Review Fix chats with Cheap Pop Shop co-founder Jeffery Baker to find out all about the awesome clothing and pop culture line.
For more on the Cheap Pop Shop, click here.
Review Fix: What inspired the line?
Jeffery Baker: Cheap Pop was really inspired by a love of things I was obsessed with as a kid: Wrestling & Horror (Movies, Toys, Video Games, Comics, etc). My good friend, Owen and I started this because we wanted to design some shirts that we weren’t seeing elsewhere, shirts that we wanted to wear ourselves. Owen has since become a full-time video editor and stepped away from the venture but, we still collaborate on ideas and he usually comes out and helps run the merch table at any shows. My profession is Graphic Design and sadly, I would say I probably know more about Pro Wrestling and Video Games than anything else, so it’s an opportunity to combine what I do and what I know into something fun.
Review Fix: Have any wrestlers reached out to you about any designs?
Baker: Most of the designs I’ve done for wrestlers have come from reaching out to them (or Pro Wrestling Tees) but I was fortunate enough to have been contacted by guys like Yuma (CWFH, PWG) and Effy Gibbs to put together designs for them.
Review Fix: Which one is your favorite?
Baker: I think I’d have to say my favorite is the ‘Best in The World’ Design I did for CM Punk, currently in his ProWrestlingTees store. The ‘Feather’ design I did for Dalton Castle/Ring of Honor is a close second.
Review Fix: What are your goals for the line?
Baker: Really just to put out the best-designed wrestling shirts. I see new Wrestling Themed Apparel companies popping up all the time and there are very few that are putting out quality products. I’d love to be able to do more designs for established wrestlers and print/sell them myself. I feel like I can offer better designs, better quality and better payouts on sales than 90% of other “brands” out there. I’m certainly not doing this to rip anyone off.
Review Fix: How do you do this all by yourself?
Baker: When Owen and I started Cheap Pop, he and I worked together on the designs and printing the shirts ourselves. Since he’s stepped away, I’ve outsourced a lot of the production to my friend Mike’s printshop in PA called MerchLords Screen Printing. Taking that step out of the process for me has been a huge help. I probably shouldn’t share this but… fortunately and unfortunately I don’t really get a ton of orders, haha. So, outside of the times when I’m gearing up for a new release, dealing with order fulfillment is pretty stress-free. I can print shipping labels and pack orders from home and I live across the street from the post office so I probably have a faster turnaround time on orders than anyone. Lately I’ve been collaborating with another like-minded individual, @grizlli_atom. It’s been really cool to be able to bounce ideas off of him as well.
Review Fix: Wrestling fans are notoriously “larger.” Do you have sizes for all fans?
Baker: Yes! I always make sure I order up to 3X shirts. If I hear demand for 4Xs I’ll happily carry a few of those too. Eventhough they cost more to produce, I don’t charge extra for big sizes either.
Review Fix: What’s next?
Baker: Well, Griz and I have four new designs up for pre-order right now. They’re up until October 2nd. I’d urge any interested parties to grab them ASAP because they most likely won’t be offered again. After that I have a huge release coming for Halloween including Hoodies, Posters, Hats, Lapel Pins and of course more shirts. I’m very excited to finally offer a wider selection of products.
Leave a Reply