Despite being a relative new comer to the world of gamer related clothing, Insert Coin T-Shirts have quickly established a reputation in the UK for über cool designs and high quality materials and they are MASSIVE with gamers all over the country.
We spoke to the top man Dan to learn a bit more about them. Plus we have a great comp to win 3 awesome Insert Coin T-shirts (see below).
How did Insert Coin Clothing come about?
It all started because Jon (Rhodes, Creative Director) and I used to work side by side as a creative double act at an agency. We both loved games and tees and we used to talk endlessly about how there weren’t any good ones out there. We started buying a few, but we were shocked by the quality.
The prints were poor, the tees cheap and flimsy and the overall customer experience was terrible. Turns out these companies were run as side projects – one guy in his room, running three or four businesses and pretending it was some huge company. We were so disappointed by the whole experience and that’s when we realised – we could do better.
So we started planning, drew on all our knowledge and our contacts and we brought together something that gamers and geeks deserved – bespoke, high quality tees with great prints, all wrapped up with an awesome customer experience. At least that’s the aim – and we’re always working towards it.
How long has Insert Coin Clothing been going?
We’ve been up and running for a little over a year now. It’s been a busy few months and things have exploded really. We didn’t expect to be where we are now – hoped, of course, but we never dreamt we would’ve become so recognised as a brand.
How have you managed to become so popular so quickly?
Ha ha! Do you know, we’re not sure ourselves! I think it’s just that we have a real community built up around us. It’s not just ‘us’ and ‘them’ like with other companies, we interact, we talk to our fans and followers. We’ve also been extremely lucky that people within the gaming industry have taken us to their hearts.
I guess it’s just because we offer something that no one else has before – people like what we do and how we do it. And we don’t take any of that for granted. We’re always striving to give a better service, make better designs, tweak the tee specs… we always want to do better.
It is genuinely touching though, we never grow tired of talking to people who come up to us at shows… everyone’s so lovely. We couldn’t believe it when they started chanting our name at Eurogamer Expo!
How many designs have you done so far?
In total, we’ve done about 30 designs – which we don’t think is bad for a relatively small company in a little over a year! The overall aim is to create 12-18 designs every year… that seems to be the optimum kind of pace at the moment.
What has been your most popular Tshirt?
Now you’re asking! It’s always changing all the time, but people have loved our official Sonic designs and the excitement surrounding our
upcoming Assassin’s Creed hoodie – complete with ‘eagle peak’ – has been insane.
We can’t wait to unleash that design on the world… we’re really excited about it!
What new designs have you got coming up?
We’ve got about a dozen designs coming out in the next few weeks. We’ve got four new main range tees (inspired by Halo: Combat Evolved, Star Fox 64, Resident Evil 4 and Metal Gear Solid 2), two official Sonic hoodies (Team Sonic and Eggman Industries), our classic Zelda-inspired ‘Fishing Tournament’ design as a hoodie, and our two official Oddworld designs (Sekto Springs and New Yolk City).
Plus we have our official Assassin’s Creed range too (Animus tee and Monteriggioni hoodie – in Auditore Grey and Sanguine Red). It’s going to be a very busy couple of months ahead!
What is your Fav all time video game?
Tough question! There are five of us in the studio, so it’s always a matter of great debate, but *personally*, I would say that it is a close call between Shadow of the Colossus and Gunstar Heroes. Two very different games, but they are both great experiences and they show how broad the videogame spectrum is – from bubblegum-style sprites, to design by subtraction.
That’s what helps us as tee designers, there’s so much inspiration out there and we’re just so happy to be a part of it!
For more info visit www.insertcoinclothing.com
** This competition is now closed **
This competition is now closed, for our latest competitions click HERE