It’s pretty rare that I’ll post news like this, but I thought that it would be something good for other brand owners to think about.

Having some interesting packaging really helps to separate your brand from the rest, and give you a more professional look which makes a customer feel as if the t-shirt (or any product) has more value to it. Good on Vapour for pushing forward and doing something nice with their branding.

United Pixel Workers have been making waves over the last week with their guide to how they went from shipping 0 shirts a month to more than a thousand. It’s an interesting guide because it covers a lot of things that you don’t usually see being discussed like how to deal with customer service, payment processing and shipping once you start to break out and make a full-time job of selling tees. If you’re just starting out or you’re already well established I very much recommend checking out their comprehensive and fascinating post.

Last weekend me and Mrs HYA took a trip down to London from the cold, dark North to enjoy the perks of the bustling metropolis, and also to check out the Margin tradeshow after HYAs absence from the show for five long years. I was going to pop down last Summer but show founder Odysseas had to cancel due to the Olympics putting a spanner in the works. This years second edition will be going ahead and HYA fully intends to be there too after enjoying this visit so much. This trip was also the first time ever that I met one of the other bloggers at HYA, namely Doug who has been part of the team for a year now. Turns out he know A LOT about art and I don’t, which I think made for a pretty deadly double act when talking to brands.

Doing what I do you tend to ‘meet’ a lot of people, but there’s only so much that you can gain over e-mail compared to meeting people face-to-face and seeing what they’re passionate about and the amount of enthusiasm they have for their brand. It’s also great to see the products in the ‘flesh’ since lookbook photos and mockups can only tell us so much. Also, it turns out that when I talk, I tend to talk a lot, visiting just the t-shirt-y brands at the show me and Doug managed to clock up getting on for four hours chatting with people about the ins-and-outs of the industry, at one point we had to take a water break. Were we thorough? Yes we were.

Rather predictably for the UK (even in the tropical South) it was raining, but fortunately the show was well located at The Music Rooms about a minute or so from Bond Street station (and hipster burger restaurant Meat Liquor, where me, Doug, and Mrs HYA enjoyed burgers and cocktails in the dark). After signing in at the reception we went into the main room filled with brands eagerly waiting to show off their clothing. The initial impression you get shows a big difference between Margin and other tradeshows, everyone is equal, and it isn’t so big that it’s overwhelming. All the brands at Margin are small up-and-comers, a lot of which have never exhibited at a show like this before, so it’s good for them to get their feet wet in a smaller environment with like-minded people rather than being stuck in the corner at a larger show and being over-shadowed by bigger brands. It’s also a great opportunity for smaller boutiques to pick up interesting new labels to sell in their stores, though there is a lot of interest from larger entities too, I did see a few Drapers business cards around the show, which is arguably a bit bigger of a deal than HYA. I don’t know of any other tradeshow that caters to smaller brands in the same way that Margin does, if you do let me know because I’d love to check it out.

We visited on the Sunday, and a few of the people we spoke to had said it was quite quiet in terms of foot traffic, but with the combination of the wet weather and it not being a work day I don’t find that too surprising. It was Sunday after all, I imagine that most buyers for shops don’t want to be working on a Sunday, and most people in the press are probably the same, so whilst it’s really convenient that I could make a weekend of it and go on the Sunday, in business terms I’m sure there was more activity on the Monday and hopefully lots of deals come from the show because there were a lot of brands that I’m sure would be a good fit for all kinds of shops. For us, it being a bit quieter was a real plus, we weren’t fighting for people’s attention and could have some good conversations with brands, which is what it was all about for Team HYA.

I’ve been purposely vague about specific brands in this post because I don’t really want to single anyone out just yet. Over the next couple of weeks me and Doug will be providing commentary and an overview of most of the brands we spoke to and reporting back on what we found, so this recap iss mostly just to give you a flavour of the show. It really was great to be there, after the show on the train home I felt invigorated, being around creative people helps to get ideas going and makes you feel positive, and I hope that other brands involved felt the same. See you in the Summer, Margin!

There’s a really interesting post over at IATT about how to approach trying to raise funds for your t-shirt brand using crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter and indiegogo. If you’ve been considering that as an avenue for your potential brand then give it a look, it’s not too long but certainly gets you thinking.

Regular Hide Your Arms readers will have spotted our recent posts highlighting a few of the brands exhibiting at Margin London on the 10th & 11th February.

With just six days to go until the show opens to buyers and press, here’s a preview of some more of the labels making their tradeshow debut at the exhibition.

We thought we’d better not post any more in-depth profiles otherwise the Hide Your Arms crew wouldn’t have any exclusives to report on when they visit the show!

Here are some images to whet the appetite and look forward to the Hide Your Arms reports after the show.

For information about exhibiting at or visiting Margin, get in touch via the website.

LATIN LOVER, a new t-shirt label from Columbia for men & women, with great illustrations & graphics:

EVIL, the first-season from this new menswear range will be debuted at Margin. The collection features a whole range of clothing (shirting, trousers, chinos, denim) and printed tees & sweatshirts:

SLANG, a new men’s and women’s t-shirt brand from Portugal, drawing influences from art, music, and skate, and making their debut at Margin:

NETTY RATTI, adorable cross-stitched designs in this range of ethical women’s tops and tees:

OUT OF PRINT first made their debut at Margin in August 2011 and have exhibited at every edition since. They’re back again in February 2013 to unveil their latest tees featuring artwork from classic books:

Fresh from California comes this new range of menswear by Ours. With tailoring alongside premium streetwear, the range should appeal to a wide range of men looking for quality relaxed clothing.

