Episode 131: Fashion Merch on a Mission with Jeremy Picker of Amb3r Creative

Welcome to Skucast, the podcast for entrepreneurs in the promotional products industry. Skucast shines a light on our industry's best work, features maverick personalities, and discusses what's really involved in running a modern promotional products business. Skucast is the official podcast of Common Skew.

I didn't want to let down my clients. Like, I truly loved helping them. And then while I was going through this fight, I, I didn't stop working any less, you know, other than I would have to go through treatment. You know, I'm throwing up and answering emails. But again, it was— I needed something to have hope for.

Jeremy Picker is the creative director and CEO at Amber Creative, a Colorado-based merchandise design firm. Jeremy has over 20 years experience in the fashion industry and has helped launch and grow merchandise for major label brands. He's also passionate about creating retail quality merchandise for the nonprofit sector to fuel fundraising efforts and expand awareness. His client list spans from churches to restaurants to corporations, and he designs apparel for Pod Swag. The merch side of Stitcher and Earwolf, doing work for some of the most popular podcasts today, including Conan O'Brien's, LeVar Burton's, Bill Nye's, and more. He is a cancer survivor and a co-founder of eStain, a high-end accessory line to support cancer education. We talk about all of this today, including the tactile steps in his creative process for designing merchandise. Hi friends, I'm Bobby LeHew, the Chief Content Officer at Commscue. Today's episode is brought to you by Commscue, the platform that powers your connected workflow enabling you to process more orders, dramatically grow your sales. To begin your free trial now, visit commonskew.com. Now here's my conversation with Jeremy Picker, and being one not to shy away from the hard things, we jump right into his story of beating cancer while running a business.

So Jeremy, you've had some major turning points in building your business so far that most people haven't. Not just your typical business challenges, but you had cancer and then had to turn around business in the middle of all of that. Are you willing to share a little bit about that experience?

Yeah, absolutely. I've come to kind of embrace, you know, that story. I used to keep it in and was almost embarrassed about it. But, you know, I think part of who I am and what I've become and kind of what my my passions are, I think, you know, cancer is a part of that. You know, I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me, but, you know, I want to use that story to help others. You know, being a— I'm a stubborn male. You know, back then when I got diagnosed, I knew something was wrong. I didn't have health insurance back then, and I was early in my business, and I was going to get my MBA. So I basically sat in front of a computer 12, 14 hours a day. I just moved to Denver to grow the business with my business partner. And so 7 days a week, I was living a pretty unhealthy lifestyle. Not that that contributed necessarily, but it was just a weird time. And I didn't have friends. I wasn't around my family to say, "Hey, man, something doesn't look right with you. You don't look healthy." And after a while, I knew something was wrong, but it was my mom's birthday, and I was like, I need to go get it checked out. You know, something just sparked up in me. And I went to the emergency room and— or the urgent care, because that was the cheapest of everything. And they looked at me and they're like, something's wrong with you. You need to go to the emergency room. And it was, you know, it was a quick checkup. And they're like, we think you have some sort of cancer. Like, it was— I was thrown off and it was like 2 blocks from the hospital and they're like, you should just go to the emergency room and check yourself in and have them check you out. And so it was like the Green Mile almost. Like I remember coming out of that appointment and walking towards the hospital and was like, what's going on? You know, I think part of my ignorance not going earlier to the doctor was that you know, I didn't know if it was something terminal. I didn't know what I had, you know, and I don't, I don't think I was ready to get a death sentence. So, you know, part of my ignorance kept me from going to get checked out where I could have caught it earlier. So kind of within 2 days I had a CT scan, a PET scan, a biopsy, and within 3 days I found out I had stage 3 lymphoma. And it was crazy, man. It was just, you know, and I had this like kind of lymph node on my neck that ballooned. I looked like Quasimodo. It just got huge just within a few days. And so I, you know, I had my girlfriend at the time, now my wife, fly out. She was living in Arizona. My parents flew out. I basically, within a week, I sold all of my possessions. I moved back to Arizona to go through treatment. So kind of a short backstory, my wife now, she has a PhD in organic chemistry and her specialization was in cancer research and how, you know, sun damage and how the DNA becomes damaged. Anyway, she was working for Ventana Medical Systems down in Tucson, Arizona, and they focused on cancer diagnostics. They created machines and pathology to help with that. So it was— it worked out great. You know, everyone doesn't have this option, but she connected me with their CEO, who is a lymphoma specialist and created some of the medicine that we have today, or the science. And he talked with us, his friend at the Cancer Institute in Tucson, Arizona, is one of the best pathology doctor— or I'm sorry, the doctors that, that help with that. And within a week, I moved to Tucson to— I basically took my biopsies, walked into the cancer center, and like, can you guys see us? And they walked us in, and a week later I started treatment. But within that is, you know, I thought my company was going to shut down. You know, I was— it was all on my back, you know, mainly. I had a business partner, but he had another job, and you know, he was doing more of the high-level stuff and we had a couple employees, but, you know, that was my livelihood. So, you know, amongst what was happening with me physically, I'm like, I couldn't let this die, you know, I spent so much time. So yeah, it was quite a whirlwind and challenge, you know, to really see what I was made of.

