Dan Lachman runs the Sharp Shirter T-Shirt design company. His designs are featured in Urban Outfitters, Lord & Taylors, YRB and many others nationwide. He is a student at Wesleyan University.
What is the name of your company?
Sharp Shirter
How did it get started?
I started coming up with t-shirt ideas when I was in 10th grade. Ithought it would be cool to send out my ideas to t-shirt companies, havethem print my ideas, and then I could get $50 and a free shirt or two. After sending my ideas over to a couple of sites, they hated them. In a moment of high school angst I decided that I would make the designs myself and make those companies rue the day that they didn't take my stuff. The one problem was that I couldn't draw. In the next year or so,I worked on tracking down some fantastic designers to help me bring my ideas to life (this year of searching was a blessing in disguise because the t-shirt companies were right: my ideas had sucked!) Now armed with sweet designers and better ideas, Sharp Shirter slowly evolved from ahigh school pipedream into a business with the possibility of being my full time job once I finish college.
Where is it based?
It is based out of my basement in Washington D.C.
What are the goals of your company?
The main goal of Sharp Shirter is to offer an alternative to mainstreamdesigns. T-shirts are not a groundbreaking product, but what you do with the blank canvas of a tee can separate you from the competition.
Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
Five years from now I see myself working full time for my business. I’mthinking about moving to a nice warm climate like California, so that I can sell tees year round. I’d also like to expand my product line, and move onto vinyl toys (like Kid Robot) or skins for the back of laptops (like Gelaskins). As long as I can continue to be creative and work with designers, I’m game for almost anything.
What motivates you?
I’m motivated by the fear of eventually working a 9-5 for someone else. I’ve worked a couple 9-5ers already, and there’s something soul-sucking about settling into a daily routine. I never want to be settled in comfortably in my line of work, and with Sharp Shirter, I can’t be, since I constantly have to be thinking of new concepts ranging from new designs for tees to how better to infiltrate the retail market.
What is a typical work day like?
Luckily I don’t have a typical work day. I can work when I want to, and do other things when I don’t. There’s always something waiting for me to attend to, but unless it’s an order with a cancel date, or an approaching trade show, I can see to things when I’m ready to.
How do you achieve the balance between school and work?
Along with taking 2 psych classes to fulfill my requirements as a psychmajor, I take 2 easy ones (e.g. Steel Band), so that I can focus my energies on the company. I definitely want to get my degree (so that myparents don’t kill me for dropping out), but I view the degree as a backup in case Sharp Shirter doesn’t work out.
Check out Sharp Shirter at http://www.sharpshirter.com/
