A guide to making great merchandise

Earlier this year, GQ’s Samuel Hine wrote an article dissecting how merch has become a meaningless status symbol, a flex that’s void of any soul.

The article was mostly in reference to band t-shirt merch, and to be honest, they have a point.

Merch used to be connected to subcultures; it showed the world who you were and what you subscribed to.

But recently, so much of branded products have been reduced to the proverbial logo slap, a box to check for everyone.

We've lost our way.

Today, physical goods and objects need permanence, or they become trash (literally and metaphorically).

As consumers, we are simply tired of throwing out things that weren't worth producing in the first place.

Great merch is about the stories behind the products. It drives the community of the brand or person selling it forward and draws us closer to each other.

So we made a guide on how to produce high-quality merchandise.

In this guide, we unpack

• Terminology and industry jargon for producing physical goods
• How to create merch or collections intentionally
• How to source products, 101
• A directory of factories where you can get anything made
• A breakdown for designing great packaging
• How to fulfill and ship your products
• A robust creative gallery to give you inspiration on your own ideas
• and much more!

We built this report for

We made this guide for three types of people.

• First, companies that want to improve their merchandise strategies. Perhaps merch is simply a line item to fill or a box to tick for you. May this guide encourage you to be more intentional about what you create.
• Second, this guide is for people who must design and produce merchandise for someone else. Whether you’re a designer, agency, or manufacturing group, this is your resource for thinking outside the box for your clients or employer.
• Last, and most importantly, this is for any brand or creative who wants to use merchandise, objects, and physical goods as creative expression.

In the report, you'll find:

• Product development glossary
• 40+ creative examples
• 5 video tutorials
• 25+ factories to work with on your product(s)
• Packaging resources
• 3PL & Fulfillment recommendations
• Pre, during, and post-product checklists