Country Bumpkins

[southern.scents]

I am yet again adding a new product to my line, up to 16 thus far. I decided to go for a new market so I decided to do t-shirts. Around here, southern belle t shirts are selling like crazy but, they are so darned expenzive, 17.95-25.00 so I figured I could come in with my own version of t shirts and sell them for around $13.00. Anyways, below are my desings, at least two of over 35 that I have been working on. I have two of the designs printed already just as a way to judge that market for the line. Please tell me what you think of them. Keep in mind that the text and dialect are centered around southern people. The simplistic design helps keep costs down also. Sorry about the pics being so small, I kept having to make them smaller to cut down size and keep quality. The rear says

My momma taught me about the

CIRCLE OF LIFE

"I brought you into this world,

I can take you out!"

They will be printed on both brown and white t shirts. Other colors will come later. If you would like to see an actual pic visit my site.

www.southern-scents.com/countrybumpkins.html

t shirt back small size.BMP

front small size.BMP

[mizbizzyb]

My momma taught be about the

CIRCLE OF LIFE

"I brought you into this world,

I can take you out!"

Taught be or taught me?

[southern.scents]

My momma taught be about the

CIRCLE OF LIFE

"I brought you into this world,

I can take you out!"

Taught be or taught me?

Taught Me

Sorry, was so busy trying to fix the link forgot to read over it again. Thanks

[mizbizzyb]

Thanks for clarifying that....had me scratching my head thinking I been saying it wrong...rofl

[southern.scents]

Thanks for clarifying that....had me scratching my head thinking I been saying it wrong...rofl

LOL, you sound like me

[southern.scents]

No input????

[SherriLynn]

I think you might be right about this idea being a "southern thing". I'm from the north(Minnesota) and unfortuantely wouldn't buy a shirt with that type of saying on it. I find it rather offensive. Then again, I'm old and maybe out of the swing of things.

However,,, if items such as these are selling in your area and you have an idea of what's popular, the best thing to do would be perhaps to show them to your friends and family and see what their thoughts are using the different style of shirt. In your location these may be some really hot selling items, and canvasing people and getting the feedback in your area will give you an idea of how well the idea is received. If the feedback is really good,, heck I'd go for it and start selling the shirts.

HTH's... *S*

[judyvega]

Hey there - you need to change this on your site: We do and thought we'd start our own brand, Counrty Bumpkins.

Just give it a shot and see how it goes.

[lindsaycb]

Are you having them professional done up too then? Or are these iron on transfers?

I know the fitted tees are big for girls..but not so much a Hanes square style. I'd check into a different style shirt.

[prairieannie]

Are you having them professional done up too then? Or are these iron on transfers?

I know the fitted tees are big for girls..but not so much a Hanes square style. I'd check into a different style shirt.

That's what I was thinking..

I realize that you are trying to offer a less expensive shirt.. but I'm not sure you can do it without compromising quality. I can see that your shirt is using an iron on of some sort, and it's definitely a cheap t-shirt because I can see through it. It looks cheap. I don't know that you will find many people willing to pay that price for obviously cheap materials. Maybe like LIndsay said you could find a better quality shirt~ different style.. and see how that works.

I dont' like that white on black at all. And the fonts used are incredibly difficult to read... isn't that what wearing a t-shirt with "stuff" on it is all about?

[judyvega]

Sorry, I know this isn't the topic on hand, but what do you mean by this?

Are you getting tired of the little pine trees hanging around your mirror? We were. Our car fresheners have become the replacement. They are shaped in unique ways and scented in one of our 300 fragrances. They are also colored which makes them less of an eyesore. You can expect months of use out of them because of they are made of fragrance beads. After the fragrance is gone, you can even have them refilled.

[southern.scents]

Offensive? You guys never heard this when you were growing up? We heard it pretty much daily. Its not meant to be offensive, around here we take it as funny, something that reminds of us of our past. I have already started selling the shirts, I just wanted to get yalls opinion. They have went over great. I only made three, only one of which I put at my largest selling display and it was gone the next day when I got there to see how it went. I put the other two there yesterday. Thanks for showing me the typo btw. I am using the iron on transfers at this point (for the first five or so, to make sure the shirts sell okay.) After they sell, I am going to have some professionally printed. The transfers do pretty good but they are soooo pricey. I have gotten a quote from some online places, one place even said $45 dollars for one shirt!!!!!!!!!!!!!And they go up from there if I get more, WTH? They have a ton of colors but $45 a shirt???? I am gonna get them printed at a local place that hopefully wont charge 45 a shirt. What do you mean by the tshirt style?

