Dear Jenny Pennywood Community,
It’s Sunday night, and I’m on the couch with a tequila + Squirt (iiykyk), and I feel like writing an unfiltered Mind Vacation about the new Studio Tee and the pay-what-you-want situation. So here we are.
OK, so the Studio Tee. Here’s what it was supposed to be: a broader step toward “patterned basics,” and a tee that felt inclusive across size and gender (we were calling it the Everybody Tee.) We significantly upped our usual production quantities so we could offer the shirt for wholesale, which was a big thing for us. I worked with a production manager in LA who came highly recommended and positioned himself as an expert. The samples looked great; we were excited, and I let myself take my eye off the ball for a sec. Production moved forward and was completed, and the box arrived for the photoshoot. Mistake #1: It was clear a shrink test hadn’t been done before it went to cut-and-sew, which was his job to do and that made the shirts boxier and less unisex than intended. I figured I could live with that, because who doesn’t love a boxy fit? But it went sideways when we realized that the single-needle stitch at the neckline, which worked perfectly in the sample, broke on many of the production shirts, and that was the moment our entire plan shifted. Fuck fuck fuck. I couldn’t roll these out for wholesale, nor would I try to sneak this broken thread thing by my customers. That would have been stressful and not in line with my standards. So we scrapped wholesale, and our solution was to be super transparent, do a pay-what-you-want thing, and move forward.
Pay-what-you-want feels good, and the shirts are selling, but still, fuck, you know. I love the tees and wear mine all the time. I took that broken stitch out with a pair of tweezers, washed it, and it’s perfectly imperfect, just like I like it. And really, the Jenny Pennywood vibe carries a certain amount of imperfectness, and so one could say that this batch of production is on brand, but I’m disappointed nonetheless. Plans freaking change, and it gets under my skin. Whhhyyyyy!!!!! Why can’t things just go as planned? I’ve realized that I have had to be fairly flexible in the work I do, but sometimes I just don’t want to bend. Does anyone else feel that way?
I have a feeling I’m not alone in my frustration, so let’s chat. Tell us all about how you had to bend, but didn’t want to, and how you dealt with it, felt about it, and what changed because of it. Drop it in the comments section. I’ll read through them and will pick a winner and a runner-up and send you a tee.
I want to hear all about it.
XO
JEN
43 comments
as a graphic designer for a big travel company, i have to bend my sense of what is best all the time, and compromise design for the personal preferences of some nit-picky bosses. one thing i’ve done to offset my cringing in this process is to sneak a tiny version of my dog into EVERYthing i do at work. no one knows except me, and for some reason it makes me feel better.
I love getting to hear the transparency on what went right, what went wrong, how you made your choices. I’ve been a fan of yours since seesun days, and have amazing memories of going to a sample sale in the Bayview. Thank you for sharing openly about this process! It’s so hard to be a small producer nowadays, and your honesty is what makes your work shine. Hope I win a tee!!
Hi, Jen. Something like this happened to me recently. I’m a photographer and decided to get out one of my old cameras to take photos for an exhibition coming up at my local arts center. I popped in some expired film and dreamt of how amazing the photos were going to turn out. Then I realized as the roll continued that something was not right. The film was being stretched inside there? I dunno, but each wind felt weirdly off. I decided to go with it and had my film developed and scanned. When the scans arrived I was humiliated and so agitated. I couldn’t look at the pictures for weeks. But I couldn’t forget about a couple of the shots. When I revisited them I decided that they were growing on me. Then I couldn’t stop thinking about them. I was considering giving them a humorous title to shrug it off, but decided to choose soft (vulnerability). Now the two pictures I’m exhibiting are part of a healing process that I didn’t know I needed. The photos were enlarged (which also was a new experience) and they’re at the framer now. I have no idea how they will ultimately land, but I’m following where the art wants to lead. I’m glad you chose to do the same thing. Thanks for sharing your story.
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