I've accidentally started an apparel line for SOLARPUNKit.
Clothing made in the USA, artwork by me (I'm learning), and real screen print ink transfers pressed right here in my workshop using daylight for fuel (solar powered heat presses).
I didn’t plan this, and I didn’t even really want to. My original goal was just to launch the SOLARPUNKit website for solar trailer kits, solar panels, batteries, inverters, and other hardware over time. But the trailer kits aren’t 100% ready yet, so that part of the site is still hidden.
At the same time, I didn’t want SOLARPUNKit to feel like a placeholder or just a collection of vendor products. Some people had also started asking for merch. Apparel seemed the least wrong way to have something real available without rushing hardware.
Print On Demand (Sucks)
The obvious solution is print-on-demand (POD): upload designs to services like Printful or Gelato and let them handle inventory, printing, mockups, and shipping. T-shirts, hats, mugs, water bottles — the full YouTuber starter kit.
Unfortunately, I’m a perfectionist.
I ordered samples from multiple POD services and hated all of them. The print quality wasn’t great, shipping and customer service were inconsistent, and the materials felt cheap and disposable. In one case a sample took almost three months to arrive. For most of the samples I got, things started falling apart after minimal use and washing.
That's not my style. Fast Fashion != Solarpunk.
Local Source?
Another option was working with a local print shop and doing a traditional bulk run.
The problem there is inventory risk. To get decent pricing, I’d have to commit thousands of dollars upfront to a specific design, then guess sizes, colors, and quantities. If something doesn’t sell, I’m stuck with boxes of shirts and a lighter bank account.
That might make sense later. Right now, I wanted something that didn’t require betting big on guesses.
The Decision
So the simplest option, even if it meant more work, was to take it in-house.
That means:
- designing the artwork myself
- choosing the blanks
- pressing the designs
- handling shipping and customer service
If a shirt shows up messed up, that’s on me.
A week ago, I didn’t know what taped seams were, what Direct to Transfer meant, that plastisol is a real word, or the difference between open-end and combed ring-spun cotton. Now I at least know enough to not sound completely lost in a conversation about it.
This is how I tend to approach things: I obsess until I understand something well enough to do it myself. My workshop is full of projects that followed that exact pattern.
The difference here is that I can’t just move on once I get bored — I actually need to sell some of this to replenish my bank account and keep SOLARPUNKit moving forward. And honestly, I’m more excited about the potential of a thoughtful apparel line than I expected to be.
Still, I’m aware this could feel like a distraction. That’s why I’m writing this down.
Basic Process
There are many ways to run an apparel operation, from raw materials all the way to POD. This is just my current setup:
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Order blanks - I'm using Bayside Blanks (made in USA), sourced through bulk suppliers. They're consistent, durable, and align with the values I care about, not to mention comfortable.
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Design artwork - Some designs are simple text or logos. Others are based on real photos from my solar trailer project. I also can’t resist sneaking in inside jokes and custom tag labels with bad puns.
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Make/Order artwork - I opted for plastisol screen print transfers instead of vinyl or basic DTF. They’re softer, more durable, and closer to traditional screen printing.
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Press Design - Heat and pressure, applied with an actual shirt press. Simple in theory, but there’s a lot of nuance around timing, temperature, and adhesion.
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Marketing & Photos - I’m learning to use an old DSLR and leaning heavily on my videos to show the designs. No paid ads for now.
- Ship the Product - This is new territory for me, but I’ve got a label printer, mailers, and a growing appreciation for logistics.
One nice side effect of this setup is that blanks act as shared inventory. I can offer multiple designs without being stuck with piles of unsold shirts.
What This Enables (For Now)
This apparel line isn’t meant to replace the solar trailer kits, or even compete with them for attention. It exists to keep SOLARPUNKit moving forward while the harder, slower hardware problems are still being worked through.
It lets me test packaging, shipping, and customer support in a low-risk way. It helps cover some of the costs of prototyping and tooling for apparel and kits without rushing design decisions. And it gives people who like what I’m building — but don’t need a solar trailer kit — a way to support the work. I'll be adding more apparel and products over time, but my safest option is to keep it simple to start.
Most importantly, it buys time. Time to do the engineering right, time to validate the kit design in the real world, and time to avoid cutting corners just to “launch something.”
There’s a lot more to figure out here, and I’ll document the specifics separately as they come up.
More SOON™
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