Greater>Than Clothing

I had a fairly productive weekend here at G>T headquarters, and I just wanted to check in with a couple of updates:

• After getting feedback from several friends on ~15 design concepts, I decided on the first two Greater>Than Clothing designs! Stay tuned for full descriptions.
• I did a bit of financial analysis, convincing myself that I might actually be able to make more money on these shirts than I spend. I’m mentally prepared to take the plunge and order some inventory. Now it’s a matter of getting my ideas executed as t-shirts. More on that later as well.
• I applied for a license to do business in the state of Washingon. It was easy; I did the whole thing online and it only cost $20 to apply. Next up will be a license for Seattle, and once I have that I think I’ll be officially allowed to do some business.
• I upgraded Wordpress (the software running this site) to v2.1, and so far I like the new version a lot.

I’m feeling good. I like the momentum that seems to be building around this project. It seems that once I set a goal and broke it into individual steps, things started to flow. Perhaps simply switching from abstract visualizing to concrete problem-solving allows solutions to emerge.

• Washington State Department of Licensing
• Wordpress.org

Great ideas can come from anywhere at any time. My vision is to make Greater>Than Clothing as idea-friendly an organization as possible so that we can take advantage of any and all the great ideas that come our way. Further, I hope to encourage people to send in those ideas by making interacting with Greater>Than as rewarding as possible. I’m all about giving credit where credit is due and I firmly believe that if you create ideas with value you should be able to reap tangible rewards. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to put my money where my mouth is. Intrigued?

Of course, it’s hard to create in a vacuum. How is one to know if his idea is a Greater>Than contender? First, I’ll say err on the side of inclusion. Greater>Than is young and still largely undefined. You can influence what it is and what it isn’t by letting me know what you think it should be. Second, I’ll be using this site to define the idea as I currently understand it and as it develops. It is in that spirit that I present an idea that I’ve been kicking around for a while, an idea that I think could easily make the jump from concept to Greater>Than product:

Sparrow>Snail

I have no problem admitting that I had a Simon and Garfunkel phase. Those two guys were really on to something for a while there. Plus, Paul went on to release Graceland a decade and a half later, and that album still rules. It is, however, important for me to make it clear that my S&G phase is behind me, and I realize that I’m risking that as I admit that as I started to think about Greater>Than, the juxtaposing lines from their song “El Condor Pasa (If I Could)” inspired me:

I’d rather be a sparrow than a snail.
Yes I would.
If I could,
I surely would.
I’d rather be a hammer than a nail.
Yes I would.
If I only could,
I surely would.

These lyrics carry an air of truth that transcends experience. This is a trivial point at first glance. Of course I’d rather be a hammer than a nail. Everyone would; you don’t need to have been hit with a hammer to come to that conclusion. But the song isn’t about choosing up sides, it’s about wishing you were what you aren’t. It’s the snail who’s singing, and we’ve all been there before. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve noticed a cool pattern in the comments on this blog. Many of them are of the form “x>y”, which is exciting. I like that the community around this site is already creating traditions. I’ve decided to call these little statements “G>T”s, and I’ve set up a “G>T”s page to list them. I’ll add to the page as I receive new ideas. All you need to do is comment in that format on any blog post or use the contact form to e-mail me. Thank you for sharing your ideas. Thank you for participating in the evolution of Greater>Than Clothing. Keep those “G>T”s coming!