Blending 1980?s Caribbean influences with New England tailoring, Ours could be summed up as “Island Prep”. The range of laidback surf-inspired menswear consists of a full roster of clothing including shirts, trousers, shorts, caps, vests, and unique illustrated tees.

As Hide Your Arms is all about the tees, we’re featuring images of Ours’ t-shirts, but you can see more images with the clothing at their website.

We love the beach-inspired hand-drawn illustrations coupled with text and retro imagery simply coloured in.

Following their debut at Agenda in Long Beach, Ours will be making their European debut in February 2013. Margin London is the only show in Europe to see this first season by new Californian brand Ours when their European distributors, Boy Parker, exhibit the range.

Renowned amongst key buyers and press as the launchpad for new brands, Margin has been providing an affordable platform for new brands since 2002 and will be the only trade exhibition across Europe to see the range of bags in person.

Since the exhibitions first started back in 2002, Margin can lay claim to providing the UK launching point of overseas brands such as Upper Playground, Diamond Supply Co, Stereo Sound Agency, Double Goose, Loreak Mendian, Syndrome, Nooka, Mimobots, Qwstion, Hixsept (now Etudes Studio), and many others, who all made their European or UK trade debuts at Margin, which celebrated 10 years of exhibitions in 2012.

Ours will be exhibiting at Margin in February 2013 which takes place on the 10th & 11th, and you can find Ours, Boy Parker, and Margin on Facebook.

Exciting times lie ahead for young streetwear brand Less Clothing.

As well as just launching their new website, Less will be making their trade show debut at Margin, the longest-running independent exhibition in London.

Handcrafted in London, Less Clothing produce men’s and women’s streetwear with a sharp attention to detail, from the signature cuffs to the embossed leather labels.

We love the vibe of the label and their lookbook, the sun-drenched images and their association with musicians and DJs give the brand a real “Ibiza” vibe that we’re happy to buy into for some sunshine (especially during such a cold grey winter!).

Renowned amongst key buyers and press as the launchpad for new brands, Margin has been providing an affordable platform for new brands since 2002.

Men’s and women’s labels such as 1ina100, Lazy Oaf, Supremebeing, Eva Evanovitch, Sugarhill Boutique, Ruby Rocks, Diamond Supply Co, Ashley Marc Hovelle, King Apparel, My Yard, New Love Club, Your Eyes Lie, Seventyseven, Emily & Fin, and Long Clothing, all made their UK trade debuts at Margin, which celebrated 10 years of exhibitions in 2012.

Less will be exhibiting at Margin in February 2013 which takes place on the 10th & 11th.

Screen printing is not an easy job, there’s no denying that, but even I have thought it would be pretty fun to print my own tees, and I’m a guy that already has more than 300 of them (and I’ve stopped accepting samples, they all go to the other bloggers now). It seems that Print Liberation have felt that attraction too, a few years back they released a book about DIY screen printing, and now they’ve gone a step further by launching diyprintshop.com, a site dedicated to helping your ideas printed and out in the world.

Imagine you’re new to the industry and want to get your feet wet in the world of printing, maybe doing a few tees for your friends, or printing some posters you’ve designed, a kit that has everything in it from a company that you know makes cool shirts (that were good quality, if my trip to their shop in Philly back in ’09 is a fair representation, if not particularly up to date) would be a pretty appealing situation. You give them $250, they send to a box with everything in it and you’d be good to go. Well, apart from the actual t-shirts, but I guess that wholesaling blank tees isn’t a business they want to get into.

What do you think guys, seems pretty cool to me, any printers out there want to drop in their 2 cents in the comments?

Hailing from Sheffield, DPA, an acronym for Dr Popcorn Apparel, is a new brand producing handcrafted tees for men and women. With a dark edge to the graphics, the range is printed on high-quality, fair-trade garments.

Along with releasing their 22-strong range, DPA are making their trade exhibition debut in February 2013 at Margin London.

So many streetwear brands concentrate on mens’ items only to it’s refreshing to see that DPA have not forgotten about women’s pieces. These designs would also sit well in a women’s boutique and we can imagine some of these prints looking great under a sharp, tailored jacket.

All items come well-presented in their own hand-printed box which adds a level of detail and care that raises the sinister aesthetic to that of a collectible.

Renowned amongst key buyers and press as the launchpad for new brands, Margin has been providing an affordable platform for new brands since 2002.

Renowned amongst key buyers and press as the launchpad for new brands, Margin has been providing an affordable platform for new brands since 2002.

Men’s and women’s labels such as 1ina100, Lazy Oaf, Supremebeing, Eva Evanovitch, Sugarhill Boutique, Ruby Rocks, Diamond Supply Co, Ashley Marc Hovelle, King Apparel, My Yard, New Love Club, Your Eyes Lie, Seventyseven, Emily & Fin, and Long Clothing, all made their UK trade debuts at Margin, which celebrated 10 years of exhibitions in 2012.

DPA will be exhibiting at Margin in February 2013 which takes place on the 10th & 11th.

You all know that I have a love/hate relationship with t-shirt brands on the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, it can be a great tool for businesses but in many cases it has also shown itself to be a way for people with awful business ideas and designs to waste their own time and money trying to create a brand out of a poor concept.

That said, I think that it’s a good idea to give your project the best chance of success, and if you’re dedicated enough to follow this exhaustive guide about Kickstarter funding then I’d like to think that you’d have put as much effort into your design process to actually have a solid campaign.