[Tereasa]

I have to agree with Prairie Annie. I went and looked at the shirts that you used for inspiration, and there is a huge difference in the look of the shirts. Sounds like you're already selling, and doing what you need to do, so nothing we say really matters, right? Perhaps you just wanted a pat on the back.... so... way to go! Your entrepreneurial spirit is to be commended!

[southern.scents]

That's what I was thinking..

I realize that you are trying to offer a less expensive shirt.. but I'm not sure you can do it without compromising quality. I can see that your shirt is using an iron on of some sort, and it's definitely a cheap t-shirt because I can see through it. It looks cheap. I don't know that you will find many people willing to pay that price for obviously cheap materials. Maybe like LIndsay said you could find a better quality shirt~ different style.. and see how that works.

I dont' like that white on black at all. And the fonts used are incredibly difficult to read... isn't that what wearing a t-shirt with "stuff" on it is all about?

I am not going to continue with the iron transfers, I will get them printed. The t shirts however, are great quality in person, they are hanes t shirts that cost near 5$ each. I am buying them from a local t shirt printing shop. Its not white on black, its brown, my pics do no justice, my digital cam is screwed and I am making due with a cheap one. You guys need to see the southern belle shirts to see whats selling here. www.southernbellestore.com The curly font is what the people here want.

[southern.scents]

I have to agree with Prairie Annie. I went and looked at the shirts that you used for inspiration, and there is a huge difference in the look of the shirts. Sounds like you're already selling, and doing what you need to do, so nothing we say really matters, right? Perhaps you just wanted a pat on the back.... so... way to go! Your entrepreneurial spirit is to be commended!

It does matter to me, yalls opinion truly counts to me. I did not just want a pat on the back I just wanted opinions which is what I got. I admit that they do not look as great as professionally printed ones but these are just some that I did myself to judge the market. After I have some printed, I will post more pics and see what you guys think of them.

[southern.scents]

Sorry, I know this isn't the topic on hand, but what do you mean by this?

Are you getting tired of the little pine trees hanging around your mirror? We were. Our car fresheners have become the replacement. They are shaped in unique ways and scented in one of our 300 fragrances. They are also colored which makes them less of an eyesore. You can expect months of use out of them because of they are made of fragrance beads. After the fragrance is gone, you can even have them refilled.

It something that I meant to change long ago and have not yet done. I thought that I could allow the fragrance beads to soak up more fragrance but after testing it does not work so well.

[judyvega]

You know, I know you're just a kid and I hate to be harsh, but it seems to me that you have a pattern of selling things BEFORE you do any research - i.e. the jelly and/or jam that you are selling, as well as stating that the car fresheners can be refilled. Just a basic search would've let you know that the beads cannot be refilled, especially after they've been baked. You worry me.

[jennifer]

I have gotten a quote from some online places, one place even said $45 dollars for one shirt!!!!!!!!!!!!!And they go up from there if I get more, WTH? They have a ton of colors but $45 a shirt???? I am gonna get them printed at a local place that hopefully wont charge 45 a shirt.

$45 does seem expensive, I have a place locally that will screen print shirts for $3 if you bring the shirt in and $8 or 9 if you use one of theirs, course that is not printing anything really big or on both sides, but still it should be able to be done for a decent price.

Your saying are fine IMO, but I would swear that I've seen at least one of them on shirts somewhere before.

Good Luck

[Tereasa]

she's just a kid?

[judyvega]

she's just a kid?

He is. I think when he first started posting 6 months to a year ago he was just 17.

[Late Night]

I do admire your energy and spirit. You are a real go-getter in the idea and selling arena.

I don't want to come across mean. I really don't! But in my opinion you need to slow down a little. If you keep putting inferrior products in your market you are going to get a reputation of selling cheap and shoddy products. You will be ruined before you even get started.

You seem to have to keep taking things off of your website that are not exactly true. If I read something on a site that I know isn't true I will assume the rest of the site is B.S. too.

You aren't properly testing your products before you are selling them. I'm really concerned about you selling your jams and jellies made out of your home without proper certification. I've canned for years and I know that one little microscopic spore growing in improperly canned jams and jellies can lead to botulism poisoning.

I know you are young and I don't want to discourage. You have plenty of time ahead of you. You can't be all things to all people. Please perfect something first before you sell it to someone else.

[Kelly]

I also don't want to be mean or discouraging, I'm just curious, where does a 17 year old get the finances to do this type of business? I've spent thousands testing and when I was 17 I sure didn't have thousands of dollars at my disposal!

