What's up? I'm back once again, to share what's inside my head with you. I know, I know, it's annoying, unnecessary and maybe unsanitary... but I like to share my thoughts anyway :)

I want to share a chat that I had yesterday... well, not the chat itself, but what I talked about. I got in contact with the owner of a printing company, and let me tell you: we had an awesome talk, regarding the potential that my artwork has, and how we both can benefit from it. This chat was great mainly because this particular company is very focused on printing products aimed to the adult industry... a topic right up my alley.

As many of you know, I've been printing merchandise featuring my stuff for a few years now. And when I say "I've been printing", I mean it literally. I've been the one printing these items, like mugs, shot glasses, mouse pads, t-shirts, etc. However, the available time for me to design, print and organize merchandise has been greatly reduced throughout the years. The reason of this is simple: the more I focus on creating artwork, the less time I have to "manufacture" merchandise. It's pretty much a trade off. I mean, I do love printing my own stuff, finding new items to sell, get them ready, etc., but at the end of the day, I'm an artist first and art is my first priority.

So, during the last couple of years, I've maintained a very modest, or better said small inventory of my merchandise, selling a few things online, but mostly through shows. Why the small inventory? Mainly, because of costs. In order to keep costs down, I only printed what I "guessed" I would need on a show. Sometimes this guessing was accurate... sometimes it wasn't, meaning that I would run out of pieces of an specific item on any given show. Of course, sometimes the opposite happened: I would guess an overestimated number and end up with several items that didn't sell. This is in fact one big reason why didn't go crazy on my estimates: in a way, it was better to be sold out on many items... than having too much extra.

The second reason of why I always kept a small inventory, is lack of time. Even though printing merchandise is not hard labor or anything like it, the reality is that it's time consuming. Time that it's getting harder and harder for me to take away from creating artwork (oooh, my eternal /nemesis Father Time, always making my life harder and harder!). Due to this lack of time, my inventory has been getting smaller and smaller, which in turn makes it harder for me to be ready for shows.

Not long ago I realized that I'm pretty much maxed out when it comes to printing my stuff. My artwork keeps demanding more and more of my time. But even if it weren't, there's only so  much merchandise I can print and produce. I've been making my own merchandise for many years now, featuring modest quantities, learning what sells and what doesn't, learning how my clientele responds, learning from my own hits and misses. In other words: learning how to optimize. Now, it's time to step up my game and go deeper, taking more risks.

Now, why didn't I do this before? Why didn't I go deeper when I began printing merchandise? Because, as most things in life, I had to hone my skills first in order to become confident about what I do. My artwork has better quality now, and I'm not necessarily talking about technique, but consistency, presence. In other words, my work is more professional than what it used to be years ago. Back then the spirit and drive were there... I just didn't have the experience.

So, why am I talking about this? Well, because of what I mentioned at the beginning of this post: I just talked to the owner of a printing company. Not a generic company, but a business that shares a lot of my own goals when it comes to the adult industry. Talking to this person made me even more sure about my conviction of stepping up my game. The time to bring yet one more way to use my artwork is now. I don't see my artwork as a one trick pony, but rather as a big pool of possibilities on how to use it, a pool full of potential. And talking to this person just added a big, big chunk of possibilities and potential to that pool. That, along with my current projects like the weed pin-ups (and many more) will keep me busy for a long time. And, if you know me, you must know that's the way I like it! :)

On a last note, I want to mention that I am excited to incorporate the upcoming inventory to my online store. My store is a clear example of how the lack of time doesn't allow me to make my inventory grow. I'm happy to say that I'm working on changing that, and it seems like the time to do it is pretty close now.

As always, thank you for reading this and for following my ramblings. It's a pleasure for me to share what my thoughts and plans are... and also share how those plans were accomplished. I look forward to post more about these new plans, so stay tuned. In the meanwhile, keep having a wonderful week. See you next time!
​~Pops.