Sorry for missing last week’s Free the Bulge. I needed a few mental health days after the migration and other personal commitments. But I’m back, and today I want to talk funding—not PBS pledge week (still not ruled out), but merch! Over the years, I’ve created several items, and only the Thong Slut hats have really taken off.
Currently, I have some shirts with the new Podcast Logos, mousepads, a coffee cup, and more available in the UNB Store under UNB Gear. I’d really like to know what merch you’re most interested in. Would you prefer subtle options you could wear daily, or are you looking for something bold? Please let me know your thoughts or specific requests.
One idea I had is enamel pins, and I have a few rough designs (examples shown above). If I did make these, there would be a preorder with a minimum needed to fulfill the order; I’ve already priced them out and could offer a presale price and a regular price. Would you be interested in enamel pins? Please comment or message me if this is something you’d purchase, and let me know which designs appeal to you, or if you have suggestions.
Similarly, my second idea is shadow boxes, because some gear is art. I have completed these two boxes. The first is a square shadow box containing an athletic cup. I love this because the Shock Doctor cup is a classic in design and stands out on the black. I have been debating putting lights on the inside as well, but that’s for phase two. The second is a Jockstrap in a shadow box. I chose the jock just for the classic jock icon status, but it can also include white briefs, bikinis, Speedos, thongs, and more. These two can have lights inside as well. These would not be cheap. So far, I estimate about $75 for the cup (due to the deep shadowbox needed) and about $60 for the underwear. I could put in a favorite pair or a new pair. But if I did a used pair, it would have to be freshly laundered and sent. The prices for shadow boxes are not bad for custom work. I’m looking at different backgrounds depending on the pair (such as complementary colors to make it pop), but these are both off the shelf, and I wanted to make sure I could make them happen before I invest too much in them. If you wanted a custom pair, I could either order it and put it in the box, or the customer would have to send it to me. I believe I could do singlets or spandex shorts as well. But that Price would be around $125 or more, and shipping would be interesting. (Note the swimwear didn’t turn out well, the shadow box was too small and I couldn’t stretch it as much as I needed, Also, it was a small and still too big for 11×17, going to try with a 16×20 with another pair and try again, but the cup turned out amazing)
What do you think of these ideas? Do you have your own ideas for underwear or gear merch you’d like to see? Please share your suggestions or feedback with me—I’d love to work on prototypes or designs that you actually want. Your input matters!
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