Where were you at in your business journey when this happened?

So we were in year 3. My background and my business partner's background was in band merchandise, so I toured with rock bands for 10 years selling merchandise on the road. You know, we played, you know, sold-out venues like the big arenas, and he was on the back end for a merchandise company that would design and manufacture the merch for me on the road. So we just became friends, and after I got off the road, I was working for a company that did R&D for Abercrombie and American Eagle doing appliqué. The sewn-on fabric that used to be popular. It's not as popular anymore, but I was working a low-paying job and, but really passionate about the fabrics and the creative side of the apparel world. And so I went to him to say, hey man, we have this great process. How can we take that to the bands? And then within 3 months, we started our business in 2008 and it was growing every year. We came to a point where we have to grow this. And I was in Arizona, he was out here. And so I moved out here to grow the business. And then I was out here for almost a year and a half to 2 years. And that's when I got sick.

How long ago was this?

So I'm over 5 years in remission. So maybe 6 years now, which is crazy. But yeah, so they usually don't count you out until after that 5-year mark of, you know, the chances of it coming back. But You know, I was, I was blessed to have that support, you know, not only from my friends and family, but the right doctors, having the right network of people that are educated in this to help guide me. You know, I was clueless and, you know, a lot of people don't have that support.

Jeremy, when you go through something like that, you're running a business as an entrepreneur. What have you learned about that experience for folks that might be going through, maybe they're not going through cancer, but maybe they're going through significant challenge in their own journey right now. What did you learn about going through that and balancing the business, balancing your health, and then coming back?

You know, the word resilience has kind of been in my DNA. I don't know. I got it from my dad, super hard worker, you know, and just, you know, I think being passionate about what you do helped with that. A lot of people don't like their jobs. And so things like that can just sweep the rug from under you and you don't recover from that. So I think the mental part was the biggest thing that I took out of it, that, all right, now that I know— I knew something was wrong. And every time I looked in the mirror, there's just these bad thoughts and negative thoughts and it just compounds. But then once I found out, it was like, All right, now you know, right? Now you can deal with it. Now you can, right? Yeah, yeah. Put your focus on that. And so I think it was like a multi-fight or a double fight. I was fighting to save my business and keep that going because I'm a, I'm a people pleaser. And, you know, I, I feel like I'm a, a servant leader type of approach to— I didn't want to let down my clients. Like, I truly loved helping them. And then while I was going through this fight, I I didn't stop working any less, you know, other than I would have to go through treatment. You know, I'm throwing up and answering emails. But again, it was— I needed something to have hope for. You know, I don't want to give up. You know, it still hits my heart because it was just super emotional. And so sorry, Bubby.

No, don't apologize.

Let me take a water real quick.

Yeah, sure, man.

You know, just keeping that, that, that positivity, you know, it sounds a little foo-foo or cliché, but in the cancer center, I saw people who gave up hope and I did it.

Well, I know what you've gone through and what's astounding and surprising for folks that are going to go there, they're going through a challenge like that, is that work can become a very galvanizing force for you. It can give you a hyperfocus. It's very difficult because you're carrying on two battles at the same time. You're, you know, you're trying to grow a business, particularly as an entrepreneur where you feel like everything's on your shoulders. But then, then you're also just managing, you know, your own survival and your own mindset and everything else. But it sounds like that's really shaped— you mentioned the word resilient, but it sounds like it's really shaped who you are. Now on the other side of this?

Yeah, you know, I think I don't take myself as serious anymore, you know? I mean, right, life is precious, and I used to take everything so personal, you know? I would— I mean, you're— when you're an entrepreneur and the business is yours, it's hard to detach from it. But, you know, I would be up at night like, oh, did I send that PO right, or is the print good or is the customer going to like that? And I used to, I used to, it used to eat at me. But, you know, I think after that I really learned how to, you know, it's not the end of the world. Everything can be solved. You know, if you either, and this was, you know, you could either eat the project, you know, lose a lot of money or lose a customer. And, you know, I think I'm just like, approach it. It's just a problem. It's, it's going to, it's not the end of the world.

