Fountain, Digital Photography, Alex J. Sandoval, 2019

“Just make (sh)it EXIST first.
You can make it good later.”

At its core, Make Shit is a (somewhat transgressive, admittedly) distillation of a refrain I’ve heard countless times, in various forms, as an artist — you can’t refine what you don’t first create. We spend so much time fretting about perfection, execution, difficulty, that we’re often paralyzed into inaction. It also speaks to the artistic drive within many of us, the raw instinct and impulse to create. To paint, write, cook, design, woodwork; however that desire manifests, it comes from that core impetus to make something be there that was not there before.

Make Shit is intended as a fulfillment of that urge, but also as a imperative. To eschew the impediments and circumstances of everyday life, real or perceived, and just get out there and create.

Go on. Make Shit.

The story behind the story is thus: In an inebriated state, fueled as much by substance as a profound confusion with the world, I messaged my brother. “Let’s make a brand. We’ll call it: ‘Make Shit.’ — I’m serious.”

One Legged Beggar, Digital Photography, Alex J. Sandoval, 2005

About Us (ME)

At time of writing, Make Shit is comprised of one person, Alex J. Sandoval, with the informal inclusion of others that he has solicited opinions or advice from along the way.

It is my hope that this will not always be the case,
but more on that in the Goals section below.

(Many thanks to kindred spirits Justin, Chris, Cameron, Kristian, and Katie for allowing me to pester you with ideas, designs and questions as I launched myself into this endeavor. Couldn’t do it without you.)

A Day In The Liffffffff—, Mixed Media, Alex J. Sandoval, 2017

Palais de Papes, Digital Photography, Alex J. Sandoval, 2019

Mont Saint-Michel, Digital Photography, Alex J. Sandoval, 2019

Goals

Make Shit has three main goals for the future of this initiative, listed below here in an effort for transparency and manifestation, in equal measure:

  • Charity

    There is no sense denying that Make Shit is ultimately a capitalistic endeavor — I want to make cool shit, and I hope that you buy it. However, intrinsic to the act of creation for me is to shape the world I inhabit in a way that benefits others beyond myself. As such, from launch and onward, each item is set to support some charity or cause that I believe has a positive impact.

    How those numbers shake out is still in flux, and may change in the future, but I intend to be transparent about which charities I’ve chosen (right on the product page so you can factor that into your purchase), how much goes to each cause, as well as the time and total of each donation.

  • Collaboration

    My hope for the future of Make Shit is to create a space that allows me to collaborate with other artists and creators, in a way that I wish I had, as I honed my creative voice and vision. Part of that would be to forge partnerships that do not wrest ultimate control of designs or art from those who provided them, in a way that benefits all parties without the subsummation of copyright, trademark or otherwise.

  • Creation

    At the moment, I am using (good quality!) print-to-order methods for Make Shit designs, specifically Printful for garments (t-shirts and otherwise), and stickers are created by Sticker Robot. It would be a dream for Make Shit to do well enough to be able to print designs “in house,” or via some kind of collaboration, but currently, the purchase, comprehension, and maintenance of such systems are not feasible for me.

zero ai

Make Shit does not condone (or respect) the use of generative AI. It is my belief that the use of these systems and services, which largely are trained on stolen assets procured without the consent of their creators, is inherently unethical.

As such, no designs created or sold by Make Shit will make use of any AI services, at any point during the creative process. This also extends to any written words found on this site.

(As though you needed any assurances that these ramblings
were penned by anything other than a wonderfully flawed human.)

As to how this shakes out with potential future collaborators, short of me standing over the shoulder of partners during the entirety of creation, I don’t think I can guarantee with 100% certainty that other people won’t attempt to use these services. That said, my intentions here will be made clear ahead of any agreements. Should said agreements (and trust) be broken, offending creations will be pulled from Make Shit and all future collaborations with said partner will be forfeit.

It’s pretty easy: Don’t steal other people’s shit—
make your own!

Place Castellane, Digital Photography, Alex J. Sandoval, 2019

Mr. Ed Pincerhead, Ink on Paper, Alex J. Sandoval, 2013