GENERAL INFO
About the 'tone' of this site
I get comments every now and then from well-intentioned friends about how maybe the language I use should be a little more 'professional' and 'corporate' sounding. Truth is, I want the tone to be relaxed and non-corporate. :)
About the 'tone' of the artwork
Getz Solutions is family oriented business that seeks to respect race/religion/gender in its products. If you are looking for something very 'edgy' or that a member of the military might not be comfortable wearing in front of his/her family, then I'm not your guy!
Inspired (in part) by Disney
During the Second World War, the Walt Disney company artists produced over 1000 emblems for military units. The folks on the front lines liked them because the Disney artists learned what they could about the unit and then delivered good artwork.
The company had lost a huge portion of its market since no one was watching cartoon movies in much of the world outside the United States. The 'emblem business' allowed him to keep several artists employed and was actually a great outreach program for Disney (who did a lot of paid work for the US Military in training films and propaganda productions).
Disney recognized that fighting units, when presented with an emblem that they could be proud of, felt a boost of pride and enthusiasm for their jobs. Disney was smart too - while he provided the emblems at little or no cost, his company retained the copyright, meaning a very large number of WWII-era emblems are owned by the Walt Disney company. You can learn more about this here in an article by David Lesjack, or check out David's blog of Disney WWII designs here.
I am not quite able to offer everyone no-cost design services yet, but do work closely with the units to do what they want within their (often limited) budgets.
Like Disney, I retain copyright on all my original work. My hope is to create a large database of well-liked designs that my kids (if they want to) can manage or contribute to one day and that help folks in harms' way know that there's a civilian out there that appreciates their service, dedication and sacrifices (as much as a civilian can anyway)...
The company had lost a huge portion of its market since no one was watching cartoon movies in much of the world outside the United States. The 'emblem business' allowed him to keep several artists employed and was actually a great outreach program for Disney (who did a lot of paid work for the US Military in training films and propaganda productions).
Disney recognized that fighting units, when presented with an emblem that they could be proud of, felt a boost of pride and enthusiasm for their jobs. Disney was smart too - while he provided the emblems at little or no cost, his company retained the copyright, meaning a very large number of WWII-era emblems are owned by the Walt Disney company. You can learn more about this here in an article by David Lesjack, or check out David's blog of Disney WWII designs here.
I am not quite able to offer everyone no-cost design services yet, but do work closely with the units to do what they want within their (often limited) budgets.
Like Disney, I retain copyright on all my original work. My hope is to create a large database of well-liked designs that my kids (if they want to) can manage or contribute to one day and that help folks in harms' way know that there's a civilian out there that appreciates their service, dedication and sacrifices (as much as a civilian can anyway)...
Speaking about copyright....
Yeah, so about that. YES it is really important to me. Often a piece of art is developed for a unit and the resulting orders of shirts or whatever might not bring much income as a result. Maintaining copyright on my designs is important because being in control of the artwork means I can continue to develop my brands and make some money off them (yes, this is a business - I have to make some $ to keep it going). That said, I am committed to keeping things reasonably priced.
...and that brings us to pricing....
I don't have a 'pricing chart'. I work with each individual unit to come up with some kind of arrangement that works for their budget.
Timelines - Ugh.
T-shirts can be done with some speed, but stickers, patches and coins take some time. What this means is that I won't take any 'rush jobs' involving those schedule-risky items. I have to depend on partners which are either in other countries or have long lead times and don't want to let the supported unit down.
The special needs of military customers
My day job, as Authenticity Coordinator for the Tom Clancy video games (and my previous job doing Computer Based Training programs for the US Military) helped me learn that interacting effectively with military people requires a special skill set. Paramount on the part of someone like myself is patience. I 'get it' when folks are slammed or deployed or otherwise unable to get feedback compiled quickly, etc. It is part of the job.
I also understand that loyalty is a 'currency' with members of the military. I consider the time I spend interacting with units and family support groups a worthwhile investment, not just in a 'customer group' but in the men and women (and the loved ones of those) with their lives on the line for my family and I.
--Travis Getz
I also understand that loyalty is a 'currency' with members of the military. I consider the time I spend interacting with units and family support groups a worthwhile investment, not just in a 'customer group' but in the men and women (and the loved ones of those) with their lives on the line for my family and I.
--Travis Getz