Yeah, it sounds like what it really did for you was put real problems in context.

Yeah. And they're not real problems, you know, that I mean, right? Yeah, there's, there's people have it way worse than, you know, us missing an in-hand date for sure.

Let's talk a little bit about the business. I know one of your passions is about intelligent design and creative merchandising, and you've got such— folks should follow you on, on Twitter, by the way. Tell us your Twitter handle again, Jeremy.

J.W. Picker. J.W.P.I.C.K.E.R.

Okay. You have been sharing a lot of intelligent comments on Twitter, and that's how I connected with you and wanted to interview you. But you're passionate. You're very passionate about creative design, intelligent design, fashion-forward concepts. But let's back up a step before we get into it. Let me ask you this. What type of clients are you serving now? What kind of clients do you love working for?

So my biggest clients are religious organizations and then food and beverage companies and then tech companies, nonprofits, and small brands mixed in there. My true passion would be nonprofits. I don't— it's a tough industry because, you know, in a lot of ways frugality is praised and people don't necessarily see the value of branded merchandise. And so I have— I'm never going to give up on that. But like, my goal would be to help the biggest nonprofits create a branded merchandise, you know, kind of program that not only helps with fundraising but builds awareness and is something people are proud to wear instead of just corporate logo drops, which a lot of the big nonprofits do. So I'm very opinionated about that. But, you know, religious organizations— my dad is a pastor, or He's retired now, but I grew up in the church. And so like the passion that, you know, I grew up with my dad not making a ton of money being a pastor. And then now, you know, all the, all the megachurches and the large organizations, you know, the bigger the platform, I feel like I have my, my value shines more. Everyone probably says that, but, you know, I, on the design side and the curation and the creative development. Bigger the platform, you know, it really helps my customers grow.

It sounds like you value those kinds of clients that have a mission, whether it's through religion or through humanities, of giving. And, and it sounds like that's, that's kind of what fires you up.

Yeah. And, you know, for me, at the end of the day, I want to help everyone make better merchandise. You know, I've realized I can't service everyone, so how can I help people even in our industry think about what they're doing a little more, you know, not just slapping the logo, not just being an order taker. And so, you know, I used to want to keep all this to myself and, oh, I can't let my competitors know about this, they might take it. But as maturity has come and, you know, being in business, man, it's why not? My, my mission is to help people create better merchandise and to use it to extend their brand or fundraiser, you know, help their mission. So Why not help the public and our industry at the same time?

That's cool. Can you tell us a little bit about— let's get a glimpse of some of the projects you work on. Tell me about a favorite project that you've done just so folks can get an idea.

Yeah. So one of my recent clients would be podswag.com, and they are the merchandise side of Stitcher and Earwolf and being on the podcast. You know, like, I never liked podcasts. I think a lot of it was just listening to people's small talk, I guess. I'm like, I don't have time for that. So I kind of stayed away and just would listen to more keynotes and, you know, business development audiobooks and stuff. But once I started working with this customer, you know, I started listening to podcasts more. And now I find myself doing it from 8 to 12, usually every day. And just really, understanding the whole podcast thing. And so anyways, Pod Swag, they manage the merchandise for some of the biggest podcasts— Conan, True Crime Garage, The Office Ladies. And so the, the first project we had was Conan Needs a Friend podcast. And so, you know, I like to do market research, so listening to the podcast, and I found myself just laughing out loud in my office. My employees probably thought I was Crazy, but it was, it was just super funny, his, his first few podcasts. And so, you know, doing that research, and then we like to put pitches together. So they had some artwork that we needed to work with, but then what are products that would resonate with the listener and the fan of Conan? And so instead of just giving them the catalog and say, what do you like, we put a 5 to 6 page pitch together for them, everything from apparel, the headwear, you know, to accessories and drinkware, and taking that fun of Conan and trying to bring it into the merchandise. So, you know, we designed a shirt that was Conan with like a thumbs up wearing his own t-shirt, wearing his own t-shirt. So it was kind of like, you know, looking into the mirror and you see yourself hundreds of times and, you know, just being light of it, you know, Conan doesn't take himself serious, so his merchandise should reflect that. And so that's been something really fun just because we get to be super creative. You know, sometimes we have to work with, you know, the talent's designs, but we take that and actually make it good for the medium. You know, not, not every design is, is right for a keychain or a water bottle. So taking those elements and creating something that as a fan, I know fans would like.

Yeah, that's cool. It sounds like with your background in band merch, you already had a very good handle on making an emotional connection through merchandise because that's all that band merch is, is an emotional connection through merchandise. How have you learned to parlay that into even just corporate clients? What kind of process do you guys go through? Can you share a little bit about the ideation side and the creative side? Of the process and anything you've learned along the way?

