart of the makeitmade idea ;)

While it was mostly good, I did get lectured by a strange old man. This experience and others memorable ones highlighted below:

Scenario 1

Elderly Man: What is this?

Me: They're t-shirts?

Elderly Man: What is this one them? What are you promoting? Making babies?

Me: Well, they're about doing something with your life?

Elderly Man [scowling]: This is ridiculous

Me [look of panic]: Umm ...

Elderly Man mutters and walks away

Scenario 2:

Woman in her 30s walks by and looks at shirts

Me and Nikki [pouncing]: Would you be interested in some t-shirts?

Woman: I was looking at them and thought they'd be good for my niece and nephew

Me: How old are they?

Woman [walking closer]: They're 4 and 5

Me [slightly awkward]: I don't think these would be appropriate ...

Woman [finally getting a close view, laughing]: Oh my god! No, I don't think they would be

Scenario 3:

Woman sits down next to us and eats a mango. She gives us advice on our pitch because we're not aggressive enough: ... you need to really sell! Talk about how you can dress up the shirt, wear it with jeans and heels for anight out ... oh my god they're banging in the bathroom! I didn't even realize. Oh my god that is hilarious. These are great.