The new fall line is a perfect example of the new slightly more grown up look of GK. Introduced for the first time are cut and sew items such as cardigans and button up flannels. These items really show GK trying to further their customer base while remaining true to their style. Aside from the new cut and sew pieces you are going to notice a lot more toned down color schemes that coincide with more of a fall look. By toning down color schemes and introducing more mature looking cut and sew pieces I really feel like GK is doing a great job at introducing new products while not alienating their current customers.

Overall I am extremely happy with the new line. The prices are fairly reasonable and the designs are spot on. I am really looking forward to more cut and sew pieces from these guys. Now we just need a sale to coincide with the launch!

Favorite Piece:

The GK Cardigan – $34.99
Very effective simple design, I can definitely see rocking this during the fall season.

Least Favorite:

The only design I really wasn’t feeling was the Stand and Unite shirt. Overall the design is extremely simple and lacking. If this was released for a lesser known brand and it would probably remain unsold.

Overall Grade: A-

Check out the full line at: GlamourKills.com

When did you start Arkaik Clothing?

Arkaik was started in the winter of my junior year (of high school), so I guess that was 2007? But things didn’t really start getting serious until about six months ago.

What was the inspiration behind starting Arkaik?

Arkaik was more a self-realization than an inspiration. I looked at my enormous wardrobe and realized that 90% of the shirts in there were printed on super crappy tees with an incredibly thick print. I decided that there should be, and now there are quite a few, reasonably priced, well made tee shirts in the market (whereas in 2005/2006 there weren’t THAT many).

I believe that you guys did a bit of re-branding in the last couple months. What made you decide to go the new route and what changes did you make?

About five months ago there was a point when my ex-girlfriend, and investor, pulled out all her money, and Arkaik was pretty much left with nothing. As I was really only doing Arkaik for fun, I really didn’t see the point in continuing. However, over the summer, a lot of people, through MySpace, Emptees, and the bands I sponsor, basically refused to allow me to quit, and I decided that if I were to continue Arkaik, I needed to get more serious and actually make it legitimate. So I went back to the drawing board, found a super old design from a previous shirt, and decided to make it the logo and have everything revolve around it, thus the Mammoth skull logo and release was born.

Where do you see Arkaik evolving to next?

That’s really for me to know and you to never find out. Just kidding. But seriously, I have started taking things day by day, I found that when I try to look really far ahead, and plan out super sick stuff, I just get caught up and can’t sell my current stock. I’d really like to venture into cut and sew within the next six to seven months, as that’s always been a dream of mine, since I started Arkaik. Arkaik also has tentative plans to go on Warped Tour next summer, (along with our buddies over at class=”bloglink”>The Printed Mind and CherrySauce [You’re welcome for the shout out Levi and Mike <3]) but we’ll see how that all pans out!

It’s no secret that there are an absolute ton of t-shirt companies out there, what are you guys doing to stick out?

I tell everyone I meet; I don’t do Arkaik to make money. I really don’t, for me it’s never been about making a quick buck, and it’s definitely never been about getting famous (or whatever bullshit premonitions some people might have.) I really do what I do because I love it. I love interacting with people, I love making comfortable shirts with rad designs, and I love walking around and bumping into someone wearing my shirt-it rules. I try to talk to every single person I come across, whether or not they like Arkaik, and whether or not they are a customer, and treat them the same. I’ve had a ton of people buy shirts just because of the interactions we’ve had. So I guess that’s kind of what sets me apart?

What’s the hardest thing about running a tee company?

Time management. I’m a freshman in college. I’ve always had problems managing my time and making sure I get everything done. It’s even more difficult now since the majority of my business is online, I’m taking 18 credit hours, and I’m an assistant manager at my real job. But I think I’ve finally started to find a balance that works for my line and me.

If you could pick only one of your shirts to show of your company which one would it be?

Survival’s “T-Rex” shirt is definitely my favorite. I printed it in 3 colors for our “come back” line and I had to call the guys at Storenvy to get me another 50 within a couple of days. I think that it really embraces what Arkaik stands for, and no matter what color it goes on, it looks amazing.

Do you guys have any sales or coupon codes our readers should know about?

Being the very cliché young man that I am, I will make a code called “Trend” that will enable your readers to get… hmmm; I have power, 25% off. That is right, I will make it 25%. :]

Thanks a ton for the interview!!

The launch of SHRED is textbook how to get a line off to a great start. First off the artwork is incredible and more importantly the screen print of the artwork is off the charts!!! As you can see these designs are HUGE, and sometimes when you get such a huge screen print it can feel like you are wearing a big piece of plastic on the front of your shirt. This is definitely not the case with the SHRED line. The screen print is soft and blends well with the shirt, resulting in an extremely comfortable and wearable piece of art. The quality of the shirt is also spot on, using American Apparel which is quickly becoming industry standard.

If you are looking to launch a brand definitely take some notes here. If you are looking for a few more summer t-shirts get out the credit card its time to order. The only thing that SHRED can improve upon to really take it over the top is the packaging. I am sure we will see this in the near future. This line is definitely for fans of Electric Zombie, Rockett, Zombie Licorice and fans of IRON MAIDEN!

A Couple Questions with Jon Kruse

Short Company Bio:
I threw around the idea of creating a badass clothing line along the lines of Rockett and Electric Zombie back in December and decided to pursue it along with a few others a couple months later. We just launched the store along with our sister website shrednews.com, which is going to have articles about the music scene. I am really proud of everything we have done so far and am excited for the future. We are sponsoring bands and are going to be at all the major concerts in the following year.

Tee Shirt material/Printing process:
All of our shirts are printed on American Apparel, which are the finest shirts I have worn. Everything is screen printed by the guys at Storenvy and they have done an amazing job. The prints are super soft and the colors turned out amazing. You really need to see these close up to appreciate them.

Where can we purchase this shirt?
You can get them on our site shredclothing.com or at the IAMTHETREND STORE