But I agree with Late Night, you really need to do the proper testing for everything. Keep your website up to date (I'm not good at this one myself, but you need to update frequently and take out-dated or incorrect information off ASAP). Take your time being a super seller doesn't happen over night and sometime not at all. A bigger variety doesn't always mean a better product.

But good luck with the T-Shirts. I followed the link you provided for the "original" shirts and I couldn't even read them, that's how out of touch I must be with this particular item. The font, colors, layout, design is just way to busy for me.

[southern.scents]

Hello,

I would like to start off by saying that yes, I have been pretending to be an older person for fear of not being accepted. Up until this time I have stuck to this, but, I will come out and say that I am a 16 YO guy. I started making my products with birthday and christmas money that I had saved up. Since then, my sales have skyrocketed. So far I have done all of this by myself with just the guidance from here. My mom has not helped nor has any of my family. I have done all of this on my own. I am known county wide for being very brilliant and for my products. Because, I have worked so hard to get people to trust me, a 16 YO guy, I would never, ever, ever sell a product that I think or know might hurt the reputation that I have worked so HARD to receive. This given, the jams and jellies, I consulted someone else who has a business that makes and sells edibles and was told that all I needed was an inspection, therefore, coming from someone who is already established, I thought this was all I need. Once reading what you guys have said, I have pulled my jams and jellies until I can get the rest of what I need to sell them. As far as the airfresheners, I swear that I read somewhere on this board or on some suppliers website that the fragrance beads could be refilled, after testing and seeing that this did not work by any means, I added to my list of things to fix on my site which has not yet been done. My t shirst, I truly admit would be better screen printed but, as I said, I just printed some w transfers to judge that market. This went well so, I will get some printed, granted they do not cost 45$ lol. The t shirts I bought were not of cheap quality, I went to the printing place here in town and bought some. They were the exact ones that they were printing on. They look really good in person. What do you mean by "keep putting inferior..." I do nor any of my customers see my products as cheap or inferior. I work hard on them. I pour my life into them. I also don't see that I keep having to take false saying off of my site either. I have taken off all natural and now the airfresheners being refillable. As far as where do I get the finances? I dont, I invested all that I had at the time that I started, around 100$, bought some supplies for my candle testing. From there, the business has pretty much funded itself. I may have added in a twenty there, a hundred here, but other than that, all my profit and the inital investement have kept my business going and growing. For example, as I pulled the jams and jellies from my shelves today, I added in a new product, handmade earings, bracelets, and cell phone charms. I am up to, get this, a 16 year old, 17 Products all of which I am proud to say are handmade by me and my customers are pround to use and wear. Thanks for all of the continued help

SS

[The_Dallas_Texas_Dean]

Wow:shocked2: I am ALMOST speechless.

It is 1:30 AM, do you know where YOUR kids are?

Sounds like this one is working his a** off.

SS,

There is a lot to be said for a good attitude and enthusiasm. From what I can tell, you seem to have both. There are some things that I think you need to be "reeled in" on, (I think I saw you were offering 300 fragrances....I would say that is just a wee bit ambitious) but I have to give credit where credit is due. If you are16 years old and already talking about your "growing up" days, ( You guys never heard this when you were growing up? We heard it pretty much daily.) you must consider yourself well on your way to "adulthood". Are you still in school, SS? (If not, get your butt back there)

I have to say that I admire your entrepreneurial spirit. I can't really offer you any advice on your business...I don't have a clue what I am doing....but I do commend you for trying to do SOMETHING positive with your time and money.

I started making my products with birthday and christmas money that I had saved up.

This part kinda wins my heart.

Keep growing and learning. There are some pros here that are offering you some good advice. Hang on to your "drive". You might surprise us all.

Dang...... 16 huh?

[Jadryga]

Kudos, SS, for coming out and being forthright with everything. You're actually quite a pleasant surprise. I thought I was young here at 22! I was interested in B&B at around 16 too, but I think you're light years ahead of where I was at that point in time. Keep it up.

You're very enthusiastic and keen on getting things done, which is great, though I agree with Dallas that checking yourself once in a while is good practice. Always easier to fix things before they go wrong

I know it's really stereotypical to think that only women are interested in bath and body stuff, but that's why it's always nice for me to see someone crack the mold once in a while.

One more thing... the fact that you didn't take a lot of the criticism personally and the way in which you answered speaks volumes to me about your level of maturity. I've seen older people degenerate into insults and defensiveness when criticized. As far as I can tell you explained everything in an honest and non... I can't quite place the word... well, non-hostile albeit passionate manner, so another kudos there.