Rob ryan is one of the busiest yet friendliest men on the internet – he’s got time for everyone. When he’s not rapidly expanding and marketing his part Irish part Spanish tee shirt business, Lady Umbrella, he’s documenting his strategy and revealing all his secrets on his T Shirt Strategy Blog, as well as tweeting, facebooking, videoing, blogging his socks off. We caught up with the big man during the world cup to pick his brain about his growing brand, his thoughts on social media and just what makes him tick.

Hi Robert, how’s it going?

Hi Mike, all is grand here thanks, a lull in the World Cup (come on Spain) has me a tad uneasy but also led to a productive day – pros and cons I guess…big time thanks for the interview…here we go..

Tell us a bit about Lady Umbrella, where it started and where it is now.

LadyUmbrella is a ladies t-shirt company that I co-own with Elena Montes Casado, our Spanish designer. We launched our online shop on the 20th of January 2010 after about 18 months of trying, designing, refining and crying..The ball started rolling when Elena had a design that she wanted to get printed on a t-shirt as a present for a friend (she makes and gives cool presents)..I saw the design and thought it was pretty narly and that it could be worth “having a go” and trying to set up a business..Was a slog and a half to get it up and running but thankfully it has been going well..Since launching our online shop we’ve been fortunate enough to be able to open a walk in premises in The Loft Market in Powerscourt Shopping Centre in Dublin City which is kind of unprecedented but we’re grasping the chance and embracing it…

What is your daily involvement, what are you in charge of?

I guess I could say I’m in charge of everything..There are only two of us involved so it’s pretty hands on in every aspect of the business…I talk to suppliers, customers, banks, accountants, press and whoever else will talk to me really..My daily involvement I guess would be to make sure that whatever has to be done gets done..On a daily basis I try to tell about 100 new people about LadyUmbrella so that we can continue to grow..Elena is the creative force in the LU team, no doubt about that – I suppose I’m the spreadsheet guy hehe…

You’ve really used social media to your advantage to market your clothing line. What tips would you recommend to other similar startups?

Ye, I’ve just immersed myself in the whole social media buzz and thankfully am enjoying it..For us social media is pretty much our only means of getting the word out about our brand. As I said there only two of us involved and we don’t have a lot of capital to spend on ads [read as none] so I take it upon myself to bust a gut on twitter/facebook etc..My tip really is bust a gut..I hold a firm belief that if you put in the effort and the product is good then it is only a matter of time before things start to work out for you..Be honest when you are interacting with people online, be passionate and genuine – if you’re not people won’t gravitate towards you…Social media has levelled the playing field for marketing and the likes and I think the social media revolution is still only beginning..Its impact is going to become more and more profound to small business (and soon big business) and the top tip is to embrace it and don’t give yourself excuses like “I don’t have enough time” or “none of my customers use it” – you do have enough time and your customers are there…right, rant over…

You’ve recently opened the first official Lady Umbrella boutique in Ireland. How easy was it to make the transition from online to offline. What hurdles did you face?

Ye, we lucked out and were given the chance to open up in the Loft Market..Hehe, I’m still making the transition. We opened there on the 18th of June and are open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays so at the time of writing I’m still working on my salesman chops..The hardest part about the transition was the fear of failure…Things have been tipping along nicely with online sales but to enter an arena where we would have monthly overheads with no guarantee of return was a daunting one. But, like they say, you have to grab the bull by the horns and all that, better to regret trying than not trying so we are rolling the dice..Still have more hurdles to overcome but the learning curve is steep and we’re scaling it so hopefully we’ll have it fully sussed in the not too distant future…

What have you got in the pipeline? Where do you hope to take the brand?

Ah, the pipeline..Myself and Elena are dreamers..To start a t-shirt company in the middle of winter in the middle of a recession is far from a sensible plan but that is what we did…To me that it is a pretty ludicrous idea but as a result of it our pipeline and hopes are now uninhibited…We have our 2nd collection almost ready for release which will contain 3 t-shirts and a snazzy tote bag..We’ve also expanded the brand into framed prints and the likes which can be bought in our shop in the Loft (and hopefully online soon). I’m currently in talks with some suppliers about dainty printed LadyUmbrella notepads which we hope to get at some stage this year..On top of that Elena is going to unleash her design fury on some items for our autumn/winter release which I hope will include some scarves and hoodies – items apt for that time of year I guess…Also, the introduction of a LadyUmbrella umbrella is something I’d like to get sorted – makes sense I think hehe..Aside from the product side of things I want to build the brand up so that it gets global recognition (I suppose the hope and dream of all in the same position as myself) and will go gung ho until we get there..I also want to get involved in charity work with the brand and have an idea for a charity to set up..I hope that the brand will become a vessel that will enable us to be able make some positive change…big time..

What music are you listening to at the moment?

