Hey friends of Barrel Maker! We want to start introducing you to some of the rockstar clients we’ve gotten to work with since we opened our shop door. We hope they’ll give you insight on how to start your own line, how to form lasting relationships with printers, or even just show you who to get in contact with to get your hands on some really cool shirts. Our first client spotlight is Kate Rostan, founder of From Phoenix With Love. We’ve been working with Kate since 2013, and in that time she’s put in nearly 150 orders with us. We do fulfillment and shipping for most of her online orders as well, and she has a nice little wall of merch in our warehouse.
Another reason why we love Kate because she was one of our first regular clients to adopt the Allmade brand apparel that we helped create, that supports locals in Haiti. Our team has a habit of wearing her designs at the shop sometimes too for pics – we clearly like them a lot. They’re fun, witty, and a total breeze to print at usually one or two colors. They also sell like hotcakes. Kate has done an amazing job establishing her brand on social platforms – especially Instagram – so we found some time to chat with her about her company, and to see if she had any advice for designers who are just stating out their own lines. Check it out:
Barrel Maker: First, can you tell me a little bit about when and how your brand started? What inspired you to start a clothing line and what drew you to the mostly text based designs you use now?
Kate Rostan: I was working customer service at Groupon and I absolutely hated my job. I liked the people that I work with but I just knew that sitting behind a desk at a 9-5 just was not for me. So I decided to start making phone cases on Etsy and selling them and from there I eventually realized that I liked designing shirts way better than I did phone cases.
BM: How many people do you have working with you now? Is it your full-time work or a side hustle? Can you give us a bit of a timeline from where you originally started to present day in these terms?
KR: Right now it’s just me doing all the designs and customer service and wholesale orders with the help of my two sisters from time to time for busy influxes and trade shows. Then I have you guys shipping, printing, and warehousing for me and I have an embroidery lady out in California who I have been working with for about three years. It started as a side hustle but it is now a full time gig!
BM: A lot of our clients who are trying to start their own lines are often confused about how many shirts to make when first starting out. When you started, how did you decide to do this? Did you start with a few different designs at a smaller quantity or one design at a larger quantity, etc?
KR: I always start smaller with more designs and see what sells well first. Obviously, you don’t want to be stuck with a ton of inventory for a design that people don’t really like so I usually start with 25-50 and if they sell well I will print 100 or so.
BM: What percentage of your sales would you say you get from social media? You have a pretty big Instagram following – has that helped you grow your business, and if so how?
KR: Honestly, about 95% is from social media. Instagram has been the key to growing my business by using it to post ads on other pages. It also allows me to interact quickly with customers who have questions about sizing or shipping time or anything else.
BM: Any tips or process of how you grew your brand via Instagram that you can share with us?
KR: Find pages that are similar to your brand and ask them if you can advertise on them. I found pages that were humorous to advertise on for my brand since most of my clothing is quirky and funny. You just have got to find things that match your niche and stick with them. It takes time to find the right pages and a lot of trial and error, but just be patient, you will eventually find one that works. I always tell myself that you have got to spend money to make money.
BM: What qualities are best when looking for a printing partner to start your line? Have you printed with a few different companies before you found the right fit?
KR: Honestly, it’s nice to have someone who is local and who is responsive to emails for people like me who have a million questions a day. I started with you guys early on and then switched for a year or so to a company in Texas that another brand I admired was using. They were okay but were slower to reply to emails and charged a lot to print. I eventually switched back to Barrel Maker who have been really great at responding quickly to emails, turning around orders quickly, providing high quality prints, and it is honestly nice to know that I can drive there if need be to pick up something or to drop in.
BM: Do you also sell through other stores or vendors? Attend any events to sell merch? Any tips on how best to approach a vendor to sell your products?’
KR: Yes, we sell shirts and hats at boutiques across the country. We even have a store in Spain and one in Japan that recently started to carry our line so that has been pretty cool. We attend Pool Tradeshow once or twice a year. It’s a great way to meet buyers and get Wholesale orders— and it doesn’t hurt that it’s in Vegas.
My biggest tip here is, don’t oversell – if you have a good product, it will sell itself. Be patient and don’t be pushy, buyers don’t like that.
BM: What’s your favorite garment? Your best selling garment? Also, any other advice you have on starting a clothing line and anything else you’d like to share with us would work here too!
KR: I really like any triblends because they’re so soft. I print a lot on the Bella 3413 because it’s a great quality shirt at a reasonable price and it’s so soft.
My advice to people who are looking to start their own line is to just go for it. Like all jobs and businesses, there will be really good times and really bad times, but being your own boss and letting your vision come to life is incredibly rewarding!