July 12, 2016 |
84° | ! Check Traffic
Business| Buy Local
Quirky idkwhat2wear brand is a
hit with craft-fair crowd
COURTESY
IDKWHAT2WEAR
One
of
the
popular
designs
sold
by
idkwhat2wear
is
"eat
a
Duck
I must
It is the type of stuff that makes you smile, or grin, or laugh out loud, and it is made by
a mom-and-pop business with the kids’ help and input — though this mom and pop,
Terri Dux and Karl Miyashiro, are not married to each other.
Gasp!
But back to the amusing.
Some of the most popular designs of the brand idkwhat2wear riff on Japa"mese words
or sayings, such as “Eat a Duck I Must,” which is based on “ita​da​ki​masu,” a Japa​nese
phrase uttered before one takes the first bite of a meal.
Another, “Don’t Touch My Mustache,” is a takeoff of “doita"bhi"l a"r hite,” or “You’re
welcome” in Japa​nese. On another shirt, a pair of geta (Japa​nese footwear) precedes
the word “life.” Get it?
“Karl is the artist,” Dux said, though many of the ideas come from both Dux’s and Miya​shiro’s kids. On the Miya​shiro side, Garrin is 26, Darci is 24 and Kelli is 22, while Laura
Dux is 19.
“Kelli is the one who suggested we create a T-shirt design saying ‘idk,'” Dux said. When
it became clear that neither parent knew what “idk” stood for, an Abbott and Costellolike conversation ensued.
“What does ‘idk’ mean?” Kelli was asked. “‘I don’t know,'” she replied, and so on. Once it
was asserted that yes, Kelli knew what it means, and it really does stand for the words
“I don’t know,” “we all laughed. … We liked it so much, we named our company idk​what​2​wear,” Dux said.
Now popular at the annual Kawaii Kon anime convention, the Made in Hawaii Festival
and other venues listed on its website, the company grew out of previous efforts under
the Papaya Press corporate entity established in 1995.
“We started to do graphic design for publications, and that’s kind of how we started
Papaya Press,” said Dux. The main publication for which it did layout and ads folded,
but it wasn’t really the creative outlet Dux and Miya​shiro envisioned anyway, “so our
direction changed.”
Miyashiro was a craft fair veteran, and Dux started her own craft fair efforts selling
women’s clothing until the decision was made to combine forces. Wear Hawaii was
registered in 1998.
At first the partners “just did T-shirts, but then we got into buttons,” she said, and once
the funny “idk” conversation took place, re-branding to idk​what​2​wear became official
in 2007.
The buttons are the cute or amusing type one pins onto a shirt, lanyard, messenger
bag or pretty much anywhere a button can be pinned.
They also are a rapid-fire product to make, compared with the T-shirts: After Miya"r hiro
comes up with a concept, he can “design it … produce it and have it on the table the
same day,” and it’s easy to make four-color designs, Dux said. They sell for $1.50 each
or four for $5.
T-shirts and ladies’ racerback tank tops, on the other hand, are more complicated and
time-consuming, especially if the design requires more than one color.
Aside from Dux and Miya​shiro having regular day jobs in the advertising department at
HomeWorld, they don’t own their own screen-printing equipment.
They have a friend in Wahiawa who does, though, so they coordinate use of his
printing gear, mostly during weekends.
Tees cost $19 each or two for $36. The racerback tank tops are $21.
In addition to getting design inspiration from the grown kids, Dux and Miya​shiro use
the idk​what​2​wear Facebook page for market research, to float new concepts to loyal
fans. “We have really, really great customers, and they give us good feedback,” she
said. “It’s instant; we find out right away.”
As many businesses know, Facebook also is a good, free venue through which to
promote a company, its wares and its whereabouts, especially come craft fair time.
Individual orders also can be taken online, though the bulk of idk​what​2​wear’s business
is done at craft fairs.
The newest merchandise line is titled “Sew Sketchy.”
“It’s like peeking into Karl’s sketchbook,” she said. He will draw on fabric, and she will
sew over the design to make the sketch permanent. Dux makes the one-of-a-kind
designs into pouches that sell for $12.
In addition to the apparel, buttons and pouches, idk​what​2​wear makes bucket bags —
tote bags with round bottoms — primarily from upholstery samples. They sell for $29,
but she also posted a tutorial on the website so those who sew can make their own.
Dux “has learned so much” from tutorials on other websites, she thought she would
share the bucket bag tutorial on her own site.
Another tutorial she posted online shows how to convert luxuriously fuzzy socks into
cute, soft, stuffed cats.
“Big Bang Theory” fans should be hearing the “Soft Kitty” song in their heads about
now.
But Dux no longer makes the critters, so you, your fuzzy socks, needle, thread and a
few other accoutrements are on your own.
———
“Buy Local” runs on Aloha Fridays. Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303,
[email protected] or on Twitter as @erikaengle.