Yeah, sure. So, you know, my part of the philosophy is that your logo is a foundation of merchandise, but the lifestyle, you know, the what you represent, what your mission is, what problem you solve is the why people are going to use and wear their merchandise. So most people don't have the brand equity of the Nikes, the Under Armors, the North Face, Patagonia. You know, your logo means something to the 95 if not 98% of companies out there, it's just another logo and we've become desensitized to it. So we really try to, to dive into the end and work backwards. How are you going to sell it? What is it for? What is your ultimate goal? A lot of people are like, well, to make a t-shirt of our brand. But I'm like, well, no one needs another t-shirt, you know, no one. All because they like your product doesn't mean they want to be a billboard for you. So really, asking those questions and make people think of why are you creating merchandise. And it goes into the nonprofit side of why are you making t-shirts, you know, why are you spending your, your donor dollars to that. And a lot of that is if you're not going to do it right, keep your, keep your money really, because if you don't make a good product and it gets donated to Goodwill, they're going to profit off your t-shirt and you have no brand equity. And so that cost per impression type of thing that I really like to work that out at the beginning. You know, I don't ask the budget just so I can fill it. I want to know, you know, is, is your budget going to get to your goal? You know, and so finding, finding out what that end goal is, where do you see the merchandise? Is it a merchandise line? Is it an item? Is it to give, you know, someone wants to download your software, like really finding out the whys of those things. And then that helps us come up with the ideation. So the line plan, we call it, is the product mix. We come up with, you know, the silhouettes of the products before anything, you know, we don't know what the design is, we don't know what the colors, we don't know the specs, but do you see yourself, you know, 2 t-shirts, a hoodie, a hat, a drinkware, a journal, you know, earplugs. And so we want to come with that product mix, and then we come up with the color story. What are your brand colors that, you know, that you have to abide by a lot of times? But then we like to pull in what are the seasonal colors and the trending colors that everyone is seeing at the mall, online. Like, there's that cohesiveness throughout even housewares and Target and Walmart, Nordstrom's. There's, there's that cohesiveness. How can we pull in some of the trending colors into that. You know, some companies just want their colors, which is fine, but we want them to look beyond just— it's not just a t-shirt, it's an extension of your brand. And so we come up with that color story and then the, the kind of whole vibe of, of who your audience is. What is your core demographic? You know, is it outdoors? Is it, you know, preppy South? Is it grandmas and grandpas. So really finding out and asking those questions, because a lot of times they just, okay, here's the designs, put it on a shirt, and, you know, we'll do that all day long. But for those customers that warrant, you know, have the, have the volume and have the platform, we really want to dive deep and let's plan before we get to anything. And one thing I learned from the band industry, it's completely opposite. It's let's get a bunch of designers to put a bunch of spec designs together and we'll pick the ones that we like. And it's such a backwards way of doing things. You know, people in the fashion world, there's a lot of forecasting and planning. And in the band world, it's not like that. It's just, you know, I like it when I see it, which is not going to get you the best product. And so that ideation is before we, before we touch a design or a mockup, we do that research and really find out the core goal of that project. And then that helps us in the products I bought, you know, I grab because a lot of times I'll do, you know, go to all of our suppliers and bring the blanks and the styles that I think will work. And then I pass it to my art director and then he sees my vision and then makes it come to life with the design, whether it's original or trying to work with their brand marks.

I love this. Often we misname ourselves. We are not distributors. We are professional curators, professional stylists. And that's what we do for our brands. That's what we do best. We know our clients better than anyone else, and we know the business better than anyone else. And when we bridge that, we become those professional stylists and those professional curators. And I think we need to own that. We need to own that in our language. We need to own that in our attitude like you've done. But I want to step back and go back to the steps that you have. I think I wrote these down. Maybe, right? That first thing, I didn't catch the name, but it was like a silhouette series or the product mix that you first come up with.

Yeah, the product mix. So like, what items do you see in your merchandise line? And you know, it's going to be different for a tech company than a restaurant, but really let's, let's look at the end again, because that's going to affect budget instead of let's start with a t-shirt and they're like, oh, let's add this and this. And then it gets out of hand.

