dearest community,

It brings me immense sorrow to inform you of honeyboy's death. After an arduous battle against cancer and heart disease, Niko passed away in his sleep, early yesterday evening (23May).

On behalf of his family, loved ones and myself.. I thank you and all of hitrecord for the continued inspiration, light and love that you have shared with him.

lovingly yours, inky

With a serene smile upon his face,

He waited for the fire's embrace.

RE:GARDING WOMEN'S FASHION

I come to you as a once small business owner that was working directly with consumers to make clothes custom for them and as someone who currently works in the fashion industry.

TO WHOM THIS MAY CONCERN: Graphic designers currently working on the summer collection, Marke & The Made Shop

The Problem: Currently all of the hitrecord clothing items that are available in the record store are "unisex". This means a' standard fit' or a fit that men wear that women also wear, when they don't mind fit.

--Financially: Women tend to only buy tees that are unisex when A: they have a specific meaning to them or B: at a low cost for wardrobe flexibility (under a dress shirt, at the gym, etc...)

This would be fine if our market was just to Hitrecorders, but the store is open to any and all, so we should be selling to any and all.

I would also argue, that our fanbase being primarily Girls and Young women, it would be monetarily rewarding to focus on this market for the summer collection. That is not elminating guys shirts all together, but  adding another section of shirts that are tailored towards women.

--Aesthetically: None of the current tees think about breast placement on women. Either the graphics are smack dab in the middle of your cleavage which can make a women look wider rather than smaller, or another set of shirts fall across the midsection, which if you think about how girls wear tee shirts, bottom placement isn't the most practical.

The best way to make a shirt is to think about it on a curvy woman with a large bust or YOUR MOTHER. Where will this fall on her bust? Are there circles where the nipples might fall? Does the graphic soley fall across the biggest part of her bossom? These are things to avoid.

THE SUGGESTIONS:

STATEMENT TEES: A line of tee's that speaks upon one single idea in a few different ways across the entire tee

ONE EXAMPLE: Dealing with the ongoing I AM collaboration would be to have shirts saying I AM A REMIXER, I AM A SINGER, I AM AN EDITOR, I AM A WRITER.  Clear concise phrases that allude to the way hitrecord works, but that let people get a sense of ownership over their choices. -- This could be done in a bold unique font, in a few different colors.

BENEFITS: a video editor sees their hitrecord friend with their tee at work, they say "where did you get that I want it" hitrecorder tells them. Not only have we increased traffic to our site by promoting a broader idea of what it is to be an artist, but its something that they get to be part of, which might encourage them to take the step into our little community.

GRAPHIC PATTERN TEES: We have many unused patterns on this site, carrying that pattern using Marke's color guidlines, onto a TEE as a PRINT would be stylish and practical.

BENEFITS: Women tend to be very scared of prints in dresses, sweaters, and pants.  Not tees. Graphic patterns on tees are a way of spicing up an outfit, but having the option to play it down ( with a cardigan or a jacket). Having a few different shirts like this, in appealing prints  would also allow the consumer choices.  Giving them to option to buy 1 or 2 or more different patterned shirts to add to their wardrobe would more likely add to the amount of shirts they added to their check out bin. Also you get that word of mouth factor, a woman goes to work wearing her tee under a cute cardigan. Her friend asks where she got it, she's been looking for something like that, and she's never seen a print like that before... you get the idea.

A MORE DIVERSIFIED TEMPLATE FOLDER:

Tees are great, but even so there are many working women that are not really allowed to wear teeshirts to work, so they don't really get seen.

There are a number of options.

Body suits: Leotards with long sleeves, that could have a simple emblem or an extravagent pattern.

Tank tops: Women today are always looking for that pefect tank top, let's give it to them. Not a work out tank or a thick undershirt tank, but a quality cotton tank top with a swooping neckline, that is loose enough to flatter any figure. Also tank tops can be sold year round, worn under a cardigan or a (HR) hoodie.

Crop Tops: HUGE FASHION TREND. And there are never enough good ones anywhere. You always see the same ones everywhere. Lets diversify the market.

Sunglasses: Accessories are an excellent add-on at the check out bin, because of their cost points. "already spending 70, what's another 15?"

FURTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR MEN/UNISEX FASHION:

SNAP BACKs: When creating a hat design, think of who you want to wear this hat, will they be taken seriously? Will they get asked "what does that mean?" or will people just think its cool?

JERSEYS: A LIMITIED EDITION HITRECORD JERSEY. 80-100$ a pop. Instead of a number on the back it has a red dot. and the front is something generic so that anyone could buy it, but the colors are unique, so thats what makes it special.

HOODIES: YOU CAN DO ANYTHING WITH A HOODIE BACK!!! literally.

SOCKS: SIMPLE, and a low enough price point for another last minute add on.

BANDANAS: EASY !!! and could be at a very low price point depending on graphic design.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT:

Hitrecord's clothing line should relect our community without being to blatant. This time around we should avoid advertising hitrecord as a brand and focus on advertising our art. Keeping it simple and incorporating the REC symbol or the lovely emblem that was recently featured called "HitRECORD HEART LOGO" are ways to share our brand without being in everyones face. As I've said, its better to get more items in that cart, and why oh why, (unless you are joe) do you need 1 or more shirts that say "hitrecord" on them?

Fashion is an art form. Think about how your prospective buyer will incorporate the item in their wardrobe. What can be worn with it and what cannot? What colors look great on everyone? And which don't? Would you wear it if you weren't a hitrecorder? If you saw it on someone else (without previous knowledge of hitrecord) would you look twice?

FIGURES: MOST everyone is not stick thin, so think about placement of the graphics and if it will look weird if they stretched sideways, if the item fits snug.

COLOR TRENDS: Some might think they are too cool for this, but it is good to look at what other stores are pushing out right now. So check out a few websites from your favorite stores and take note the colors they are using. Staying on trend is more marketable.

RAISING COSTS TO FIT PRODUCTION: If our shirts are cooler, we can charge more money for them, which gives us the ability to screen more uniquely and with more variety.

ENVIRONMENTAL: A suggestion would also be to have a line focused on organic cotton shirts or a tote bag. Completely overhauling the quality to something of higher quality that is also good for the environment would be a great selling point as well. These are some ideas to think about in the future.

THE GOAL: If we broadened our consumer market, not only would we direct new traffic to our site, but we would greatly increase revenue for the site. This would mean more artists getting paid, and hitrecord being able to use that money to create live events and create production opportunities.

Thank you for your time,

Marcelle

 Ps ideas: TINY STORY tees, kids tees, bad advice tees,

PS NOTE ON SELLING: with all the great BAD ADVICE tanks I propose you offer a 3 tank package for a discounted rate.  if the tanks were sold for 18 a piece, than the 3-pack would be offered for 49$==would be a way to boost cart sales.