new 5/27/03, updated 5/30/03, 6/6/03
I have a difficult time buying clothes. I am a big guy in a small town and when I visit Big&Tall stores I find their stuff low quality & over priced.
There is a uniform place called CINTAS and I have arranged to have the V8SHO logo digitized at my own expense. ($125)
That is the rear of the car with a plate that says BUFORD. - No PI badge, slightly simplified so it can be embroidered.
I don't get a cut, (I paid the up front fee). They have nice polo shirts, coats, oxford shirts, coveralls, hats, sweatshirts for men & women. Their stuff isn't cheap but it looks to be of a quality worth having. You have free choice of colors and styles.
I did not get a sample yet for approval, but in about a week or so if you do want nice clothing with V8SHO logo it will be easy and between you and them.
www.cintas.com
1 800 786 4367
In this case I get no benefit, but some folks like Rav would rather wear a nice polo shirt or sweater than a T shirt on some occasion.
When I approve the sample I'll tell them to release it to anyone who asks for it. I am tired of looking like a bum, I don't want to sell $30 polo shirts to list members; So I bit off the upfront fee for everybody and at least I'll go to the convention this year looking a little up scale.
You guessed it, the car is "performance white". They might be able to "remove the white" so the car will be green on a green shirt or red on a red shirt. I talked about that with the embroidery lady. She was also the one who recommended / insisted I color the car because it will look much nicer.
The logo would fit on a business card, about 3" across. It is not too big. It has 96-97 tail lights and a "no-state" plate because it would be too small to read at that size anyway. Should be nice enough to wear at work for most folks.
They even have chef coats, scrubs, lab coats and parkas.
If it works out well for you let me know.
Buford
& Oh yea, I forgot, they have my size ...............
I think it was Troy who suggested I break the embroidered file, the body part and the lisc plate into two logical parts.
Cintas has some rules about folks asking for clothes with logos. I guess you can't order an authentic CIA cardigan. I told our contact lady (1-800-2104 ext 5391) that security is not huge issue. If a chebby (or even Pontiac) guy infiltrates V8SHO with a polo shirt it is a risk we can manage.
Anyway, Cintas can change car color and lisc plate for about $25 one time fee. The second TR guy would get a good deal.
Clare is interested in CAN side of the project, metric aliens get 240CLUB; so for one they come out ahead in the exchange rate.
Cintas needs me to change the plate for anything other than BUFORD, and they don't do anything obscene. They need me to edit the original to what ever you want, which I would do for free.
I think the approval swatch is done but I haven't seen it yet. All this is slowly coming together.
Buford
update 6/6/03
I approved the swatch sample this afternoon.. It is LOGO # DV1186. The swatch is crooked but I assume it will be plumb on the shirts.
Anyone can place an order after Monday June 6th at www.cintas.com This afternoon I ordered a 8 polo shirts, 2 denim short sleeve shirts, a winter coat, a vest, a rain coat and a few fleece jackets. V8SHO does not get a cut so any business is between you and Cintas.
The BUFORD plate is too small to be easily readable. Forget the Ford oval. It is a fly speck. If you want a different color SHO I am told they can do that for a one time additional fee of $5. (not per shirt, but for the one time change in color, it will then be a different LOGO number which anyone can then use) They can also change the lisc plate for $25 but they need my approval for that. To make any changes the contact person is Judy Beckman. - phone 1-800-577-2104 ext 5391.
I intend to show up at the nation convention in my sartorial splendor. It takes 6-10 business days to get the sewing done and clothes to arrive.
Clare Allenby asked me for a Canadian version which will have the metric plate "240CLUB". I don't know to what extent he is sharing but the Canadian version is in the works.
Cintas also has corporate ware (800-864-3676), lots of stuff for ladies and a wide selection in most sizes. This year the v8 guys can out class the v6 guys. ;-)