And what I loved about that was that often folks will come to you and to distributors with a particular product in mind already. And what you're doing when they come back and say, hey, we want a t-shirt, when you come back with a product mix, not only are you expanding their imagination in terms of what's possible, but you're actually growing your sales opportunities by saying, let's look at this entire product mix that we could consider. I love the silhouette idea because right now you're not getting carried away and getting the client lost into choosing which product they want. Right now you're just getting them to channel their creativity through these particular items. Then you said color story, trend seasonal, who your audience is, and the why. And the why, the why is sort of baked into your whole process. But I love that. So you have the silhouette, product mix, color story, trend seasonal, who your audience is. The other thing I love about this too is when you get this purposeful with what you do, Jeremy, you're fighting that brand fill that I noticed you recently talked about that Jamie and a few others were talking about online, right?

I liked it.

You're battling that brand fill without even being, quote unquote, a sustainable company, you have a sustainable attitude and a purpose-driven attitude. Anytime any of us in this business get into that kind of purpose on behalf of our clients, we are becoming a sustainable industry by doing so.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, you know, there sometimes that sustainability, you know, they think, oh, organic, eco, recycled. Well, that's one aspect, but the, the, the shelf life, you know, Patagonia they create a great jacket so you don't have to buy another jacket, you know, for the next 15 years. And so how can you help that shelf life of the water bottle, of the shirt, of the jacket go from being a uniform or just a giveaway to something that people would pay a lot of money for, you know, and will use it? 'Cause again, selling a product or people getting that product is one thing,. But again, what's the goal? Apparel is meant to be worn, drinkware is meant to be used. And yeah, you might have that financial exchange, but you want that brand equity. You want people to use that in a public space, in a social setting to strengthen your brand. And so a lot of people don't know that last, the why. They don't know why they're creating merchandise or they, they don't have enough experience or no one has helped them in the past. Find that out. It's just, yes, we can do it. You know, the supply is not anyone's problem. You can go online, there's thousands of screen printers, there's thousands of promotional products. Getting a product made is not the problem. Creating the demand for it is the problem in my eyes. And so that's what I want to focus on, is, is no one needs another t-shirt, so why will they wear yours over the ones that they bought at the mall?

Yeah, and immediately with that attitude, you lift yourself above the product purveyors and become the consultant without even without even realizing, without even bearing the heavy mantle of being a consultant, you just care. You like give a shit about what they're going to do. And I love what Mark Graham says about this. He says, you know, you have an opinion about your customers and their merchandise and what they should do. And that alone gives you some expertise. And they should have an opinion. So I love that. I love how you do that. Jeremy, tell me about your most complicated but successful project you've worked on.