My music..well, I’m a rocker at heart and like to listen to all types of stuff really..iTunes is loaded with a diverse range of music, some nice and crunchy and heavy like Metallica, Mastodon, Slipknot, Down and some more easy going stuff like Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, Kings of Leon, Pearl Jam..Good dollop of rap on there as well with Eminem, Dead Prez, Dr Dre, 2Pac and DMX..really, I listen to a wide variety of music but am always drawn back to guitar driven stuff…I used to be six string abuser so it resonates with me – rawk!

Who are you idols / heros?

Well, I just saw Pearl Jam in Belfast last week and am in awe of Eddie Vedder. I had seen Pearl Jam before but Eddie is just in a league of his own for understated stage and crowd control..He is the epitome of cool I think and all the fame etc has not gotten to him or phased him..He does his own thing and gives back what he gets..Pearl Jam have had numerous fines for playing longer than they should because Eddie realises that people pay good money to see them so might as well put on a show..Damn “the man” that says shows have to finish early etc..Another chap who I think is a bit of a champ is Warren Buffett..He is one of the shrewdest investors the world has ever seen and achieved his success by busting his gut, by understanding trends and pioneering a concept of “intrinsic value” in stocks..On top of that he is one major philanthropist who, even though he has more money than most (only 2 people with more than him in the entire planet), understands that money is but the cheapest commodity and wants to defy the transience of time by making a difference with what he has at his disposal. I’d also have a lot of time for Bill Gates and Steve Jobs – even though they are often in opposite sides of the heavyweight tech ring I think they both have to be admired for their belief in their plans and execution..Jobs is a marketing mastermind..Gary Vaynerchuk and Jason Sadler are two social media people who I would have a lot of time for and would love to have a few brews with..

What’s biting your brain and making you frustrated at the moment?

I get frustrated when things don’t happen as quickly as I’d like them to..I know it’s going to be a slog and LadyUmbrella is going to be a long haul flight but when things don’t go as I had planned I get frustrated..Another reason for this I guess is because the “buck stops with me” as it were with LadyUmbrella and if things don’t get done I only have myself to blame…

And in contrast, what are you really stoked about?

Really excited about taking pictures of our new designs… We received samples yesterday and our plans to take pictures tonight have been scuppered by an unwanted summer shower..We can’t wait to get the pictures up on our fanpage and have our fingers crossed that our friends on facebook and twitter will like them..Having seen the designs I’m gobsmacked at how cool they look..no doubt I’m biased but I think they look the bees knees..Have 2 different style t-shirts and 3 designs that will hopefully add to our brand – stay tuned

See all the new designs on the Lady Umbrella Facebook Fanpage

If there was one thing in the world that you could change, what would it be?

One thing I’d like to change? I don’t think one thing is enough – I think the world and its inhabitants needs a whole lot of help real quick.. If I were to pick one I’d like some advances in some fields of medicine pretty promptly…we are fragile and flawed creatures and the sooner we can find some cures to some of the things that ail us the better..

Big time thanks for taking the time to find out about us and what we do Mike. Have enjoyed answering the questions and hope your readers enjoy my prattle…ole…

So you’ve read all that and you likey? Now go and visit the Lady Umbrella Shop and get buying some top Irish / Spanish gear!

Exclusive 15% discount for Always Thinkin’ readers

Just visit the Lady Umbrella Shop and enter the code alwaysthinkin15 at checkout to get 15% off (and free shipping)!

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Milk and Eggs are a Californian based tee company born out of the love for simple smart graphics. Their colourways are bright, bold and full of every day humour. And Since their inception early last year, they’ve released some killer graphics which remind us a lot of the early Buro Destruct sensibilities.

The good news is that we’ve teamed up with the fabulously generous Milk and Eggs to bring you a fantastic competition. You could win a “Party like it’s 2011″ tee (pictured above) by just following the details below.

This competition is now closed.

Leave a comment at the end of this post telling us your ideas for the last party on earth ever!

Be extravagant and creative as you like, it’s the last party ever remember! Make it memorable!!

Closing date for entries is Monday 12th July Midnight GMT. Milk and Eggs will choose their favourite entry and the winner will be announced on Wed 14th July.

But if you can’t wait that long you can always buy the “Party like it’s 2011 tee” directly from the Milk and Eggs website.

Good luck and get your party thinking hat on! We look forward to hearing your penultimate party plans!

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Ok, so England, France, USA and Italy are all out of the world cup. But there’s still reason to be happy, because Lady Umbrella are supporting their spanish roots by giving you a massive 25% discount and free shipping on their awesome gear as long as spain as stay in the world cup! How epic is that?

Just enter the code fiesta25 at checkout on the Lady Umbrella Shop and the discount is yours.

Happy days all round.

