The Musings of a Free Spirit

Q: You've been to so many places in the world. Why did you choose to settle in China?

A: I left England when I was around 17, 18. I didn't finish school and I didn't want to so I moved to Africa first, then went to South America and India. When I was 20, I went to Qingdao to visit my brother. From there, I moved up to Beijing.

       At first I didn't even like Beijing. It was a very controlled environment; foreigners had to live in specified areas, had to use a specific type of money to buy things priced specifically for them, and so on. I hated the unfairness of it all! I moved in with a Chinese family in Dazhongsi. I didn't expect to stay at first but it just happened. Living with them, I learned a lot about the language and the culture. I met artists in Yuanmingyuan, hung out with musicians, and slowly I started to like Beijing. In 1995, I started my first business. It was a market research company and I worked at it for five years. It was pretty successful so I stayed. 

Q: How did you go from running a market research company to starting a t-shirt shop?

A: I don't have much schooling but I do have the belief that I can do anything if I put my mind to it. While I didn't like Beijing at first, I eventually came to appreciate it. Because I enjoy design, it was a natural process for me then to take images of the city that I love--objects, stickers, tickets--play with them and then put them on t-shirts. I wanted to create a brand unique to Beijing that represents how I see the city. Plastered 8 is the result.

Q: How was it at first?

A: It was very difficult. I wanted to build a brand for young Chinese people, not foreigners. But in the beginning I had few customers and 90% of them were foreigners. The Chinese didn't like the cloth I was using and they didn't understand why I was putting thermoses and old things like that on t-shirts.

       The media caught on though after a lot of marketing and events. From there, my brand started to take off. In China, it's important to "have face." You have to have a recognizable brand. I have that power now so it's easier to sell stuff.

Q: What was the inspiration behind the name "Plastered 8"?

A: Well it was just "Plastered," originally. The "8" came because I chose to use a traditional Beijing building plate as my shop's sign and I needed a number in the white space. I chose the number eight because it's lucky in Chinese culture. But in English, the world "plastered" has multiple meanings: to "plaster" something on a t-shirt or on a wall, to be drunk. It's playful and it suits a street brand because it's risky and fun. It makes people think.

       The Chinese meaning is interesting too. When people first see it, they think, "Why?" And then they smile. So many people ask me why I named my brand Chuangketie. The fact that they do means the name is memorable and that is an incredibly powerful branding tool.

Q: Do you study other designers, read fashion magazines, and look at Beijing street fashion? Or do you isolate yourself from external influences when it comes to designing your shirts?

A: The people here in Nanluoguxiang are definitely fashionable. And when it comes to cloth or t-shirt styles and cuts I take note of others. But I don't follow others in my choice of graphics. The reason we got so much attention in the first place was because we were different. If I copy others or design for my customers, the brand will become commercial and lose its way.

       Graphic shirts are common. But I follow my heart when it comes to designing my products and that's how we distinguish ourselves from our competitors. For example, one of my greatest passions is exploring secondhand markets. Every Thursday, I spend about three hours at Panjiayuan. Everyone knows me there. What's junk to some people is treasure to me and I get a lot of inspiration from the stuff I see there.  

Q: Have you had previous experience in fashion design or the arts?

A: No. I love art, especially contemporary art, but I'm terrible at it. Plastered has been a platform for me to pursue art on my own.

Q: You were on a CCTV forum advocating for the importance of instilling creativity in kids. How do you propose doing this?

A: There's an English saying: "an idle mind is a devil's playground." I have an idle mind and the devil's playground is a very creative place for me. For Chinese kids however, there is no such thing as an idle mind. The education system here is very competitive. It's a lot of learning and a lot of memorizing. You have to give 100% in everything. It would take a revolution to change it but that's how I think creativity can be inspired in kids. Just hang out! Take a bit of love. I took my eldest daughter out of school because there's just too much work. Six year olds shouldn't be doing three hours of homework every night! They should be having fun, drawing, painting, doing creative stuff.

       I work with a lot of Chinese graphic artists. Many of them have just graduated from college and the ideas they bring to the table are amazing. I think it's a result of leaving home, losing pressure, and finding their own way in life. Chinese kids have so much potential--creative and otherwise--that I think can be realized in ways besides the current schooling system.

Q: Creativity is obviously the guiding principle behind Plastered 8. What about the technical aspects of the business?

A: Production's a real headache. We buy our cloth from Guangzhou and we outsource to three manufacturing factories. The main manufacturer is in Beijing's Tongzhou district. They have thousands of workers producing for the big brands like Kappa and Anta. We use them for large orders and things like hoodies and zip-ups between the months of May and November, when they're not flooded with orders from the bigger brands. The quality's exceptional and the inspection time isn't as lengthy. The other two manufacturers are in Shunyi district and in Tianjin. 

       We also have three screen-printing factories. We use whichever one depending on the time of the year and how complicated the print is. If it's simple, any factory is acceptable. If it's a little more elaborate, we like to go with the factory specializing in screen-printing.

       The designs are created by five artists and five graphic artists. They're local, hired on a freelance basis to create a brand for whatever city we're selling in. Even though our designs are Beijing-influenced, they work for any city. But we're working towards opening a flagship store the first quarter of next year in Shanghai that'll have Shanghai-specific designs.

       When I first started, I usually placed my orders around 1000 t-shirts. No one wanted to deal with me. But ever since the economic downturn, the export market has slowed down and people want smaller orders because the risk of not selling isn't as high.

Q: The economic situation is unique. Outside of China, it's collapsing and on its way to recovery while in China, it's booming. How has this affected your business?

A: Our business has always been going up and up. Our store in Nanluoguxiang has pattered off a bit because you can only sell so much from one store and our market share has been eaten up by copiers but in general, Plastered is still on the up. I'm not a luxury brand; the retail sector I'm in hasn't had a slump at all. People I deal with in the United States have been hit and they don't quite understand or believe me when I say things are great.

       It's crazy to see how China has held on. It's very impressive and I have a lot of respect for the Chinese. 15 years ago I would've never believed it possible to see China pay for the operations of the American government. But change is very much a part of Chinese culture now.

Q: What kinds of changes will your company be going through in the future?

A: Right now, we're selling our products through Taobao. But we've spent a lot of time and money on a new website from which we can operate. We're placing a lot of hope on the Internet and overseas market--that's our concentration for the rest of this year. By March or April of next year we're looking to open in Shanghai. It's a big step because if the plan works out, we can scale and replicate it in any city around China.

Q: Do you plan on turning your company into a major international brand or do you want to remain an independent, specialty chain?

A: I don't really have a strategy for global expansion. I can see 10, 15 stores maybe but 1000? No, I'm not that kind of guy. I've overseen the opening of stores in Guangzhou, Chengdu, Singapore, Seattle, and Paris and that's enough for me. My talents are purely creative. But I've taken on a new CEO for our business and given him a stake in the company. He's coming in with a lot of branding experience and strategy. He has the lust, passion, and vision that'll move us on.

Source form China Textile Magazine

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