Yeah, it was one of those things that you say yes before you know how to do it or get it done. Right. There was a client that I was working on for a couple years. You know, we would reach out, we would send them information, send them samples, but we were never able to get to the decision maker. And one time, one of my employees sent them a cold, another cold email with maybe a trend report or, you know, some of the recent projects we did, and it got to the right person.. And we got connected, you know, to have a video conference and to talk about helping them with their merchandise. And again, the religious organizations, we, we work with some of the biggest churches. And so that built credibility with this particular church. And so they're called New Spring Church out of North Carolina. They have like 13 different campuses and they had a program every year that they gave away 50,000 shirts. To everyone in their congregation. And it was one of the biggest spins that they did as far as their promotions. And on this call, I didn't even know about that. They're like, yeah, we were looking to make 50,000 shirts. And my heart sank. I was like, yeah, I need this. And so, you know, at that quantity, most people bid out, or a lot of people, you know, bid out to try to find the lowest cost, you know, when you're, when you're not selling them and giving those away. And I went around to, you know, connections in the industry. You know, I had no idea how to even start that, you know, because $50,000, a couple pennies makes a lot of difference. And so the way I approach it, instead of just screen printing their shirt, in the past I pitched other things that would bring more value to make it a little more retail ready. So everything from infants to adults, and they had 13 different locations. And so they— I quoted them, they ended up going with us and trying to— it was 50,000 cut and sew pieces. So they wanted a custom color back then from American Apparel. So we had to— they had to make, you know, new color and fabrics for certain silhouettes.. And so that was one aspect of it. And then we needed woven clip labels, and I've never made that many in my life. And it was like urgent because American Apparel was like, we have to have these in 4 days or we can't meet your in-hand date because they wanted to sew them on, you know, in line with the garments. And so through someone connecting me with someone, and this guy rushed 50,000 clip labels, and then having— they wanted custom packaging. So Alibaba— I, I knew nothing of Alibaba at that time, and I know it's super risky, but I'm like, I need to get it done. And again, that's— I don't— I don't— I didn't learn to say no. Like, now I'm learning, like, I don't overshoot. But again, I want to figure it out. I, I'm good at sourcing, I'm good at finding manufacturers. So it was a challenge, and, you know, an expensive challenge, but found someone on Alibaba. They had some great examples. We got 50,000 custom polymailers full bleed made. And then the print shop I was working with, they were small, they only had 2 automatics, but it was a friend of my brother's and I trusted him. And so he gave me a quote and I already quoted them on another printer, but that other printer couldn't do it in the time frame that I needed. And so there was, you know, I already lost a lot of money as far— a lot of profit, I should say, because I didn't nail that down before I accepted the project. But again, it was a big enough project that, you know, I still made good money, but it, you know, it cut into it. And, you know, trying to— I was working with 7 different factories basically at once while running the company, while working with other customers. And so You know, it was very stressful, but again, I was just working day and night because, you know, you only get these type of opportunities very once in a while. And so I wasn't, you know, this was that kind of catalyst to help, you know, take my company to the next level. And so a week before the order needed to ship, I called the print shop and they're like, no, we haven't even started. We got backed up. And I'm like, what? Like you, not only have to print 50,000, you have 8 different screen sizes for, again, infants, toddlers, youth, adult, and you have to fold them, you have to bag them, you have to sticker them, you have to put them on 13 different pallets. And I'm like, how did you not start already? So the printer ends up outsourcing to one of the biggest shops in LA and they printed 50,000 shirts, folded, polybagged, packaged in 2 days. It was insane, you know? And again, if the customer hears this now, they'll know, but you know, I take on that stress so my customer, they get it. They didn't have to ever worry. I never was like, we're not gonna make it. You know, I remained optimistic and I went, I flew out there as they were kind of organizing. Me and my wife were, we went through every box, we made sure the inventory, 'cause again, it was 12 different SKUs for each location. So, you know, logistically it was a nightmare that I never had to deal with. And so we went out there, we counted every box. I spent basically 2 days, night and day in the heat of Southern California, which isn't horrible, but you know, it was the heat nonetheless. And we rented a whole semi-truck and loaded 23 pallets, I think. I think I said 13 earlier, but 23 pallets. And the driver went directly, dropped it off at all 13 locations. We were— the numbers after they counted in, they counted in 3, 3 or 4 times and they got wrong numbers. And I'm like, I counted that. I know the numbers are right. They recounted it. And in total, we were off 14 units from that $50,000. And the cool thing is, is that day, you know, they, they promoted come to church that day and you're going to get a free t-shirt. And it— the, the design that said I heart my church, and then the clip label was a hashtag that they wanted to use for this, this campaign. And within one day, there was 23,000 hashtags used on social media, you know, of people taking pictures and the whole event and just that, that social or that, that social, you know, extension of it's not just a t-shirt. You can probably go somewhere in North Carolina today and still see those shirts because they, they didn't want to go cheap Gildan. Sorry if you're sponsored by that, but like they wanted a nice premium shirt. But I guess Gildan owns American Apparel now, so it's okay. But they wanted to, you know, it was the poly cotton, really super soft. It was a premium shirt that looked retail ready, inside neck tags and everything. And, you know, it wasn't just stopping at the t-shirt. I continued to help, you know, engage on social media and promote, you know, people that are wearing the pictures and having these conversations all around the t-shirt. So that was the most complicated but successful project I ever had. What a project.

Give me an example of— this is obviously qualified, but give me an example of some of the work you're most proud of?

Yeah, so again, kind of goes back to the, the social impact side, but there's an organization called the End It Movement, and their goal is to shine a light on human trafficking and modern-day slavery. They were able to get a lot of celebrities and a lot of politicians to wear the merchandise, so we printed the shirts, we did the hats, and then some accessories. And so, you know, having that passion for the cause and then utilizing, you know, that these t-shirts could save lives, you know, in bringing that awareness, they weren't a nonprofit, but they gave all their profits to, I think, 8 different nonprofits that were actively, you know, involved in that area, I should say. And so seeing, you know, all these celebrities wearing the shirts that we helped create was, you know, not only awesome, but knowing what's behind it, you know, having these, you know, high-profile people wearing the shirt and using their social media that they can create so much more buzz than any, you know, organization could. And so seeing that partnership and then within that, they're like, Jeremy, do you do fulfillment and warehousing? And I'm like, yeah. And so in 2 days I had to download ShipStation, learn how to connect to Shopify, how to batch orders. I probably spent 10 to 15 hours batching orders that didn't get corrected. And I mean, it was a mess behind the scenes. You know, there was a lot of learning to it.. But again, that social media buzz that, you know, there was probably 10,000, 15,000 hashtags again using End It, people writing X's on their hands and taking a picture and just again shining a light while a lot of people were skeptical, like, what is it really doing? Awareness is the start of creating change. So it kind of says the philosophy I've always had about how merchandise can do good and help nonprofits fundraise and bring awareness. This was that culmination of proof of concept type of thing. And, you know, I'm not the originator of it, but that's kind of my route in this industry and what I eventually want to do more of. But it was so awesome that, you know, that they would say these organizations actually saved people from slavery in other countries and even domestically. And, you know, it was— it's kind of a taboo, you know, people didn't really want to talk about it. But Ashton Kutcher has since, you know, invested in a tech company that is fighting, you know, the dark web to, to, to help people come out of it. You know, some, some of it's chosen, but a lot of it's forced. And so again, without awareness, people can't know what's going on and can't help create change. Yeah.

