journal

Journal Entry #1 During this year I am doing my senior thesis on T-Shirts used in social commentary. Not only do I need to accumulate research on this topic, I am also using this project to create my own clothing line. Through this process I will be screen printing at a local shop in ambler, pa. So far in my process I have done quite a bit of research but not too much on the production end. I have gone to the shop quite a few times to check on how the shop was coming. Each time I went I received pretty much the same news, that there was a mold problem; this was about a month ago. This mold problem must be eliminated before we start the production of the t-shirts. Recently in the past few days I was down at the shop and was able to see that the machines for screen printing are finally being put in and the mold was mostly gone, but still being eliminated. I also got the chance to have an elongated conversation with man running the entire screen printing part of the shop, this went very well. As it may seem that I am just sitting around waiting for this mold problem to come to an end you are quite extremely mistaken. Other than checking in on the shop I have been doing much, much more to create this clothing line. I have been doing the parts that are not seen or thought of by the public eye, which may not have much experience in the fashion industry. The one huge key to starting a clothing line of any sort would be networking or who you know in the industry. Lately I have been making trips all around Philadelphia to meet with different people on the connections and resources they have and could help me with. I have met both very nice people, who are willing to help a fellow artist, and I have also met people who are not so nice and as they put it, “do not have the time”. It has been and exciting, tough, and hurtful experience. I have met some great people and some people who I may look up to. I have also been put down quite hard and have missed meetings on account it is hard to arrive at the location on time or at all. I have had many difference experiences with people in this short amount of time. I have gone to clothing premiere parties and different stores in Philadelphia, I have had pieces of my artwork hung in a store for sale down on South Street, and I have met famous people in the music industry as well as the fashion industry. I have also met people that are just like me; young and attempting to begin their own type of clothing line. I have collaborated with these young artists trying to help each other get their name out and receive recognition and reference work. As they say, you must start from the bottom to get to the top, and that is exactly what I am doing. Although, I have the ideas and the drive and motive to do this clothing line I am missing one aspect. This would be MONEY. At the moment I have also been doing different things to gain the money to really kick off this line. I have, as I said earlier, put art up in a store on South Street for sale to gain a little bit of what I need. I have not only sold artwork, but have been going around looking for someone to give me a grant or a loan to begin the business, possibly a business loan from the bank or an independent loan from a family member or good friend. So far neither has put forth as much as I would like or need for my business but it’s a start and I will keep pushing on until I reach my goal. I almost forgot I need to mention the most important part of what I have been doing. I have been taking at least an hour a day devoted to working on t-shirt designs. Of course I need the money and the connections but if I get all of that with no designs I will not accomplish much in the end. First of all, I would not have any work to advertise to the people I am meeting with to try to gain loans and connections. I must show them these designs to one let them know what they would be working with, if they think the designs would sell, and if they believe it would be a good market that would make a decent profit. Secondly, I must make these designs to advertise my clothing line and begin to have costumers lined up for when my clothing finally does begin to come out and be put up for sale. Lastly, I need designs solely for the fact of if I do not have designs I will have no clothing line. This journal has been basically just a deed on catching everyone up on what I have been doing with my project so far. Not only is it catching everyone up it is reminding me exactly what I have been doing to keep it up and continue doing these things. Many people that are doing this project are doing it solely to get a good grade and just do this for school. My project is a little more important to me, that I do it right, because this is what I want to do for my career and end up making my living off of. I have a love and passion for art and would like to continue to create more, have my skill increase, and for the world to share the same love for it as I do. I will continue to create many designs and continue to gain many more connections to make this thing work for me.