In a world where Amazon can co-opt your business model overnight, and it seems there are 50 competitors moving in on every angle, what is the rhyme and reason behind starting our own small design & printing company? We built Overcast because we realized that even if there are 100 companies who all claim to do the same thing better than the next, we can still be different, and we can still be better - not just for ourselves, but for the art, the artist, the customer, and ourselves.
Even in the phygital age, where an idea can be born from brain to pixel to page in minutes, there is a still a huge and growing place for personal and crafted service. While some websites fit the artists into a box and make them conform to a business model, we try and run things differently. We work diligently to make sure that our artists aren’t limited by our processes, but rather allowed to explore the processes themselves, to find what works for them and how our collaboration expands their art to its full potential, while bringing it to life as a marketable product.
When we see art that speaks to us, we reach out personally and if the creator is interested in collaborating, we work with them hand in hand to produce a deliverable that is worth the time and effort. Sometimes it can be as simple as choosing the right medium, other times it can be more challenging. If an artist is not comfortable or able to work with digital processes, we work with them step by step to convert their physical product to a digital or screen print in a way where the artist knows what and why we are doing, and we allow and encourage their input to the process, so that they not only understand where we are coming from, but they also see where they can be going with their designs.
This means if someone is not comfortable or knowledgeable about the ins and outs of production - for example if we are converting an artist’s photograph into a screen print, (which to the uninitiated can be a very mysterious process.) We walk them through it step by step until they see how the physical realities of the process impact the design, and we allow them to change or tweak things to make a reliable product which meets the aesthetic and economic needs of each artist - with our help of course!
We don’t hold artists and creators to price points, we don’t keep them limited to a certain size. If it can be done, we work with our artists to find a way to make it happen. If an artist chooses to change their design to make a product more in line with what consumers want, that’s what we do. If they want to buy from us wholesale and sell themselves, then we work to make that happen. If they want nothing to do with production, then we are happy to take the helm.
From one of a kind, to editioned designs, on up to mass production making as many for as little cost as possible, we work to do it - even if it means a smaller bottom line this quarter or next, because ultimately, creators, producers, and consumers want authenticity and integrity, even if it’s on a t-shirt.