What's on your desk right now? What projects are top of the desk or whatever you're doing with your organization?

Just what's on your desk right now? Yeah, so the whole podcast, you know, there's new podcasts coming out all the time. And again, that is really fun because it's every personality is different. And so we got to do LeVar Burton reads, you know, I grew up on Reading Rainbow and then Star Trek and then us creating merchandise for him, you know, that he reads sci-fi on his podcast was super fun. We just got done doing Bill Nye the Science Guy, his podcast, Science Rules. And so again, they didn't have a ton of brand marks, so they relied on our creativity. And so we did, you know, a coffee mug that looked like a beaker and a shirt that looked like a chalkboard writing of some of his his work. And so, you know, these are guys that I grew up in, you know, my wife is a scientist and so she was influenced by him. And then just being able to do those type of things, like it really not only allows us to be creative, but also again, it's, I mean, it shows that these level of organizations trust me. And so it opens us up to other clients that, you know, we're small, we're not, you know, we don't have a ton of software. We're not these big, you know, 50-person agencies were literally 4 or 5 people that are super creative and super passionate, you know. And the podcast thing has been really fun. And then, you know, I work with some disaster relief organizations, and, you know, the disaster relief thing is really weird, you know. It's like you don't need it until you need it type of thing. But, you know, being able to arm these organizations with merchandise that not only, you know, creates community for them, but when they're out helping people, you know, they see those t-shirts and they're like, those people are here to help us type of thing. And so those are kind of the, the big things right now that I'm really enjoying. Again, the creative side— we're a design firm first. Not all of our clients, you know, utilize our design work, but when we get to design and do the creative development, you know, that's, that's That's the fulfillment in my book.

Yeah. Jeremy, you know, as far as that small versus big companies, and I know you know this because you've been through a pretty hard lesson in learning it, and that is that really successful businesses are about building the business and the career that you want and love. And it sounds to me like you have pivoted your business toward the type of companies that you want to serve, toward the type of work that brings you inspiration and brings you fulfillment. And back of it all, you've got this journey that has allowed to put most things in perspective. So kudos to you, man, for your resilience, to go back to your word, for sticking with it, and for showing us all, you know, how passion can be lived out.

Yeah, I mean, being passionate about what you do is, is a big part, you know. Obviously not everyone in our industry is in love with apparel or fabrics or, you know, products. It's just another job. They're creating widgets, which, you know, is fine for some people, but for those that are really trying to grow, you know, apparel is more than a widget. It's meant to be worn, and products are meant to be used. So really, you know, why are you doing what you're doing? Again, some people might want to be in their lane, but, you know, I, I couldn't enjoy doing what I'm doing, especially with, you know, the heat of, of how fast our industry moves and the slim margins, you know, it's painful at times. And so, you know, my passion is the fashion and the creativity. You know, I have a side business with my wife that is, you know, we're doing luxury scarves and ties made in Italy, you know, to bring cancer awareness. And so like my hobbies are fashion. You know, Pinterest is what I do in my spare time when I'm not playing old man soccer. Hey, you know, I don't, I don't have, I don't play golf or anything, but I, I'm doing what I love. So I think that's what helps me push through all of this because it's a grind. And I, my innate skills is not to run a company, you know, run, having employees, that's difficult, managing the finances and all of that. That's not my strengths. And I've learned that because, you know, when me and my partner parted ways, I had to take that on.. But that creative development, you know, now that I'm trying to get more social on LinkedIn and Twitter and, and getting my voice out there again, it helps me tell myself that what I'm doing and where I'm going, you know, has merit. And, you know, even if no one listens, you know, I know it still encourages me and helps me, you know, enjoy what I'm doing every day. And, you know, it's, it's a fun industry and it's oversaturated, but again, how do you How do you bring value and how do you differentiate from everyone else out there? And I think that's the constant challenge.

You're right. And it may be oversaturated, but that's where you can brilliantly shine in an oversaturated market when you get purpose— as purpose-driven as you have.

