My Head Is A Piñata,
but when you smash it open I promise it’s so much more than a bunch of candy (the candy is still there, I have to accommodate for my sweet tooth in some way). Having a brain that is constantly overflowing with so many thoughts and ideas for new product, new businesses (and ways to expand on the ones currently operating) as well as so many other things, and then having to keep up with all of it… On top of being a working husband and father of 2 (plus another on the way), working on my writing, my music, etc. It’s a lot! And more often than not, I try to work on it all at once. Whether I’m physically handing it all or attempting to mentally organize everything I have to do. Yes, I know, I do it to myself. But as a creative I need this outlet. *These outlet(s). Sorry. And I say “creative” because, while I am an extremely creative and artistic person, saying I’m a “creative” is much easier than trying to explain how my brain functions - or dysfunctions.
With THAT being said, I would like to use this medium to ventilate so to speak (or write?) and share a few ideas as well as some upcoming projects and new products!
Now, speaking of candy, I think a great place to start would be to talk a little bit about our upcoming Halloween releases from Out of Place & Kaiju Bee! As some of you may have seen in our previous blog post, I was working on designing some new jack-o-lantern logos for Out of Place - those are being finalized as I am writing this. The 4 logos that made the cut will be made into a set of collectible holographic stickers and each design will get a limited edition t-shirt. The ETA on these is currently 10/31 @ 12AM! We are very happy with how these turned out and hope to have sweaters and hoodies made for them soon as well! More than likely not by this coming Halloween but they’ll definitely be made and ready by next year’s spooky season.
Kaiju Bee will be doing a small spooky season sticker set as well, featuring some Halloween themed versions of our mascot KAIJU! These will also drop alongside our Out of Place releases on Halloween!
Up next on the agenda is next month! No, not turkey day. The other day of infamy where people stand in obnoxiously long lines for hours on end or find themselves racing 25 other like-minded folks to buy several of the same toaster at your favorite chain retail stores. Black Friday. Or as I like to spell it, “Blac Friday”. There will be massive discounts and special deals along with a large variety of new color options to some of our current Out of Place product here at Kaiju Bee!
While new product planning for Black Friday is still in the works, I can at least share a little about a special product we will be releasing that day!
The Black Box $150
When talking about the Black Box, I will try to get as in-depth as possible. I feel the best way to do that is to describe it from the inside, out. A proper product dissection if you will.
The actual product being presented is a black crewneck sweatshirt adorned with our Japanese logo embroidered on the front left chest and custom embroidered tags on the inside back of the neck line. The patch will be modeled after our holographic stickers of the same logo and the backing of the patches will be made of Italian lambskin with a cracked film finish, giving it that same iridescent / holographic look.
These will come in sizes ranging from Small to X-Large and they will be a dry clean only sweatshirt. Due to exclusivity and cost, each sweater will also be made-to-order!
Now on to the packaging, which in my opinion, has slowly become more and more of a work of art, and it’s all pieced together by hand.
Beginning with the black gift box (hence the name). On the outside, the top of the box features the holographic Japanese logo placed in the center and nothing more. A minimalist’s dream; simple yet elegant.
The bottom of the box will display only the size of the sweater with a small holographic sticker placed at the center of the bottom edge.
And finally, before going inside, the sides are left as is aside from the two small holographic seals on the left and right sides of the box!
Upon opening the box, the first thing you may see is a black envelope sitting on top of the sweatshirt wrapped in iridescent plastic. I’ll get to that. First, I want to talk about the inside of the box cover. When you open the box, you’ll turn the cover over to see a 6 x 6 in. holographic label detailing, by hand, the box number (1-50 of 50 etc.), the production date (from the moment the embroidery begins) and a blank space for Tiana and I to sign as we approve each box! The label will also include the product title and a “dry clean only” instruction.
You may also notice inside the cover that the top and bottom sides include a little holographic tab - these secret tabs can be folded out [after opening] for an easier way to open and close the box!
Back to the black envelope! When you open the box, there is a black hand written “Thank you” card from Tiana & I inside of a black envelope placed on top of the wrapped sweatshirt. Also inside the envelope is a holographic sticker of our Japanese logo plus a card with a special discount code and a QR code exclusively for those who purchase the Black Box! The special discount code will be valid site wide and the QR code, when scanned, will take you to a secret Kaiju Bee shop link. Again, exclusive only to those who purchase the Black Box. (This hidden shop will include new exclusive items and a few items of limited quantity currently in our public shop will be moved here as well. ALL orders placed after the New Year [1.1.26] will also receive the QR code card with their purchase!)
Under the card, as mentioned before, lies the sweater. Folded neatly and wrapped in a beautiful iridescent opal plastic. This plastic wrap will be glued to the inside bottom of the box, allowing you to easily wrap the sweatshirt back up and store it safely as the box is not only a work of art - but a truly functional place to store the art itself! Much like a painting kept in a gallery or museum.
I know the price tag on this is on the higher end, but this is in fact a high-end and extremely limited piece of clothing! Not only does it come with some of its own little perks, but like I’ve said before, we did this all by hand.
We will also be working on releasing “The Black Book: An In-Depth Look Into The Black Box”. This designer coffee table book will deep dive into the making of the Black Box with high-quality images and materials as well as a photoshoot and more! More details on this soon!
All proceeds from the Black Box will be put right back into Kaiju Bee LLC to continue growing and giving you quality product!
With all of that out of the way, let’s jump ahead to springtime! (Oh yeah, we’re mapped out a good distance into the future.)
Come this Spring, we will be releasing our first collaboration piece with our good friends and partners, Topher Farms! This will be a special project titled “We Grow Flowers Too”! This will include garden themed KAIJU designs and products, each order will come with a packet of flower seeds (a variety provided by Topher Farms) and a portion of each sale from the project will go towards saving the bees and other pollinators!
Aside from the new products on the way, we will also be doing a couple public updates to the site as well! These updates will include:
The finished secret Lo-Fi Blac Discography page where you can find all music released under Lo-Fi Blac and where to stream it! Linked from the logo on the Partners page.
And a new section for affiliate Twitch streamers and Podcasters! This will include categories in the shop as well.
I am going to wrap these thoughts up for now!
If I managed to hold your attention throughout this [what my mind perceives as] incoherent babbling, then I’d be silly not to push just a little more unabashed self-promotion before I go!
My upcoming album Spidermouth is coming soon! Also working on my first screenplay & accompanying novel! Hoping to have these finished late next year! Stay tuned!
-Alex