Shawn and his son Finn are the masterminds behind Robotcha: shirts for kids who love robots. Just like Finn — this 4 year old is obsessed with robots. Together they brainstorm robots constantly and doodle them out in the official Robot Design Notebook. Then Shawn draws them up on the computer, with brutal, heavy-handed art direction from Finn.
Shawn/Finn: What’s so fascinating about robots?
Finn: They can do things that humans can’t do.
Shawn: (Like what)…?
Finn: Like make ice cream and have it come out of their chest. And they can help you. And they can have battles.
How did you learn about Spreadshirt? Did you know us before or after you had the idea to open a “robot shirt” shop?
Shawn: Actually, we probably never would have taken the shirt shop idea seriously if it wasn’t for Spreadshirt. (I know that sounds like a shameless plug, but it’s true!) I can’t remember how I heard about it originally, but I remember it was WAY back when you had your old logo (sorry, design nerd here!).
So I always had it in the back of my mind that I should think of a good way to put Spreadshirt to use.When Finn and I started dreaming up robots, I realized that the illustration style I was thinking—kind of clunky, almost Japanese character-like—would be perfect for the flex printing. I could build a whole look around solid, minimal colors and really graphic drawings.
And the fact that it was print on demand meant there was no pressure—except the pressure from Finn to get his shirts a.s.a.p.!
Where do you take the inspiration for new designs? How do you create the designs — does Finn do some drawings as well?
Finn: At McNamara’s!
Shawn: Yeah, there’s this restaurant up the street that Finn and I go to all the time. They give him crayons and paper, and we always sit there dreaming up robots. We both draw them, though ultimately I have to render the finals on the computer with Finn looking over my shoulder. Believe it or not, he has rejected many designs that “don’t look right”! He’s the art director.
What’s your favorite design – any robot you feel especially connected to?
Finn: I like the Astrobot (rocket robot) and the ones that glow in the dark.
How much time do you invest in your shop?
Shawn: It used to be a lot more, but we’ve both been busy—me with work, and Finn with preschool. But we never stop sketching, so we’ve got a huge backlog of designs to get finished—
Finn: And the one for Ruby…
Shawn: Oh yeah, and the custom special order Finn dreamt up for his girlfriend’s birthday present…
Where and how do you market your shop and make it well-known?
Finn: Wearing the shirt.
Shawn: Actually, yeah in part. Locally, just wearing the shirts around our friends gets us lots of business! And Finn’s a great spokesman. On a wider scale, we shared them with a couple “mommy blogs” and they loved them and wrote them up. And then the word kind of spread. HOW Magazine (graphic design mag) found me and did a write up on them. Robotcha is also a part of my bio on my site and is mentioned whenever my design studio or I get some press.
If you think back from the “opening” of your shop up to now, what would be the the most important insight that you would give a newcomer?
Shawn: I think customizing the shop and incorporating it into a well-branded site made people’s initial impression really strong. Plenty of people don’t know there’s anyone but me and Finn involved! It just comes off as “Robotcha”. So I’d say consider the way you put together your shop as carefully as the shirts themselves. In fact, I could (and should) go back and reorganize things a bit now that I know more.
I also think specializing in one thing has helped. It’s helped us focus our creativity for the better, but it also makes a greater impact with customers I think. Either specialization in subject matter or an audience—or both, like us!
What was your biggest achievement up to now (with or without Spreadshirt)?
Shawn: Honestly, I think it’s just watching Finn tell people he made his shirt. People come up to him all the time and say “Hey, I love your shirt!” And when he says “We made it!” they look at him like you look at a little kid who’s BSing you. But he says “Really! We did! We have a whole web site!” It’s great to be able to do it with him.
What do you do for a living, or better said: what do you do when you are not fiddling around with robot shirts?
Finn: I go to school in room 103. And I like playing Legos and Star Wars and dinosaurs.
Shawn: I’m a graphic designer. (So, I had a slight advantage with respect to question #7!) People think I’m a little nuts because I do design all day and then do MORE design in my free time. But they’re totally different. Robotcha is a way for me (and Finn) to burn off our excess creative energy. I also have several nerdy design blogs and am about to launch two more Spreadshirt shops!
If you were a robot, what would you look like?
Finn: I would be a solider robot with a suit of armor.
Shawn: I would be tall with long legs but thick around the middle and I’d run on coffee and have a computer mouse attached to my hand. Oh wait a minute…
Which question have you always wanted to be asked and what is the answer?
Finn: “Can R2D2 to move in with you?” And I would say yes.
Shawn’s Question: “Would you like to design this airline’s logo and all their planes?” The answer is yes and YES…
Ami
Dave
This is the most creative father/son team! What a great interview!