What's the scarf tie business?

Do you want to share that? Yeah, I'd love to. You know, my mom is a seamstress. I learned how to sew and create garments before I knew how to swing a hammer. You know, growing up, the manly thing to do, or being able to do physical labor. I knew how to, you know, do a blind stitch and, you know, knew how to work a sewing machine. But, you know, I always had it in me. Like, I, I wanted to be an engineer, but after Calculus 2, I said no more. And my brother got me into the whole apparel world. You know, I've been around it since junior high. I'm going to manufacturers, selling t-shirts, and then When I was going through my treatment, my wife was a dye chemist, so she would come up with these dyes that pathologists use in biopsies to determine, you know, do you have cancer? What type of cancer? You know, other diseases do it too. But, you know, she was cancer-focused. And as she was looking through the microscope, these colors, the dyes that they were creating, would be a different color for the cytoplasm. It would be a different color for the fat cells. It would be a different color for the— if there was cancerous cells. And so she would look through the microscope and like, this is beautiful. Like, it's a sinister beauty, but it's like these colors are, you know, you can't even replicate this almost, you know, with Photoshop. It's just in nature. And so she was like, these would look awesome on shoes and fabrics. And so she came to me with the idea and I was like, that's brilliant. You know, me being a— I was about to say a sourcer— me being good at sourcing and in fashion and fabrics, I was like, we could totally produce this on fabrics and garments. And so we did a fashion fundraiser for the company she was working with. We raised $250,000 in one night. And it was all centered around these, these histological stains, not only for the fashion designers, but for artists too. What do you see in this and how can you relate it to, you know, the whole process of cancer? You know, some people it's very dark, but for me, the light, the hope of it was fine detecting it. I've had friends that died of cancer within a year because they didn't go to the doctor. It was too long, you know. Modern medicine's awesome, but if you— if it's too late, it's too late. And so, you know, I went from that, that science and medical to awareness and early detection. And so from that, she quit her corporate job and she was going to Wharton to get her MBA at the time. And we took a vacation to Italy and we're like, let's go find some manufacturers. And we knocked on the doors, we, we did some deep dive research and found one of the, the biggest manufacturers, uh, for silk and cashmere fabrics. And so we're like, there's not a lot of luxury goods that are solely focused on giving back. You know, there's Ralph Lauren and a lot of the other brands, they have, you know, a pink line or they'll give back during October, but it's like we wanted to bring that luxury fashion to the nonprofit world, and we didn't want to be a nonprofit because we felt like we could give more by being a for-profit, for-purpose company. And so we went to the manufacturer and we made a line of ties and scarves and pocket squares, you know, ranging from $150 to $400, going that luxury route and creating these patterns that are from those histological stains. What is the company name? It's called Estaine, e-s-t-a-i-n-e.com. And we put it on the shelf for a little bit just because we got a ton of press, but press doesn't equate to sales. And so being a small business, we were doing well. And so my wife came to work for me for a while, and then we would just, you know, give back. We'd go to these galas. But we just returned from vacation in Italy and got re-energized because we really are passionate about it. And, you know, her cancer diagnostics work, my fashion work, this is like the perfect culmination of a, a brand story. And, you know, we've gotten great reception. We won a Kickstarter pitch back in, back in the day when we started it, and people love it and they love us, you know, with that, that story. And so we— that is something that I do on the side that I want to grow more, that How do we give back and, you know, help people discover and talk about it and build a conversation and not be so scared of it? You know, it's— yes, there's death, but there's life in finding out and attacking it and, you know, choosing to fight it head on. Right.

And the more you know about it, the better. This is a beautiful site. This is— by the way, I want that Zeal scarf when it's back in stock. I might know a few dandies who could really use this site. So I'll forward this along. We're going to publish this. Obviously, I hope folks go there and visit. I noticed that you can select which beneficiary you want when you buy a scarf from there. So you could select breastcancer.org and Lymphoma and Leukemia Society. This is beautiful work, man. I just, I wish you the, the best. Um, let us know, let me know if there's anything I can ever do for you, but I've really enjoyed talking with you. And, uh, I know this will not be our last conversation, but thanks for joining us today, Jeremy.

Thank you, Bobby. I'm, I'm honored to have, uh, be on your podcast and Thanks to Common Skew and SkewCast, you know, for, you know, seeing something in me and asking me, you know, the— asking me the questions that I'm passionate about.

So appreciate it.

Thanks so much for tuning in to this episode of SkewCast. Be sure to keep up with our latest content by subscribing to SkewCast on iTunes or to our blog at community.commonskew.com. Until next time, friends, thanks so much for listening.