Buying merch or making merch? Two completely different worlds. As a fan you take what hangs in the shop. As a maker you already have the finished piece in mind long before it exists.
And when it comes out of production it has to match exactly that vision. For that moment to happen, two things have to be right without compromise: the technique and the textile. Because the cheapest blank with the best print is still just that: a cheap blank.
This includes polos with precise direct embroidery, vintage hoodies with puff print (yes, that really is what it is called in the industry) and various screen printing techniques, such as waterbased inks for a more sustainable feel, patches or 3D embroidery.
My approach at CORTELA: I look for the technique and the textile that fit the idea, not an idea that fits the machine. No effect for the sake of the effect, but pieces that feel exactly the way you imagined them.
