{"id":54871,"title":"BYE BYE!","description":"THE UPSHOT: We're closing down. Can\u2019t tell you how disheartened we are to be saying farewell to OPM, our labour of love and our small dream that sadly we can no longer justify keeping alive. In brief, it\u2019s a combination of initial stock sizing issues, the high costs and endless dead-end chasing of stocking in bricks and mortar shops, the never-ending marketing needs, and ultimately a slightly one-sided relationship with our supplier. We really tried!The website will stay live and all orders honoured until August 14th 2026 when we will relinquish the domain name","content":"

THE UPSHOT<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>

We\u2019re closing down. Can\u2019t tell you<\/strong> how disheartened we are to be saying farewell to OPM<\/strong>, our labour of love and our small dream that sadly we can no longer justify keeping alive.<\/p>

In brief, it\u2019s a combination of factors: initial sizing issues, the high costs and endless dead-end chasing of stocking in bricks-and-mortar shops, the never-ending marketing needs, and ultimately a slightly one-sided relationship with our supplier that mean it\u2019s time to wrap up the business for now. We really tried!<\/strong><\/p>

The website will stay live <\/strong>and all orders honoured until August 14th 2026 <\/strong>when we will relinquish the domain name. Our contract with our supplier ends in November<\/strong> so we will continue doing bespoke orders until then via direct message on Instagram <\/strong>and we\u2019ll be doing a sale of all our remaining stock <\/strong>over the coming weeks both on Instagram and in person in Rhosneigr. 10% of everything we make from our last sales will go to the Royal Air Force Association<\/strong>. <\/u>Follow us on Instagram<\/u><\/strong><\/a> for dates <\/strong>and stock items to be revealed soon. <\/p>

\"Original<\/strong>All images \u00a9VenetiavanHoornAlkema for OPM<\/em><\/p>

IN MORE DETAIL<\/u><\/strong><\/h3>

SUPPLIER OF DREAMS<\/strong>: We began using Teemill<\/strong> for our stock as they ran a circular model<\/strong> with a take-back programme for all cotton products that they then remilled into a range of really lovely recycled cotton marl sweatshirts and t-shirts. Alongside the post-consumer cotton products they used 100% organic cotton<\/strong> and water-based inks<\/strong> that washed out beautifully and didn\u2019t put nasty chemicals and microplastics into the sea like a lot of fabric printing inks. Teemill were also operating in a solar-powered factory<\/strong> in the UK<\/strong>, and did all the distribution for you. They also helped you set up a website, had a (admittedly slightly clunky) design tool for products and a really helpful and clever AI tech of displaying your designs on models for getting started with marketing.<\/p>

Honestly, for getting started trying to do it right, or if you\u2019re just doing one or two simple things on t-shirts, they are GREAT.<\/strong><\/p>

\"OriginalSIZING ISSUES: Our first hoodie,<\/strong> the FOREST, was designed for the original wingfoiling pilot of the same name. Now, he happens to be crazy tall and of slender build with big shoulders. The first hoodie fit him like a glove. We put it to market on the website and ordered 25 more for a local market at Caf\u00e9 Notos in Rhosneigr<\/strong> (one of our first supporters and a great place for coffee and yummy lunches if you\u2019re in the area). Bear in mind that the samples were costing us barely less than our chosen retail cost as we didn\u2019t want high cost (and profit margins) to be putting people off buying a more sustainable product.<\/p>

\"jq4lgghy76xjqcni5yecrygpxyod8hpvfbdhlbcreyysrznu.jpeg.jpeg?w=1140&v=2\"Turns out not everyone is as tall and slender as the original pilot\u2026<\/p>

It also turned out that, having ordered a sample of a size 12 women\u2019s crewneck sweater, it came up as more of a size 8\u2026<\/p>

