An introduction, a catch up and an update.

By Max | 21/03/24

Hey there, if you're for some reason here, welcome and thanks for being an early visitor to our website.

I think before I get into the big news, I should give you some context so the news actually makes sense to you.

A little over a month ago, according to Snapchat, our group chat named 'Jan 1st 2025' was made, and at about lunchtime, the three of us decided to make a bet on who could build their online business first before that deadline.

The three of us initially branched off in our own directions, however this mentality quickly came to an end later that night as we all somehow came to the same conclusion.

None of us wanted to do this stupid bet alone.

So that's how Carousel Originals was formed, 3 people who wanted to start a business for fun.

So from that day onward we got to work pretty quickly, getting our Shopify site up and running within the first 14 days, although at this stage it was a bit of an eyesore to look at, so it was definitely subject to change.

The next thing to figure out was what we were actually going to put on this Shopify store, and there were a few things that we considered.

1. We didn't have heaps of capital for this project
2. We didn't want to have to hold stock
3. We didn't want to sell crappy stuff, we want a name tied to quality
4. We didn't care if we got heaps of money from this, as long as it made enough to run itself, we were happy.

This comes with it's own set of... problems? Issues? I'm struggling to find a neutral word, but you get the idea, there's some things that come with these considerations.

Well 1, 2 and 4 were easy to solve, the answer was print on demand, or POD for short.

I have a hunch I know what you're thinking right now:

1. Wasn't that the thing that everyone was talking about on business social media in like 2022?
2. Isn't quality and quality control a concern?

Yes and yes, unfortunately.

This is where trying to address the third consideration comes with a few complications, and this is where I'm about to deliver the update to you.

About 2-3 weeks ago, we we're convinced that we bought the highest quality T-shirt off of Printful, after all for a blank shirt, it costed a whopping 31 dollars, JUST TO PRODUCE.

We read Reddit thread after Reddit thread, and constantly this shirt model came up:

"Comfort Colours 1717"

It claimed it was a thick, heavyweight, 208gsm, streetwear shirt, and unfortunately, this is far from the case.

I've had better t-shirts from Kmart, this is not good news.

So what does this mean, where are we going from here?

Well first off, if it's what you're thinking; no, we're not giving up and packing up shop, not yet at least.

HOWEVER, there will be much longer delays, unfortunately.

We're all equally as annoyed as you may be, this was not a cheap mix-up, both money and time-wise.

We have set our eyes on a POD supplier and shirt model however, it claims a 280gsm fabric, which is way up our alley, and hopefully yours as well.

Colours may be a concern on this shirt as they are limited, but hopefully the quality of the actual fabric can make up for the lack of a few colours.

I'm happy with tossing up a few options for a much better shirt overall.

Hopefully with this new supplier, the shipping times will also be much shorter, it can't be that hard to beat our current record of 3 weeks with Printful though.

Above all though, we don't want to rush this process, the search for a good shirt, or a supplier even, may take months, and if that's what it takes, then we're going to do it. Hopefully we won't have to, but we might, who knows.

With that being said, we also don't want to give you any unrealistic expectations as to when our products will be available to purchase, so the best way to keep up to date with our progress is on our free members list.

We'll deliver updates directly to your inbox, and we'll throw in a 10% discount on your first purchase :)

For those who made it here, cheers, it means a lot.

Take it easy.

- Max

TL:DR:

• We formed this business a little over a month ago, and we've made strong consistent progress,
• However we've hit our first major speed-hump, our sample shirt quality from Printful was horrendously below our standards.
• So we're going to have to undergo significant delays in order to ensure we have a great lineup of great shirts for you guys.
• If you sign up to our free members list, we can keep you up to date on our progress.