My shirts arrived and my shop is online. Woohoo...

Because the fotoshoot is not happening as fast as I had hoped I went online with step-in mannequin pictures. Naturally most of the shirts don't look as great as they are supposed to be. That'll push away some customers.

Then I learned that pin is not as fast as I thought because outside of Berlin/Brandenburg they working with third parties delaying the delivery more than necessary. Now I have to make the decision to pay more for shipping and use Deutsche Post or stick with pin. Both are climate neutral. 

Another issue I am facing is the tracking. For expensive items I definitely will need proper tracking to have seller protection on PayPal... Talking about PayPal, as expected they have frozen some of my incoming funds. Not that I mind. 

I also learned something about Facebook and friends.
Before I started the business I relied and calculated with word of mouth advertising. I had hoped that a lot of my friends would share my site. Instead I got good luck messages and congratulations on all ends. Well that's nice...Not how I can keep my shop running though. Having said that, I have a few friends that not only shared my page but actually bought a shirt. On that note, I want to point out how much I love my family. My mother was the first to buy 3 Shirts though I don't think she will wear them because of the fitted design. My brother bought a special edition music shirt, which I never expected because he is into heavy metal not heavy crystals. So thank you to both of them.

Now that the online advertising wasn't as fruitful as I'd hoped, I had two events where I want to promote my designs. Unfortunately one of them already turned out to be a big bust. The event was too good to be true and as it turns out it wasn't true. The organizers have defrauded eurovision fans, leaving a lot of them with travel and accommodation costs they are not getting back. Because I was suspicious and asked around in the OGAE community and I got more go aheads than cautious warnings. I booked everything with no money back policy two days before the cancellation announcement. I suppose it's partially my fault to be stuck with the cost of the hotel and so on, being a cheapskate and looking for the cheapest available offers.

Well, this is now done and dusted and I focus on the future. There is a monthly gathering called pulse of Europe. Some of you probably know it already. It is basically an event happening all over Europe where people get together to demonstrate pro Europe. So you see, the perfect location for "my heart beats for Europe/unity" 

And we're open for business. My new webshop is now open! At the moment the selection is limited with 3 shirts for men and 5 for women. I think it is a good start though and I am hoping for your help: Please spread the word!
Why should you buy a shirt?

• the shirts are FairTrade and the material is organic Cotton- you could say that these shirts are not only environment friendly but human firendly
• the design looks really great. The colors are really bright and strong (except for the Music design: this is for those that prefer a subtle shirt - unless you take the Special Edition which is full of sparkle ;) )
• the message is important. I was already accused of being a "do-gooder". While this is intended as an insult I am proud to say, we stand Equality, Union and try to make the world a better place. can we do it with a shirt? Probably not, but it is a start.
• They are good value for money. At the moment each shirt is priced at 29,99 Euro (unless you buy the special edition of the Music design)

The pictures don't really do the shirts justice as the professional fotoshoot will not take place for another 2 weeks and I am a bad fotographer!
Buy a shirt, will you?