zappos.com in inc magazine

 

zappos

 

 

i regularly read two magazines, inc and wired. the most recent issue of inc had a great article on online shoe retailer, zappos.com, and their CEO, tony hsieh. zappos is a remarkable company that focuses heavily on customer service. inc offers 5 ways zappos makes their customers happy: try everything, let people be themselves, get serious about training, open up, and get happy. the last point is what is truly interesting about zappos. hsieh really focuses on happiness, not just the bottom line – and that’s exactly what makes them so successful.

The next step for Zappos? Happiness. Hsieh has decided to focus on the concept as a way to boost productivity and to grow sales, which hit $1 billion last year. He’s been giving employees books on how to be happier and has been tweaking the way his company promotes employees to give them a greater sense of control. For customers, he has focused on the art of surprise. Zappos advertises free ground shipping, but most orders are mailed overnight. The idea is to give customers an unexpected sense of joy–and, of course, to get them to buy another pair of shoes.

i would highly recommend going out and buying this issue (i’ve already handed mine up to homage). at the least, you should definitely check out the feature on inc.com and read scoble’s post that digs even deeper into the great things zappos does.

this is the type of company i want to work for. this is the kind of company i want to build.

how david beats goliath by malcolm gladwell

gladwell’s latest article in the new yorker once again focuses on success. this time he formulates a plan to help us – the little guy, the underdog – win.

Insurgents work harder than Goliath. But their other advantage is that they will do what is “socially horrifying”—they will challenge the conventions about how battles are supposed to be fought.

if you haven’t read all of gladwell’s articles in the new yorker or his best selling books (tipping point, blink, outliers), you must. if you don’t know who he is, it’s time to learn.

the new tag for the jupmode shirts

The new tag for the new jupmode shirts.

Originally uploaded by juplife

It’s bunny. What do you think?
www.jupmode.com

buckeyes go green (an ohio state st patrick’s day)

i'll go green but i won't go blue

i may be a little late to this one, but i’m generally late to most things. with the spirit of st. patrick’s among us, and the movement to go green everywhere, i thought it would be a good reminder that we have green products on jupmode – organic, recyclable, and reusable grocery tote bags, and organic t-shirts. 

so this st. patrick’s day, you can be an irish buckeye.

 

organic ohio state tee

 

 

new ohio state shirt designs – give me your feedback and save on your next order from jupmode.com

i’ve got a few new shirt designs. i’m looking for feedback on which ones you would like to have made. FOR EVERYONE WHO GIVES FEEDBACK, YOU WILL RECEIVE A COUPON FOR 25% OFF YOUR NEXT ORDER.. all you have to do is email me (jcamato@gmail.com) or leave feedback in the comments (comment link at the bottom of the post) and the shirts you like best will be available for sale. pass this on to your friends. the more feedback the better. 

all of the shirts are a light weight cotton or cotton blend. what this means is they will be very soft and generally form fitting. 

below each image is the feedback i’m looking for. if you have any additional comments, feel free to let me know. most shirts are printed on at least two different t-shirt blanks. if you don’t like a design let me know. not all of these will necessarily be printed. only the ones you like. that’s why i want your feedback.

please forgive my photoshop skills, or lack of. not all of the shirts are the perfect fit for the model. different sizes were ordered to compare fit. hopefully it doesn’t negatively impact your decisions.  

MENS

brutus partial

 

 feedback: do you like the light or dark gray? should we keep the word ‘buckeye’ or remove it? 

go bucks

feedback: which color do you prefer? would you prefer just ‘bucks’ to ‘go bucks’?

osu over the shoulder

feedback: i realize these all look very similar. A is technically charcoal, B-D are asphalt. do you have a preference between the two colors? do you like the over the shoulder style? B is a medium and D is an XL. not the right size for the model.

WOMENS

buckeye repeat

 

feedback: D and E are v-neck shirts. C is a scoop neck with cap sleeves (half sleeves). B is a crew or standard neck with cap sleeves. A is a unisex shirt with a crew neck and standard sleeves. which color do you prefer (the design on the red shirts did not photograph well for some reason)? would the red look good in a v-neck (so you can accessorize, of course)? which style of sleeves and neck line do you prefer? D was too large for the model. do you like that style? do you like the buckeye candy on the shirt?

music preview

feedback: these are all v-neck style shirts. the bottom image is the back of the shirt, if that’s not obvious. the music chords continue to the back. it is the first line of the fight song and it reads, ‘fight the team across the field, show them ohio’s here…’. the flower is a gerbera daisy. A and D have cap sleeves, B and C are regular. D is longer than the others. C is not the correct fit for the model. do you prefer cap sleeves? let me know the style you like best. do you like the overall design. is the ohio state along the neckline necessary? should it be removed? replaced? moved?

buckeye leaf abstract

feedback: the shirt is way too big for the model. but what do you think? do you like the design? should we take the buckeyes off the sleeve? are they too much in the armpit? do you like the style of the shirt? is it too deep of a v?

the story of the jim tressel t-shirt

 

the official jim tressel t-shirt by jupmode.com

the most common question i get when people find out what i do is, how did you get that idea? well, it was pretty simple actually and i’m pretty sure i wasn’t the first to have it.

 

the idea came while watching the ohio state vs. florida national championship game. for some reason it took me quite a few years to say, ‘hey, jim tressel always wears a sweater vest and tie on the sidelines. someone should make a sweater vest t-shirt’. when i came to this realization, with my brothers and father in the room, i said it out loud. incidentally, my dad replied, ‘why don’t you do it’. that was all it took for me to try.

i began by talking to a few local silk screen shops to find out the best way to make the shirt. the original concept was to make it similar to the tuxedo t-shirt – the entire design a silk screen, not the layered look it ended up with. after some research i discovered that this was going to be quite difficult, as i wanted the design to go all the way up to the collar.  

since it looked like i was not going to be able to produce the shirts locally in toledo, i branched out. my dad put me in touch with a friend who had done business with china so i sought a sample from overseas. i also did some research online and contacted a few domestic manufacturers will little success.

fortunately, after months of miscommunication, china did produce a sample. it wasn’t quite what i was looking for, but it was good enough to be given a license by the ohio state university. and the miscommunication led to an unexpected change in the design – they sewed white sleaves and v-neck into the red body. most people will tell you this improved the shirt considerably. 

difficulty in dealing with china – too much was lost in translation – led me to search for another manufacturer. i had a family friend sew another sample and i shopped that around. eventually, i stumbled upon a manufacturer in mexico to do the final production. i even made a trip to the factory and checked things out. learning everything on the fly delayed production. i didn’t receive the first shipment of shirts until 10/12/08, nearly two months into the football season.

Visiting the homage clothing headquarters

Visiting the homage clothing headquarters

Originally uploaded by jupmode

Hotdogger! With Ryan and Annette.
www.homageclothing.com

pay homage. obama and pittsburgh tees by homage clothing.

my friend ryan makes the hottest shirts out right now. he has several classic osu shirts but you’ll probably also like the two above. in honor super bowl 43 and the 44th president. use the coupon code ‘celebrate’ and save 20%. get yours now at homageclothing.com.

Kickoff

Kickoff

Originally uploaded by jupmode

Go bucks!
www.jupmode.com

Hang on sloopy

Hang on sloopy

Originally uploaded by jupmode

o-h-i-o
www.jupmode.com