Rejoice nerdy parents, I have found the apparel which will appease the appetites of your unruly adolescents. An internet-based clothing company has hit upon a brilliant business plan – they design shirts for kids who like robots. Robotcha is owned by Shawn Hazen and heavily influenced by his son, Finn, who even named the store. With a dozen various designs in a wide range of colors and sizes, this father-son duo is guaranteed to have something that’s going to be loved by your little bot-enthusiast at home. Even if that little bot-enthusiast happens to be you (yes, they have adult sizes). Most of their products sell for $15 to $20 (not bad for internet shirts) and some come in various fun textures like fuzzy, glittery, or glow in the dark. Check out Finn and his younger brother Cormac modeling some robotically awesome shirts in the pictures below. My old Sesame Street pullovers seem tame in comparison.
Robotcha is emblematic of a new kind of store. They don’t make the t-shirts, they really just sell you the design. The Hazens use SpreadShirt to print their concept clothing, and ship it to you. It’s going to be interesting to see how business enablers like Spreadshirt continue to change the landscape of small scale enterprises on the web. Many websites have a store and the costs for maintaining these virtual shops are very small. (Did you know you could buy Singularity Hub t-shirts designed by yours truly? They’re awesomely awful.) Finn Hazen may be starting early, but most youths these days have already taken to the net to express themselves creatively. I have a feeling that the years ahead will see a glut of t-shirt shops full of amazing and fun clothing. Many of us will be designing, most of us will be buying. The role of consumer and producer is merging into the prosumer. Funny name, serious business. So watch out, Robotcha. You’re about the cutest thing on the web right now, but give it a few years and your competition is going to be everywhere.
[image credits: Robotcha]
[source: Robotcha]
