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Create, Buy and Sell on Yerzies.com - The First To Offer Printed, Pressed And Stitched Customized Apparel Online


WEBWIRE

New Online Marketplace Combines User-Generated and Licensed Content with On-Demand Manufacturing

Hermitage, PA, October 22, 2008 - Announced today, Yerzies is an online marketplace that allows anyone to create, purchase or sell their own customized tee shirts, hoodies and other apparel items. The company’s innovative product configurator allows users to access an unprecedented array of creative options including printing on dark garments, metallic foils, flocks, glitters, glow-in-the-dark materials and stitched processes. When they’re finished, users can purchase as little as one piece or sell their creations to the Yerzies community and keep the profits. The resulting products are produced on-demand.

Founded by online retail veterans Scott Killian and Tim Brule (the same duo who helped pioneer online apparel mass customization with FanBuzz in 1996), Yerzies combines advanced new manufacturing techniques with an innovative approach to crowd sourcing. “Although other Websites exist that allow you to design a tee shirt”, said Scott Killian, President, “we’ve dramatically expanded the variety of creative options and developed new approaches to the way users can profit from their creations.”

Beyond printed tee shirts, Yerzies enables the creation of stitched sweatshirts and mixed-media designs that include metallic foils, glitters and other processes to create apparel which more closely resembles the design trends seen at retail. When they’re finished, users can purchase a single piece or set-up shop at Yerzies and sell their creations to other users. Buyers are also invited to “Make it Yerz”, a feature that allows users to mix and match product options and in some cases, even make modifications to the content created by other users.

Yerzies is also rolling out a series of robust tools for users to share and market the content they create including widgets that can be placed on their Website, blog or favorite social networking site without any programming expertise. “We allow anybody to create and sell their own designs”, said Killian. “Each user decides how much they want to mark them up and they keep the profits.”

In addition to providing a platform for user-generated content, Yerzies has also licensed content from third-parties including typefaces from designers such as Ray Larabie which users can incorporate into their designs. “Helvetica and Times Roman might work nicely for writing a novel,” said Killian, “but they don’t necessarily look great on a hooded sweatshirt. We’ve licensed trend-right typefaces that will actually look cool on a tee shirt or hoodie.”

Last year, Yerzies also engaged The Wildlfower Group, a New York-based licensing agency to assist the company with securing licenses with various entertainment and lifestyle properties. In addition to creating their own apparel, users will also have the option to purchase licensed apparel bearing the trademarks of various brands. “We’re working to develop an eclectic mix of licenses including humor, adult retro character properties and pop-culture brands that would appeal to our Gen Y target customer”, said Michael Carlisle, Principal of The Wildflower Group. In advance of today’s announcement, over 20 properties have granted licenses to Yerzies including lifestyle brands David & Goliath, Ripple Junction, ODM and Changes, entertainment and media brands Pink Panther, Planet Earth and Speed Racer and consumer products brands such as Dubble Bubble and Jolt Cola. More licenses will be announced soon.



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 Mass Customization
 Long Tail
 On Demand Manufacturing
 Crowd Sourcing
 Design Your Own


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