Sequim Bay Junior Yacht Club

4 July, 2008

I'm sure I've mentioned FreeCycle previously but it's a group/community/system which is worth mentioning again.  For those who are not familiar with the FreeCycle concept, in brief, this is a system where people recycle goods by giving them to others who need/want them.  For a couple of examples, a few weeks ago, we picked up a very nice patio table and four very nice chairs and, yesterday, we received a collection of garden pots.  Of course, we've also given away a lot of things ranging from camping gear (including a tent) to computer equipment.  In any case, I strongly recommend checking out your local FreeCycle group (just follow the link and look for one in your area).

The reason I begin by mentioning FreeCycle is that this story begins with FreeCycle and with a listing which appeared a few days ago:

From : Matilda Henry

Date: 7/1/2008

To clallam_county_freecycle, jefferson_county_freecycle

Have just a day or two to design simple t-shirts for a non-profit kid's group and I don't have any graphic arts skills. Is there someone who knows PNG format?

My response was brief:

Date: 7/1/2008

PNG = portable network graphics ... what's to understand?

Seriously, what do you need?  Do you have an image which you need converted to PNG format?  Or do you need an image created from scratch.  Give me a shout at 531.2467.

Ben

And so the conversation began

Date: 7/1/2008

Thanks!  I'm off to work and will call you this evening.  We are going to print these on demand through CafePress.com.  This is for the 10-12 kids that participate in the Sequim Bay youth sailing program.  They hope to have tshirts in hand by July 9th, and I know they would appreciate them more if they looked professionally designed (i.e., not done by me!!!)

We don't have an emblem/club graphic and I think that's what we need, plus some lettering.  We need something that conveys small boat sailing and the official name of Sequim Bay Junior Yacht Club.  We could just have a large font "CREW" on the back.  These would be light colored shirts, either the light green or light blue that CafePress sells.  If we have a nice emblem, we could use it on tote bags, etc. that the kids might want.

Once I have a file that I can upload to CafePress, I can handle the rest.

Could you donate your time?

Silly question ...

Matilda

I replied with a couple of preliminary designs and added:

Date: 7/1/2008

I'll need a size specification.  However, for the front, I'd suggest a six inch vertical measurement placed offset to the left of the shirt.  Or eight inch if centered but it would look better offset.

On the back, a simple CREW in the same font (Lucida Sans Serif) or a large bold CREW with the Sequim Bay Junior Yacht Club as a drop out behind (see below).

Ben

Original back image (and the typo is mine)

Date: 7/2/2008

Oh Thank you so much!

Your emails went to my junk mail file and I didn't see them until now.

Sounds familiar ... as in: I have that problem too.

I showed them to the kids.  They had a couple requests - that we just have CREW on the back with  no overwriting, fairly large like rock concert roadie shirts.  And, could we see what it looks like with "Sequim Bay" on the left edge of the sail and "Junior Yacht Club" on the right side?  The boat graphic is perfect.  About 6X6" fits the guidelines for the template.  More details that you would likely understand are here: 

 http://www.cafepress.com/cp/info/sell/images/help_images#res

So glad you saw my plea for help - it didn't stay up long!

Matilda

CafePress is another interesting resource -- check it out.  Mary uses CafePress to produce a line of political T-shirts and other items.

I wasn't that satisfied with my original front image.  The logo was okay but their request for changing the text was right in line with something I'd experimented with after sending it ... and only needed a few mods to accommodate properly.

And, in the interim we had a phone conversation; the kids had decided on a light blue T-shirt (more nautical than a light green) and were really anxious to have their new uniforms for sailing.

So, the next set of images I sent were:

   and    

And I also sent an image file (in PNG format of course) for a simple CREW without the logo behind.  We'll see which of those they decide to use.  (Hey, it's their club and their choice, I'm just having fun.)

Date: 7/3/2008

Thanks so much!  Setting them up on CafePress was super easy and the entire order for the kids will be here Tuesday.  We are so excited!  I will send you a picture of them at their event next week.  You are a star!

Matilda

Date: 7/4/2008

Looking forward to seeing them.

Ben

And here they are ...

(coming soon)