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Now this is a nice brand. Two hard working guys putting their elbow grease into an art project they love. The outcome is an explosion of multicultural graphic beauty. We got a few words from the Eduardo and Roji themselves to tell us more…

Tell us all about GUCHA GUCHA…

GUCHAGUCHA.COM was started by our interest of merging all we love and catch our attention, taking the diversity and cultural richness we can find in all social and artistic expressions from around the world.
Using mainly t-shirts, a universal and everyday object, as a medium of expression.
Our company’s purpose is to create special products, limited edition but accessible to everyone.

Why the name Gucha Gucha?

GUCHAGUCHA is a Japanese word that refers to a confusion state and disorder. Chaotic and incoherent mix. It also means full of thoughts.

Background

GUCHAGUCHA.COM is a project created by two visual artists based in Madrid: Eduardo Bertone (Argentina) and Michiyo a.k.a ROJI (Japan). GUCHAGUCHA is interested in the cultural fusion, mixture of styles and artistic expressions to show you something different and personal.

More about the artists

Eduardo Bertone: multidisciplinary artist born in Rosario, Argentina (1977), although he has been living in Madrid since 2000, working as an illustrator, art director and designer for big international projects. It has also shown his work in exhibitions, books and magazines worldwide. www.bertoneeduardo.com

ROJI: after graduating in fine arts in Kyoto, Japan, she moved to Madrid in 2002 where she specializes his career at the Fine Arts University UCM. She made several solo and group exhibitions of art prints and paintings, she is lately focused on graphic design and illustration.

For more info and to stock up your wardrobe visit the Gucha Gucha Website

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Special offer Alert! Having amassed a huge following on facebook and twitter in the short space of time, LadyUmbrella are one of the hardest working Tee Shirt Brands out there. Founders, Elena and Rob consistently engage with their audience with special offers, videos and competitions. Showing that a bit of elbow grease and using social media going a long way…

Their latest super deal is a little regular offering called Bonus Batch Bingo, which is open to everyone who has previously bought a LadyUmbrella tee. You see each tee comes with a hangtag which is rubber stamped, signed, numbered and dated. (See the video below).

So on May 1st the LadyUmbrella guys will select one randomly unique hang tag number from all of the t-shirts and give away a free shirt to that lucky buyer!

If you haven’t got a LadyUmbrella tee, there has never been a better time to buy one. LadyUmbrella are having a super sale, where you can get €5 off AND claim a 15% discount. How good is that?

Get on over to LadyUmbrella shop and buy your tee you today you silly sausage!

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Ok, So here’s a neat little contest for all you budding creatives. Fenchurch are asking you all to go crazy and reinterpret their iconic logo, in return for a top top prize…

OFFICIAL DETAILS

Welcome to the Fenchurch Tee Fest!

Get those creative juices flowing: we are on the hunt to find fresh new talent to
join our creative world!

The Fenchurch Tee Fest is a competition to design a new tee to rock the upcoming festival season. All you need to do to enter is come up with an original, innovative way of interpreting our iconic logo. We’ve always handpicked the most respected freelance designers out there, and now we’re opening it up to the public. Go online and download the graphics pack and get involved!.

The Brief

Create a graphic incorporating the iconic Fenchurch logo using the summer festival season as a reference point.

The design can be produced in any medium, from photography to illustration so long as it incorporates the logo and is based on the summer festival theme. Interpret the theme in any way you like. Fun, mud, music, friends….you know the score.

The Prize

The winners will be announced on 11th June 2010. There will be one winner for the men’s Tee and one for the women’s, they will both receive a £200 prize as well as seeing their T-shirt design being produced and sold in stores and on www.fenchurch.com

For more details visit www.fenchurch.com/teefest for details.

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UPDATED! Miami stop of the Johnny Cupcakes Suitcase Tour

Now this makes sense. When a big time killer brand like Johnny Cupcakes collaborates with cute design sensation Friends With You, you know it’s going to be special. What’s even better is this is a super limited edition run of 50 tees! Each numbered on the actual tee itself. It’s ONLY available on the Miami stop of the Johnny Cupcakes Suitcase Tour, which is reminiscent of Johnny’s old hardcore band days when he was selling tees out of his suitcases as he travelled from venue to venue…

Here’s Johnny explaining it all himself…

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Woah! Any Forty are just getting better and better! After we interviewed Alan Wardle last week about his future plans for the super street brand, he springs up with his new master Spring /Summer collection with designs from Mega Munden, Hydro 74, Mr Bowlegs, Steven Bonner, >Rich T and 45 RPM.

I have to say the artwork is brighter, bolder and more diverse than ever before – really pushing the brand. It’s just daaaang nice.