DETECTIVE WORK: <\/strong>With very limited direct communication options on Teemill, we checked out the forums about sizing and found that we were not the only ones experiencing this issue. It was a surprise as supposedly this is all the same stock that supplies the brand Rapanui,<\/strong> which is a big brand. We frantically put caveats on the website urging everyone to buy two sizes up to accommodate,<\/strong> but even then, we had a lot of feedback that the sleeves and hip width remained very narrow. A little more research revealed that whilst all the printing was taking place in this great green factory on the Isle of Wight, the hoodies themselves were made in India.<\/strong><\/p>

This, in itself, was not necessarily a dealbreaker for our supply chain dreams, despite being a disappointment that the environmental impact of the business was more than we thought. The wholesale price was very high,<\/strong> which meant that hopefully workers in India were seeing fairer wages than most other companies with an Indian manufacturer in their supply chain. The solution to poverty amongst garment factory workers in Asia is not to shut those garment factories by not using them, but to pay more to maintain them. A garment worker doesn\u2019t need redundancy, they need a safe, fair and sustainable place to work.<\/p>

However, the manufacturer being in India was telling in the sizes. They were being designed to measurements completely different<\/strong> to the average person in the areas we were selling in. An adult hoodie fit an 8 year-old child in the UK better than it did the adult it was aimed at.<\/p>

\"OPMThis hoodie was a size 12 for adults, and Phoebe was 8 in this picture.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Teemill eventually, after about a year of us trading, responded to the issue repeatedly raised on its forums with the launch of \u201coversized\u201d sweaters<\/strong>, that in our opinion, for a Western body-type and fashion, were more like \u201cnormal-sized\u201d for a hoodie. We switched all our prints over to the limited new range and marketed it, but by then we reckoned that our reputation locally was already that of being poorly-sized. A big learn!<\/strong><\/p>

\"iiljt43nyccpbfdrzrqmsd5yunhzp7s0kbvp1ux2ekml48ye.jpg.jpg?w=1140&v=2\"Alex modellling the \u2018Zulu\u2019, our first design on the \u201coversized\u201d fit which was much more in line with the fit we were expecting<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Then we started running into issues when, inevitably with batch printing, a few things printed off-centre or the colour was off, and our appeals to Teemill went unanswered. However, we do still applaud that they\u2019re trying to do it right<\/strong>, it\u2019s a great idea, it\u2019s just got a few issues that, for a small business like ours, are just too costly.<\/p>

STOCKISTS<\/strong>: Our other big aim was to be print-on-demand. But given the sizing issues at the beginning, online sales were being returned, so we ordered a bunch of stock in the oversized fits to see if we could get people shopping locally <\/strong>encouraged by the quality<\/strong>, the sustainability<\/strong> of the product and the better fit<\/strong>. Given that we operated in a seaside resort renowned for windsports and tourism, we had hoped to stock in one of the several shops on the island that stock other brands selling similar products or championing the island activities. Sadly, the Anglesey businesses we approached either never replied<\/strong>, didn\u2019t want to stock us because they saw us as competition<\/strong>, or asked for 50% profit margins<\/strong>, which would have pushed the cost of one of our hoodies, even with zero profit for us, to north of \u00a380, which we felt was too much when everyone is struggling with the cost of living.<\/p>

So, frankly we\u2019ve given up<\/strong>. This started out as a fun project, that, informed by our founder\u2019s own experience in the fashion industry, we desperately wanted to keep breathing in order to encourage change in the way clothes are made, distributed and disposed of. It really was fun at the beginning, but growing it has proven more than we can afford or have time for, as the business was heavily supported by other jobs from all involved.<\/p>

We are so grateful and truly love all those who helped us out, and supported us,<\/strong> and we very much hope you enjoy the products that you do have. Particular highlights were doing photoshoots with our local talented friends, getting to know other small businesses at the Caf\u00e9 Notos fairs and the RAF Valley Friends & Family Day and genuinely every time someone bought something.<\/p>

Many lessons learned. Retail is hard, and even harder to do sustainably in every way. It was never designed to be rewarding financially, but it was rewarding \u2026visually\u2026<\/strong><\/p>

