Every once in a while, I get to do something out of the ordinary for Latina. Something totally unrelated with what I was originally hired to do, which makes working there not suck at all.
Several weeks ago, shortly before Justice Sotomayor’s confirmation, the idea of creating and marketing “Wise Latina” shirts was passed around the office. When the e-commerce component of the idea came my way, it was clear that we had to outsource. Immediately, 2 companies came to mind; MerchDirect and Merchline.
We decided to go with MerchDirect pretty quickly. Their staff was responsive and got us up and running really quickly. All I ever got from Merchline, after several emails and phone calls, was a canned email and no other responses. Anyway, it’s very clear that we chose to do business with the right company.
A couple of weeks after the shirts became available via MerchDirect, we received a shipment of 100 at the office to send to friends of the magazine, celebrities, etc. We immediately noticed that the “Wise Latina” graphic on the shirts were slightly larger than expected, and everything was taken care of with a quick phone call.
I could have been done with things at this point, but really wanted to make sure that future shirts had the graphic sized exactly as everyone in the office expected. Brooke, MerchDirect’s Director of Sales, let me stop by their offices that same afternoon with a pre-MerchDirect version of the shirt to serve as an example of exactly what we were looking for.
Not only did we take measurements of the graphic on the shirt to use as a guide, but she even tore up the films used to create the original screens. This is the kind of thing a company that really cares about their products and customers does. I’ve read about a lot of horror stories when it comes to the production of screened shirts and other products, and this experience was the exact opposite.
Having ordered a bunch of items off of MerchDirect in the past, it was exciting to get a tour of their facilities. Their shop is huge – their warehouse it neatly organized, and the manufacturing area of the shop is full of high end screening equipment and runs smoothly.
The tour of the facility ended in meeting one of MerchDirect’s co-founders, Justin Beck. This was totally unexpected and a real highlight of the trip. He’s the guitarist of a band I’ve been listening to for years, Glassjaw. We chatted for a bit, I blanked out when he asked if I knew who Eddie Reyes (of Taking Back Sunday) is, and never thought I’d hear him say, “Wait, you fucking make gourmet marshmallows?” I’m going to have to send some over there soon.
Afterward, I had the opportunity to meet Lee, MerchDirect’s other co-founder. After learning that he did the majority of, if not all, development for their website, it took a lot of restraint to not ask him a million questions. Their method for displaying random products on the company homepage is great, and he’s got a ton of other great enhancements throughout the entire system. Enhancements that make it clear that all of this is more than just a job, but more of a passion; Not for only Lee, but every single person working there.
As I walked to my Jeep, I noticed the torn and faded Glassjaw sticker that has been on the rear hatch for 7 years or so and remembered that I wore a Glassjaw shirt to work the day before, and couldn’t help feel like a total fanboy. That wore off once I hit the road and had Big D blasting out of my speakers but as soon as that album ended, Glassjaw’s ETYEWTKAS came on. How’s that for timing?
I think I may use MerchDirect if I ever get the time to get Ledouche going again. We’ll see what happens. I’d love to get some shirts or flasks done in time for the holidays. What better way to say I love you than to give that special someone a Ledouche flask? Fucking classy.
Anyway, just another example of what my job doesn’t suck at all.
Aug 23, 2009