For more badass glossy images and hype take a peak at the official Any Forty Spring / Summer lookbook

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Unless you’ve been living on planet zogg for the last 12 months, you’ll know that Jay Louis is the baddest 20yr old around! With his sweet street style on “What Up Gangstars” he’s put the G in gangstar blogging, bringing you the coolest happenings known to mankind. Jay tells it like it is about graphic design, freestyle battling, toy design, street wear, graffiti, skate and of course, girls.

And of course he’s a kind kind fellow too! So Jay and Always Thinkin’ have teamed up to present you an ultra badass, blogging mashup giveaway.

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED

Jay’s donated 2 tees and a sticker set, to one lucky person and we’ve matched him with one of our mega rare Always Thinkin’ tees and some badges!

So you’re thinking, what do I need to do? In the “comments” section below or on www.what-up-gangstars.com, complete the following sentence:
“What Up Gangstars and Always Thinkin’ combine together to create…”

Always Thinkin’ and Jay Louis will select the most original answers on each of our blogs to decide who to give the prizes to! The contest will end on Tuesday April 6th. Winners will be unveiled the next day.

Good luck and get creative!

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Who or what is Anyforty? How many are there working at the label?

AnyForty is a UK streetwear brand specialising in limited run artist collaboration tee’s. Financially AnyForty is me, myself and I but it’s way bigger than that, we’re a family and at the moment we run about 30 deep, it’s a solid group of talented mates ranging from photographers, designers, musicians, illustrators, skaters &mountain bikers from all over the UK, all repping the brand day in, day out! Couldn’t of done any of this without them all.

Where did the name come from?

The name comes from the area of Gateshead, Newcastle Upon Tyne I grew up in, spent 22 years in the NE40 postcode and the north has a massive place of pride in my heart,made me the man i am today. When i moved to the South West i knew i wanted to start a brand up and wanted to come up with a original name that would pop up on google searches. Was playing with the NE40 thing and decided to switch it into word form, blam, job done, everyone loved it!!

How long has the brand been around?

The brand has just turned 2 this march. 2 Years Strong!

Who will you be collaborating with for your Spring/Summer ranges?

Unlike last years tee’s which saw AnyForty work with a lot of international artists our first drop of the year see’s us collaborate with a predominantly UK based range of artists, RichT, 45RPM, MegaMunden, Mr Bowlegs and Stephen Bonner all rep for the UK with some stunning designs, and our one international hook up is with good friend of ours and absolute illustrative beast Hydro 74.

What were your inspirations for S/S 10?

Sounds cheesy but i try not to follow trends or inspirations for these designs, just cook up stuff i know me and the family would love to wear. You can see from the varied illustrative styles we use we don’t follow any trends, just use people we like, fuck following trends, i want to set them!!

Favourite colourway of all time?

I think my personal favourite tee so far has been AnyForty X Waste, that was absolutely next level bat shit of a tee design, walk in any store in the world and you’ll not see stuff like Norm of Waste cooks up on tee’s, proper mental!

Any Forty 2009 Collection - Artist Series

Who inspires you?

I’m massively inspired by a few artists who’ve set there own one man brands up and have had great success with them, so cats like Benny Gold, Johnny Cupcakes, 123 Klan and of course Shepard Fairey with his Obey label.

Where are you stocked?

AnyForty is only 2 years old and it’s still a bit of a struggle getting stores to pick a relatively new brand up, but at the moment we’re stocked in the king of streetwear stores online Urban Industry and Focus Skateboard Store in Edinburgh & Glasgow, and we’re in talks with getting us in Fifty Fifty in Bristol and the dope Electrik Sheep in our home town Newcastle. Hoping to get more stores on board over the next year or so but i’m not in any rush, more than happy to sell direct from the AnyForty online store, even though the multiple post office visits a week get right on my nerves!!

What are the big trends gonna be street wear/skate wear wise this year?

Really don’t know and truthfully not bothered in the slightest, like i said we’re not following anyone with this brand, just trying to make our own path for others to come through and follow!

What are your plans for world domination this year?

AnyForty’s just gonna keep dropping unique tee’s from talented artists and see where this road takes us, if it’s to world domination, happy days, if not we’ve certainly given it our best shot and we’ll settle for dominating the South West and the North
East!

Any Forty Tees by Fresh to Death and McFaul

Who would you most like to see in an Anyforty t shirt?

This is a funny question, a year ago i’d of killed to see someone famous repping AnyForty, I sent many a free tee out to people in the music industry, DJ’s & MC’s I respected then never heard a peep back once they’d been posted. Think i’d rather 100 people bought and loved a AnyForty tee than 10,000 people who bought one because Dizzee Rascal or Kanye West wore one. 2 Years Strong now and ain’t no one getting shit for free again!

Alan Wardle is Head crayon & chief coin counter of AnyForty – The brand that’s hitting the streetwear
scene with a tin of Dulux to the dome!

You can follow AnyForty on Twitter

Visit the AnyForty online store

Or hit up their blog

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