Merchandise has been something our avid subscribers have been demanding for a while now, and I have personally looked into it many of times, but I couldn’t find a local supplier that could help create a t-shirt that was both sustainable, affordable and of high calibre.
I don’t want to create a t-shirt that isn’t sustainable and i didn’t want to create something that is of average quality. I get through cheap t-shirts like they are tissues because they simply don’t last, stretch easily or the print starts peeling off.
For months I tried finding a supplier that met my needs, I tested many printing companies, researched printing methods and finally found a small business just 30 minutes from me that could do what I wanted and used a printing technique that is of incredible quality.
The stars have finally aligned, and we can officially announce that our first line of merchandise is here, highly limited and never to be printed again, with only 100 made in collaboration with Sam McKenzie, an incredible artist based in Australia, that has also worked on our physical book series, A Handheld History.
The base t-shirt is made with sustainable organic cotton that’s soft, yet reliable through long wear, and at 220GSM thickness it works well as a summer and a winter t-shirt. It nestles your body nicely due to the weight and can be paired easily with other clothing such as over-shirts, it’s why I didn’t want to add any branding on the front.
The back design was crafted by Sam McKenzie, exclusively for this t-shirt, designs take inspiration from some of the best Game Boy games ever made featuring our iconic Retro Dodo colorway and a dash of green nostalgia.
This isn’t a t-shirt that we simply outsource like many other publications, we’ve made these ourselves, I am personally labelling, packing and shipping them, making sure each customer gets immense value from this t-shirt. I even ordered custom packaging, and custom labels to pair with the t-shirt.
It’s a t-shirt that I designed selfishly for myself, I love it and I know many of you will too. It screams subtle nerd and praises one of the best consoles ever made.
Why Should You Buy One?
Being completely honest, as much as i know it’s an incredible t-shirt made with high quality materials, it’s also a great way to support what we do here at Retro Dodo. Being fully transparent we don’t make much revenue from this, due to the low print quantity. We will make roughly £5 a t-shirt, and that’s without calculating the hours spent labelling, hand numbering each product, packing, driving down to the post office and shipping them across the world.
But that £5 goes a long way, especially considering the awful year we have had with Google making independent publications invisible. It’s something that you can buy that supports us, and gives you something to hold and wear with pride over the coming years.
For those that do snag one, thank you so much, we can’t wait to see you rep it, and we’ll put your £5 to good use, I can promise you that.
