Feb 5, 2014
Working on concepts can be kind of wonk sometimes.You worry about what people think or how much of your brand message can be conveyed in a single piece.Then worry becomes obsession,obsession becomes toil,and if it doesn't come together,you stop.Been there, don't enjoy it, need more clothes.
The lame thing about Hungry Human at times if anything is that it's really hard to convey all that it is in one shot.You guys that have been riding with us for a while know what the brand is and what it means to you, but random person down the street probably doesn't.They just really like yellow.That's cool, we like yellow too.
Now that we're further into the process, it seems that what was coming out wasn't cutting it.The shirts speak volumes and actually have all been well received it seems.It's just that for what the greater brand vision comprises, there is a lack of "more".If I were to give it a percent, I'd say this is roughly 3-5% of what's in store and planned out mentally.That's kind of cool in a way because the unknown can bring all sorts of surprises for a fan, but also extremely frustrating as it means not only is there a lot of work to do, but a ton of improvement and execution that will have to go alongside that sooner than later.
I used to worry so much about what people thought that it was almost debilitating.The line between extrovert and hermit can be easily blurred when you are forced to switch roles so often.The sale rep has to go outside,the creative director has to stay indoors,and the admin has to take all emotion out of there dealings and just get stuff done so the other two aren't compromised.It's many hats,kind of like being all of Voltron or playing a really hard game of Dance Dance Revolution with the whole pad...you have to do a lot!
Anyways,I've been practicing some things to increase effeciency and make more productive work,which hopefully means you guys get more cool stuff more often.
The random thing about the people I decided to work with for sales and events is the ones that really inspired a lot of the work and I hoped to get the gear to actually didn't want it.Correction: It wasn't available for them to have.Traveling to events can be pricey and HH is not cheap stuff, so you have to be careful to bring enough tees to an event and sell them at a certain price or you might be stuck in a strange place with nothing to answer for but strange pieces of cotton and an awkward smile (like I said, "been there").
Between that and the cost of some events, hotel,lodging,etc.It's really just a labor of love a lot of the time, and that's not a bad thing, but if you need to make more cool stuff or even just do day to day things to improve your output, that can be kinda bad...borderline lame.
The biggest difference in this year over years prior is that I really can speak.That sounds a bit weird to say, but the last while had been a lot of overthinking and worry about who's toes we step on by saying what's going on or even something wild like which events we're able to travel to and support.It seems kind of silly in hindsight,but I always wanted people to not know how hard it is to make some super simple things work or the difficulites we endured just trying to make awesome stuff for people we support and care about. It's kind of backwards to say 'struggle' so often or 'never settle', then turn around and pretend everything's cool when it's really not.Once again, "that's lame".
Reading some of the emails and posts from last year, I can see I was kind of in a rut.It's really hard to make stuff for people when you're not sure you'll even be able to get to provide them with a chance to see it. Hustle is the word people use for doing grimey things to make things come together, but the word better suited for it in my book is 'scrape', like the action you do when you're plate is bare.We scraped.
Time off was super duper enlightening.I ran into homeless zen masters,CEO's of huge corporations, and purveyors of funk and food trucks alike that told me wise words about HH and what they thought the next steps should be.It was super weird to hear great and unexpected things from people of all walks, and I was invigorated,moved,and inspired to have it be a unanimous message of , "this is good.keep going".
Sometimes you need to hear that, even if you're the one saying it, "keep going.." . I was at a point where I couldn't do more than listen for a while and had to collect myself once again to get to even this point.Now the biggest struggle will be making all that is in store come to fruition.With help,or without.It's gotta make it out.
These posts all are a reflection of a feeling that was articulated internally, but never allowed to be uttered : WE WANT MORE.That sentiment is not only in the designs, but us as well, WE WANT MORE. I looked in places I'd never visited to make what you're going to see. There is more on the way, but this next one is the one I'm looking forward most. It's simple, sweet,and kind of brings a few worlds together for us. So , get ready for some fun and a few surprises...oh, and get on the mailing list because it's the only way to not miss it.
That's about as 'un-vague' as I can be for now.But hope you guys are all well and thanks to all the kids out there that support us and also themselves.We love you and we see you.
Try Hard, Never Settle,Stay Hungry -h_h-
