Week 41: Lucky Sam's Shirts

Week 41: October 8th-14th, 2023

As many of you know, I am quite a ridiculous and extra person. Over-the-top extravaganza? Count me in. If it's camp, sign me up. So, naturally, when I learned that my friend Sam's birthday would be spent in Vegas, one of the campiest places on the planet, I knew what I had to do.

You know those groups of suburban-type, Disney cruise people with matching shirts? I took that idea and ran with it. I just... made it a little better.

For context here, I had this grand shirt idea only five days before we were supposed to leave for Vegas. In order for this to actually happen, I had to design something, find a place, order the shirts, and get it done. And I had to do it all fast.

Spoiler alert! I did it, and it was a smashing success. I managed to put together a very cool design that incorporates all aspects of Sam's birthday trip: Gay Cowboys, Vegas, wine, and obviously, turning 25!

I used Canva, Procreate, and my beloved iPad and Apple Pencil to get all the little details right. After considering some feedback from some trusted advisors, the ultimate design for Sam's Vegas trip was complete. This was the final design.

Once I had the design down, I quickly put in some inquiries online at a couple local t-shirt printing companies. They all got back to me within 24 hours, and I went with the cheapest and fastest option - Big Frog, in the Clairemont Mesa area. I wanted to support local businesses, and was hesitant about the shipping time from big custom shirt companies like Custom Ink. The shirts were ready within four days. When I went to pick up them up, I almost missed Big Frog entirely because it was such an inconspicuous little storefront.

Big Frog's humble facade

I was so excited when picking up the shirts that I forgot to double check the sizes or do a quality check while I was still in the store. Thankfully, all necessary sizes for all 8 shirts were there, and the quality of the DTF (Direct to Fabric) design did not disappoint. I think Big Frog did a great job.

The design transferred well onto the shirts

Each shirt came out to about $22.50, and I think it was worth it. The shirts are soft and held up through their first initial pre-trip wash.

The stack of shirts waiting to be packed for Vegas!

I presented Sam with this t-shirt surprise at the airport where we all met up before our flight. It was a great success, Sam was thrilled, and it felt like a great start to a fun-filled weekend.

Sam immediately changed into the shirt at the airport

Most of us put the shirts on in the airport, and we wore them any chance we could throughout the trip. When we first got to the hotel, we looked ridiculous with all our bags and our matching shirts, but we felt great. As a group of seven women and one guy wearing matching shirts, of course we got many eye-roll inducing comments from people ("Sam sure is a lucky guy!"). The funniest part is that we are the lucky ones! Sam is an amazing person, a great friend, and I am so glad we got to celebrate him reaching a quarter of a century. I'm very happy with my impulsive decision to design ridiculous shirts for us, and happy to report that Sam was over the moon about them. I think I was able to balance a classy, re-wearable design with the ridiculousness of gay, cowboy-inspired Vegas.

See you next week.