Welcome to Make Shit
first of all, if you’re reading this — I love you.
(That includes Future Me, reading back my own words, to myself. To some degree, I feel like anything I write is just me in conversation with myself, over the passage of time, but I digress.)
I wanted the first blog post on here to commemorate the launch of Make Shit, by talking about the path that brought me here. Some of this will be a more verbose version of what is written in the ‘About Us’ section, so if you read that before reading this— wow, you’re my best friend. (Or me.)
For a decade or more now, when asked by friends, family and acquaintences what my dream job or long term personal goals are, I would say “I’d love to have my own little design shop, sell shirts, stickers, pins and such.” I love supporting my fellow creators via their patreons, buying merch from my favorite artists — I wanted to experience the other side of that relationship. After all, I’ve been creating since I had the capacity to; make shift (ha!) comics, fake logos for bands I liked, doodles in the margins of meeting notes, amateur photos when traveling abroad, dumb edits to make me and my friends (mostly me) laugh … why not harness some of that energy that was going to happen some way or another anyway?
However, with no real idea how to go about doing that, not at all feeling as though I could do so by myself, and certainly not having the funds or capacity to house a screenprinting setup — said dream remained just that.
Gifts From The Other Room
Still though, the idea would come back to me in moments of listlessness or ennui, but leave me as fleetingly in the face of other more pressing concerns; such as my actual job.
Things really kicked into another gear though, with the release of indie sticker shop simulator, Sticky Business, in 2013. As I created little compositions of premade assets to satisfy both my own creative ambitions and the whims of virtual customers, I found myself filled with joy and happiness. “Damn,” I thought, “it would be really fun to actually have a small shop like this, sending out packages to people that brighten their days and add a little color to their worlds.” I forced my friends to look at my silly fake sticker designs over Discord, and even saved some of them as potential future inspiration, should I ever get to satisfy the hunger that continued to gnaw at my spirit. I have to thank Spellgarden Games a great deal for that burst of motivation, something I suspect I’m not alone in receiving, and I hope to do so in another blog post, should I get around to realizing some of the designs I put together in their delightful game.
Later, in May of 2024, amidst the wee hours of a night fueled by equal parts insomnia, existential frustration and… natural substances, I texted my brother: “Let’s make a brand called ‘Make Shit’ — I’m serious.” As the remainder of the year played out, I couldn’t stop thinking about what it would be, if I actually took the step to make it real. At core, it would be a creative outlet for me, a place for me to collect and celebrate my silly ideas, and maybe, with a little luck, other people would be interested enough to get something for themselves. I'd also want to be able to share any success I found with others, creators & causes alike, paying forward the inspiration I had received from others, hopefully adding a little fuel to a virtuous cycle.
Luckily, without realizing it, I had started to form a community of other artists who were already doing what I aspired to do. Specifically, Cameron from The French Dip Design, who had done work for some of my favorite folks over at Kinda Funny, and Jen from Black Serotonin, who I had come to know from her collaboration with Bungie on Destiny themed designs. Both graciously answered my DMs when I came to them with my many questions, and provided invaluable insight, as did many of my personal friends who kindly endured my repeated inquiries of “Is this too stupid to try and sell to people?” (I guess we’re gonna find out!)
Seeing some of the writing on the wall at my corporate job (and y’know… the world in general), towards the end of 2024, I said fuck it — can’t hurt to file for an LLC. Take the first step at least, and if nothing comes after that, at least I took the first step.
On January 1st, 2025, my filing for ‘Make Shit, LLC’ was approved in the state of Georgia.
(I know. We’re both surprised.)
“Okay well… this is my side project now, I guess?”
Over the ensuing months, I spent time indulging creative impulses that I would’ve otherwise written down in my notes app and left them there for some poor soul to find, posthumously, if at all, never to be realized. I rifled through old noodlings and ideas that never got a chance. There’s a clip from an interview with David Lynch that resonates so much more with me now; about how ideas are fragments and catching them out of the blue makes for a beautiful day. My list of silly ideas has grown exponentially since allowing myself to take Make Shit seriously. If nothing else comes of this, I am thankful to this experience for that.
And I think that is the crux of what this whole endeavor means for me, beyond just a creative outlet for my own sparks of ephemeral whimsy that come to me from nowhere, like gifts. Make Shit is as much a distillation of the years of inspiration I’ve heard from other creators, as it is a call to action for others who’ve not yet felt able or capable of chasing a dream, an idea, an ambition. Try it. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it doesn’t even have to be great. You can make it better later, but you can’t refine and iterate and build upon what you don’t first create.
So go on—
Make Shit.
~Lx. ❤
