Building a T-shirt Business

Sunday 04th of February 2007 06:37:09 PM

Building a T-shirt Business

Stephen Harvey from Detroit, Michigan, USA, has been creating and selling printed T-Shirts for the last 12 years during the day while working the night shift as a computer support technician. He first sold his creations out of his van to anyone who wanted to buy them, and later at fairs and festivals throughout the mid-west region of the United States. In 2004, he launched his web site and sells his shirts primarily from there.

The T-Shirts are political, humorous, and make statements about American culture without being offensive. The idea for these shirts started when Harvey drew a cartoon of a stick figure sitting unhappily at his desk. He titled the artwork “New Jack Slavery”. Harvey showed the drawing to a co-worker who thought it was funny. That’s when Harvey decided to print the image onto a t-shirt.

Said Harvey about his T-Shirts, “The message has to be political, meaningful, cultural or historical. It's about representing all aspects of the black experience." Harvey also said that the majority of his business comes from those that are over the age of 25 who can appreciate the political humour.

When creating his T-Shirts, Harvey does not use any images that are not licensed. “Malcolm X is the most bootlegged image after Che Guevara. I had some Ray Charles I found out were unlicensed, and I stopped selling them. I'd love to sell Rosa Parks or Coretta Scott King shirts, but their estates are all tied up in litigation,” Harvey said.

With more than 200 t-shirt designs, there are many to choose from on his web site. In addition to these, Harvey has his own collection of T-Shirts. Even though most of the shirts have been sold in the US, some have been sold to international customers over the years.

(c)Daniela Llano, www.sxc.hu