1. The name Ugmonk was actually a happy accident. When I started I really wasn’t planning for Ugmonk to be anything more than a little side project. We tried to come up with creative names but everything we came up with was pretty cheesy and unoriginal.

We were joking around and googling words to see what URLs were available and “Ugmonk.com” happened to be open with no results in Google. So we went with it and now if you google “Ugmonk” there are over 60,000 results.

The actual origin of the word remains a secret, but it doesn’t have any deep meaning :) 

1. Actually never heard of them until you posted them. I think it's different enough that there shouldn't be any issues.

2. Good catch. Will add to our list of updates :)

That's pretty cool!

Haha, I've thought about it. Love the game, but the board design could be so much better :)

One of the main things has been just sticking to designing what I like rather than chasing t-shirt or apparel trends. When I started Ugmonk 7 years ago the main trends were all-over prints and crazy illustrations. I wanted simple, clean, and minimal. There were very few brands doing things in that style, especially with a typographic influence. I thought it would be cool to design a few tees with that aesthetic. That same aesthetic is what Ugmonk is still known for today.

There are many other factors that go into creating an established brand (could go on for hours), but one of the other main things I've tried to do is just be personal and human. Rather than trying to position Ugmonk as some giant brand, I've kept everything personal with how I communicate with my customers and fans. I want that transparency to be something that is always core to the brand.

People will naturally talk about products if they are truly good and unique. I attribute much of my success to my loyal fans :)

Hey Jeff,

I have the same question. Who were your first customers and how were they acquired?

Yep, friends and word-of-mouth. I had won a few tshirt design competitions and made a little bit of a name for myself within the tshirt design industry. I also emailed blogs that I had been following with a personal message telling them about Ugmonk.

I started with 200 shirts. 4 designs, 50 of each. (One of the designs was so poorly printed that I never actually put it up on the site, but that's a whole other story)

Yes, many people/brands have ripped my designs. We've even had people lift our entire website code and just insert their products. The funny thing is that one time they forgot to change the contact email code on their FAQ so we were getting inquiries from their customers which is how we found out they stole our design.

Often I'll just email the shop owner or tweet about the knockoff and they will take it down immediately. Public shaming is probably not the best way to go about it, but people know deep down when they've stolen something. People seem to think the internet is a big enough place to get away with stealing stuff, but it's pretty crazy how many people get found out. Most of the time it's my fans that send me the links to the ripoffs.

At the end of the day my true fans and customers know what is legitimately Ugmonk and what's a knockoff, so I'm probably not losing a lot of sales to the knockoffs. Still very frustrating though!

My initial startup cost was around $2000 for 200 shirts. Many people choose to do pre-orders to gauge interest, rather than carrying inventory which can be a smarter way of doing it. I kinda just went for it and thankfully it played out well. That said, it's very easy to get a ton of cash sucked into inventory which can be problematic on the cash flow side of things.

Hey Brent, here's a few tips.

1. Think about what makes your brand different and make sure everything points back to that. Is it your style, your process, the way your products are made, the message behind your brand?

2. Tell your story like you'd tell it to a friend. People connect with authentic stories. Your passion for what you do will be more contagious than and "features & benefits" list.

3. Don't worry if some people don't "get it." Only focus on telling your story to the niche group of people who are truly interested in whatever your brand represents. 1,000 true fans :)

1. Producing physical products can be very time/money consuming. Just be prepared for everything to take more time and money than expected.

2. Start small and learn as you grow. Mistakes are easier to fix if you start on a small scale. Don't try to carry to much inventory at the beginning.

3. Finding good manufacturers is not easy. Every new product I produce involves a lot of time researching and talking to potential manufacturers. There are plenty of places overseas that can make things super cheap, but I try to find manufacturers in the USA that are focussed on quality and detail and treat their employees fairly.

For soccer I don't have a club team that I follow closely, but I enjoy watching the Premiere League when I get the chance. And obviously rooting for the US in the World Cup, CONCACAF, etc. but we have a long way to go :)

Exactly what I would like to know as well :)

I dig bags. I wish I could get into the business of making and selling bags at some point in the future. Jeff's post about Ugmonk's Messenger Bags was a turn on for me! :P After reading it, I went out, bought some materials and started making the bag of my dreams. But, it ended with just that one bag.

I knew almost nothing about textiles before I started Ugmonk. I had taken one basic screen printing class college but knew very little about the actual production process and garment industry.

Producing physical products is VERY different from digital design. Though something can look great on screen, it may not translate well to a physical product. Everything from scale to colors to printing techniques to materials needs to be carefully considered. Getting physical proofs of whatever you are producing is vital to understand each of these details.

And anything beyond simple screenprinted items gets exponentially more complicated. I share lots more details in this post: Messenger Bag Process: From Sketch to Finished Product

Nice! thanks for reppin the Mountains tee :)

Yes, I grew Ugmonk on the side for 2 years while working full-time at an agency. I'm a big proponent of starting something on the side and seeing where it goes before making any blind jumps.

I actually never thought Ugmonk would get to the point where I would go full-time with it but as I poured in many many hours those first 2 years it got to a point where I felt semi-comfortable making the leap. It did get to an unhealthy point where I was working every night and weekend in addition to my day job, but I knew that would only be temporary and was worth sticking it out.

I didn't take any money from the business for the first 2 years and saved up enough of a cushion so that when I jumped I had enough to fall back on just in case. Building it on the side allowed me to focus more on the products and less on the money. There's no magic time to make the jump since everyone's scenario is different, but this is just how I chose to do it.

I see inspiration as a collective thing rather than a specific source. I used to frequent design blogs a lot more, but don't find myself spending as much time on those anymore. I tried different bookmarking solutions but still prefer just dragging images into a folder on my desktop whenever something catches my eye. I've compiled a giant folder of images that I go to when I need a spark.

As far as beverages, either coffee (see my response to Paul for more on that) or water. My all-time favorite snack is home made chocolate chip cookies, but most days just trail mix or pita chips.

Music varies quite a bit, but a few bands I've really been digging: Ben Howard, London Grammar, Joywave, Aurora, Phoria, James Blake.

Finally a real important question :)

Usually only 1 cup a day. Since I work from home I have the luxury of being able to brew my own coffee without being in a rush and I enjoy the process. I use either the Aeropress or Chemex. Iced in the summer, hot for the rest of the year.

It's all about having freshly roasted beans. I was doing the Tonx (now Blue Bottle) subscription for a while, but I've recently been mixing it up. My current favorite roasters: Square One, Cartel Coffee Lab, and Counter Culture.

Wow, you have been following for a while! You're probably one of the few that has seen the full evolution of Ugmonk.

Thanks for your support over the years! This year's anniversary set is going to be killer :)

We don't really do any paid advertising. It's all word-of-mouth or via social media. Email is still our best channel.

But overall my products are my marketing

Hm, that's a good question. Not sure if these are the top 3 but these are what's coming to mind: Dieter Rams, Scott Hansen, Herb Lubalin,

Thanks Michael! Really appreciate your support! You picked a good day to rock the tee :)