<\/p>

\"jfdj16nr8ugmdzudeexeavh39nyjhs11tula8h3rniyrccgc.jpeg.jpeg?w=1140&project=original-pilot-material-309726&v=2\"S<\/em>hell (pictured), Alex, Will, Sarah, Amelia and Forest all gave tons of their time completely for free, and that is not something we take likely. They refused monetary payment but were forced to take some free merch. Thank you all, we couldn\u2019t be more grateful.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>","urlTitle":"bye-bye-retail","url":"\/blog\/bye-bye-retail\/","editListUrl":"\/my-blogs","editUrl":"\/my-blogs\/edit\/bye-bye-retail\/","fullUrl":"https:\/\/originalpilotmaterial.com\/blog\/bye-bye-retail\/","featured":false,"published":true,"showOnSitemap":true,"hidden":false,"visibility":null,"createdAt":1770809762,"updatedAt":1774356782,"publishedAt":1774356781,"lastReadAt":null,"division":{"id":304654,"name":"Original Pilot Material"},"tags":[{"id":2812,"code":"news","name":"News","url":"\/blog\/tagged\/news\/"}],"metaImage":{"original":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/13ajv3j45ejswqf8tizi4y7ssresyw5ta8vcsdxpgvks1wcg.jpeg","thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/13ajv3j45ejswqf8tizi4y7ssresyw5ta8vcsdxpgvks1wcg.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/13ajv3j45ejswqf8tizi4y7ssresyw5ta8vcsdxpgvks1wcg.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"metaTitle":"","metaDescription":"","keyPhraseCampaignId":null,"series":[],"similarReads":[{"id":32871,"title":"SEA FREEBIES: IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME!","url":"\/blog\/sea-freebies\/","urlTitle":"sea-freebies","division":304654,"description":"PARTY LIKE IT\u2019S \u2026 October. To stave off the end-of-British-summertime blues we\u2019ve decided to spread a little happiness by offering one lucky person the chance to WIN a piece of Original Pilot Material OF THEIR CHOICE!  See, this guy\u2019s excited\u2026All you have to do is to be following @originalpilotmaterial on Instagram of Facebook, tag a friend below that you think is \u2018pilot material\u2019 and ideally share this post to your Instagram or Facebook stories. That way we know you reeeeaaallly want it\u2026Each new tag of a friend counts as an extra entry and the winner will be picked at random on Sunday 29th October and notified by direct message to arrange delivery","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/mxgza1d89hu5oturwwntg1mqxcg8b3x9umcelafi4mnyvlyd.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855&z=1.4&fx=0.49316956961268&fy=0.61134210172671","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/mxgza1d89hu5oturwwntg1mqxcg8b3x9umcelafi4mnyvlyd.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440&z=1.4&fx=0.49316956961268&fy=0.61134210172671"},"hidden":0},{"id":41319,"title":"Ready. Steady. Shop Better.","url":"\/blog\/ready-steady-shop-better\/","urlTitle":"ready-steady-shop-better","division":304654,"description":"Every OPM order placed between now and midnight on Sunday will directly fund a whole kilo, that\u2019s the equivalent of 50 plastic bottles, being recovered and recycled so that it doesn\u2019t end up contributing to the already quite rubbish situation of ocean plastics (pun intended). Thanks to our wonderful friends at Teemill and Plastic Bank, this initiative could help keep nasty plastics from entering the ocean and our water supply.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/za11egnagwb5kiha01a2vaxedwn90verwvblncyohxw8ftbj.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/za11egnagwb5kiha01a2vaxedwn90verwvblncyohxw8ftbj.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0},{"id":43889,"title":"WINTER DEAL ENDS SOON","url":"\/blog\/winter-deal\/","urlTitle":"winter-deal","division":304654,"description":"Get \u00a35 off until November 10th","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/y6wtptxxaw1etmxe1x3cp31rqqspjc8d7qxfpvu4txqd9ksv.png.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/y6wtptxxaw1etmxe1x3cp31rqqspjc8d7qxfpvu4txqd9ksv.png.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0}],"labels":[]}