A time to reflect…
Around this time each year I tend to take a moment or two to pause and reflect on the past twelve months. I think about all the good things that have come to pass, and I also think about the mistakes I’ve made, bad decisions, and other experiences that have gotten me to where I am today. One thing that never ceases to amaze me—nor do I take for granted—is the realization that I get to wake up every morning doing something I truly love. Whereas most people dread Mondays and anxiously await Friday afternoons, I leap out of bed each morning with abandon so I can get a start to my day. That isn’t to say that this is easy work…it’s actually the hardest I’ve ever worked in my life. But because I love doing it so much, I just don’t mind the extra hours, missed meals, or the ten gazillion things I have going on at any minute all that much.
So with that, I have to say thank you. Thank you for your support and for allowing me—and each of us at Fright-Rags (Tim, Kristy, and Jes) to be able to do this, day in and day out. Hardly a day goes by where we don’t make some mention about how much our customers mean to us…. And it’s true; I consider our customers like an extended family, and kind of like some cool club that I always wanted to be a part of. We keep that in mind always and talk about how we can continually up the ante and provide even higher levels of service and experience. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Thank you also for making 2011 our biggest year yet. I’ll be the first to admit that we took some risks this year. We stretched the limits and released shirts out of the ordinary—even for us. Some of you loved what we did, and responded in a very positive way. Some of you were disappointed (dare I say downright hated) with many of the shirts we released this year and have asked us what the hell we’re thinking. I can see both sides and I understand that even within our small, tight-knit horror community there are various segments of fans who only like certain things. I will admit that some of what we put out this year was a departure for us, but our intent has always remained the same—to put out kick-ass horror shirts.
Hell, that’s how this entire company began over eight years ago. The first shirt I ever designed was WWJD? (What Would Jason Do?) and it was conceived with one sole purpose in mind—to do something different. And that is what I’ve strived to do ever since. There are plenty of other sites that put out what I consider to be “typical” horror shirts. They are a dime-a-dozen, and many of these places even have lower prices than us. That’s totally cool with me and I think it’s great that other people are out there doing it. But we’re not trying to compete with them. Our aim is to push the envelope and challenge conventions with what we do. To get out of our own comfort zone of just designing another shirt and instead try to innovate and take our work to another level. Yes, that means taking risks with some of our designs. And like any risk, some things will fail. My hope though, is that—more often than not—we will strike a chord and offer something truly unique for you to add to your wardrobe and to make your friends say “Where’d you get that shirt? It’s amazing!”
That said, I am truly looking forward to resurrecting more of the designs from our graveyard to give our new (and old) customers a chance to grab some classic designs. The best part is that we’re only bringing back what YOU want, which allows us to use our time, energy, and money in the best way possible. It will also allow us the chance to focus on many new designs that we will be releasing on a regular basis. I can tell you that we’ve got some great things lined up for 2012. We’ll be releasing new designs more often, reprinting the top voted designs from the graveyard regularly, and we’ve also got quite a few limited editions lined up as well. As if that weren’t enough, we are getting closer and closer to announcing our brand new website, which will be home to our vintage shirt line. I expect to make an announcement in the next month or two with more details, but I can tell you that we are planning more than just our old line up of vintage shirts. There will also be many more designs available, some of which we’ve tested out on Fright-Rags already this year that will transition to the new site.
So if you’re brand new to our company, or an old friend who has shopped with us for years, I hope you will tune in to see what we’ve got cookin’ in 2012 and maybe pick-up some shirts along the way. Thank you again for another amazing year, and stay tuned…we have such sites to show you…
Ben
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All I wear is Fright Rags. You guys have the best service and t-shirts around.I look forward to picking up even more great shirts in the future! Heres to a equally great 2012 for Fright Rags!
Hey Ben!
First of all, “Happy New Year” to you, your family and everyone at Fright Rags! It’s reading posts like this that make me continue to support your company. Your obvious love of the genre and drive to create the most kick-ass horror tees, is infectious. Knowing the face and genuine person behind such a company will maintain my support. I look forward to seeing what you have in store for the coming year. I also look forward to sharing another bottle of ‘Jack’ at MM!
My best,
Jason
“Chainsaw”
love the site! love the gremlins hoodie i got this year.
my only suggestion would be more stickers! i know that’s not a focus, but would love to see some of the shirt designs on stickers!
happy new year!
love you guys!!!
Thank you for both the great product you guys create and thank you for taking the time to write this post. It’s actually fun being one of your costumers and that’s in big part to your openness. Quite often I find your creative and positive approach to business akin to some of the opinions shared on sites like http://lefsetz.com/wordpress and even the refreshing (and highly recommended) read “Rework”. Check ‘em out if you haven’t.
Happy New Year!
ps – I got a chuckle out of your Hellraiser quote there at the end.
Anxious to see limited editions for upcoming year
and nice ending “We have such sites to show you” Hellraiser?
As a fellow screen printer, running a similar business catering to a small specialty audience, and as a devoted horror fan, I applaud you Ben – Fright Rags is a great venture delivering a top-quality product. Your designs are fantastic, your artwork is amazing, and I am consistently blown away by (and envious of) the quality of your screen printing. I only discovered Fright Rags in 2011, but I will be following you for years to come. A happy new year to you, I wish you all the best in 2012.
Your company is great and I love your shirts.
Your customer service is the best.
You guys have something really special going.
I continue to be a fan.
I agree, more stickers.
Hey Ben & Fright Rags Family! Thanks for all the badass work you do. I have never owned clothing that gets such mixed reactions out of people, and I have never had to write down a url more in my life lol. But if it means more customers for you, I dont mind. Think of it as an investment lol. Anyways I am super excited to see the new developments and new designs…and I must say before I go…
Ben, if your dropping the hint that I think you are, I may actually have an aneurysm when that design drops…and I will buy more than one
?MORE GORE?
i’m thankful for you guys i went Looking for some Cool CREEPSHOW t’s and you guys had them
Awesome awesome Awesome !!!
I have more fright rags in my closet for a reason. They are the best shirts from a company with the best service. I get more questions & compliments about my fright rags shirts than anything else I wear. I can’t wait to see what is released in 2012. Keep up the good work fright rags crew.
Discovered you guys a little over a year ago. I was on a little site called HorrorBid (best place for horror news on the net) where I saw an ad that had the words: “Fright Rags” and “Kick-ass horror shirts.” Interested, I clicked the link. The rest is history.
Happy New Years, guys. I look forward to what you have in store for 2012.
I love your shirts and always get compliments when wearing The Thing t-shirt and my Trick or Treat shirt. Keep making creative and different shirts and designs.
“Happy New Year” to everyone at Fright-Rags. Loved the Christmas card, love your T-shirts and especially, I LOVE HORROR FILMS. Suggestion-more shirts with werewolves. See you next year.
Alan “Wolfman” Tanski
Your company and my love for it both started with WWJD. It was the first shirt I got from the site. It was such a simple design and I thought then and still do now that it was the perfect tee. These however many years later, even though I’ve outgrown that shirt, I’ve just grown to love the company more and more. I think that once WWJD gets reprinted, I might have to pick it up again just to be reminded where my favorite company came from. Plus I can never have too many Friday The 13th shirts;) Wishing you guys all the best this coming year from a customer for life.
Just found you guys this year and WOW you have some awesome tshirts! There true to size and the print is great. I love the limited edition weekend shirts too. Ill be with your guys from now on. (Pieces please)
TOTALLY AWESOME!!!!! You guys need to make some kids shirts. My daughter and my husband have both been wanting the Trick R Treat shirt y’all made. My daughter has also been wanting a few of the creep show t’s and a Jason t. Got a house full of horror movie fans….can never have too many of those, ya know. Thanks again for the awesome t’s my husband LOVES them.
*Chest Pound*
Love you guys!
Thanks for making my year awesome as well…
It is one for the history books, that’s for sure.
Happy new year Ben!!!! I still wear my wwjd, this is god, trick or treat……Have a great 2012 buddy
Ben
Congrats on another successful year ! Keep pushing the boundaries and taking risks.That’s why we love Fright~Rags.I’ve already made more space in my closet for next year’s new T’s..
Cass
p.s. I heart Kristy Jett hardcore!
Happy New Year to Ben and everyone at Fright Rags!
Thanks for another frightfully awesome year guys!! i cant wait to see what happens in 2012!!
I love the new shirts. I do have a problem with those naysayers who hated your shirts or said what the hell were you thinking. That’s disrespectful to you, who always tries to please your customers. They can’t be true customers. We love you and your product always!!!
By the way Happy New Year to you and your awesome staff!!!
Happy New Year Ben and the Fright Rags staff,
While haven’t honestly bought any shirts from you guys in the past year, I still check out the site regularly, read the blogs, and think you guys run a great “horror show” aka business if you will. You’re always listening to the customers, trying to get a feel for what they’re looking for.
I personally am looking forward to the return of the vintage horror shirt site, and still hoping I’ll finally get to see a Rosemary’s Baby shirt from you guys soon. Keep up the great work and hope to purchase more from you soon!
I think what shows the most about Fright Rags is that you really care about what you are doing and therefore about all of us fans of horror. I always look forward to what designs you are offering next. I am also waiting on the return of the vintage shirts (which included many of my favorites – some of which I had yet to buy). Congratulations and best wishes on a good 2012.
to my lil’ brother and crew:
you guys have always surpassed the “competition” when it comes to horror shirts and quality customer service! just hang out at the Fright-Rags table at any horror convention that you guys are at will prove that in spades!
sure, there were graphic ideas and different ways of providing shirts (“limited editions” and whatnot) this year that some fans, inc. myself, may not have agreed with. but i will ALWAYS support your passion and integrity that each of you puts in to your respective jobs at Fright-Rags and will always be a fan of your kick-ass horror tshirts.
i wish you all nothing but the best this coming year has to offer! i know my brother always has something on the back burner, and i’m sure next year will only surpass this one in design and availability!! i, for one, am looking very forward to the vintage shirt site to be released in the next couple of months!!
love to you all,
mike
Your shirts have started many conversations, all positive. Keep up the good work. My resolution is to say hello the next time we cross paths – I think the last was when my wife and I caught “Fright Night” at the Dryden. Good luck in 2012.
Happy New Fear to all at Fright-Rags!!! Looking forward to all the new things to come. I’m sure they’ll be just as incredible as all you’ve done in the past. Keep Scarin’ up new & exciting designs!!
I can’t wait to see what you guys have in store for this year. It sounds like it’s going to be amazing!
-Dan
-Boston
Happy New Year to you and your family, staff, friends, and other customers. May you have a truly prosperous year in 2012.
Happy New Year Ben!!! I wish you and Fright-Rags all the best in the new year! Looking forward to what the results of The Graveyard votes are. Also looking forward to all the new designs coming in the new year! Keep up the great work and I hope you guys stick around for many years to come! Your shirts are inspiring!
I totally wore out my WWJD? t-shirt. In fact, I almost voted to bring the shirt back from the dead because I need a new one.