Quote Uncoat – The brand new t-shirt company

The saying ‘An empty mind is a devil’s workshop’ is passé. In today’s day and age, when everybody is up to something creative be it dance, art, music or writing, the devil sure would have gone into retirement by now. If you don’t believe us, we can prove it to you. Here are three young boys who have used boredom to give a new meaning to their lives and packed off the devil of mighty boredom on a life long vacation.

Meet 22-year-old Sagar Khatwani and his two friends, both 21-year-old Abey Kuruvila and Sachin Murthy, who are in their last semester of their final year of engineering from the University of Mumbai and have just six more months to pass, and are already the founders of the wacky, cool and trendy t-shirt company called ‘QuoteUncoat’ that was born out of boredom! So the next time you whine ‘I’m bored, look around you, an opportunity might be sitting in the very nook and corner of your room that might just change your life for the better!

How did it all begin?

“Quote Uncoat began as an experiment, it still is, after a long boring week in June 2011 when I decided to randomly make a design for a friend which was the result of an unproductive, although hilarious, conversation at a coffee shop. That design gave motivation to a couple more, which were residing at the back of my head. I immediately picked my phone up, called Abey and discussed the idea with him. As usual, he was up for the challenge. Sachin joined in soon and our team was complete. After a review session of the initial designs from our friends and folks alike, and positive feedback, we grew on the idea and it all began,” says Sagar.

Since Quote Uncoat has risen from the need of dealing with boredom, quite literally, Sagar is confident that they will never be giving up their venture ever. Killing boredom and venting out their creative energy were the major driving factors behind it.

The Brand

Sagar mentions, “The name struck after we were working on the concreteness of the overall concept of our products. They majorly deal with the thoughts and tryst of the layman with everyday. Hence, plucking quotes plucked from peoples’ (and our own) minds and uncoating them on a T-Shirt was our goal. Thus, Quote Uncoat.”

Association with the Brand

Sagar mentions that it was easy for them to associate themselves with the brand name as most of the quotes on the T-Shirts have emerged from their observations of the people and places around them. “Personally a lot of creative writing and using the “Quote” gesture in my daily conversations, which although exaggeratively is apt, Quote Uncoat came off naturally to me,” quips Sagar.

The Investments made

Sagar mentions, “Our ‘complete’ pocket money for two months, (read: collectively) thankfully, sufficed for our initial investment. Anything more than that, we’d have been a little sceptical of moving further with the idea. We’re on the verge of breaking even after finishing our current orders and looking at the response we’re still getting, it seems there’s a good time ahead too.”

Sagar admits that the journey so far has not been all that easy. Running from pillar to post to finish orders, to negotiating with their print partners and dealing with clients and making sure they’re happy, have constantly been on their agenda whilst balancing their academics and extra-curricular activities as well.

“And the Oh! So important Job Placements. We all would like to thank our folks at home for their never-ending support and the patience to put up with us,” smiles Sagar.

Challenges faced

One of the major challenges that the trio face is that of coordinating with each other as each of them live in three different extremes of Mumbai. “Online chat discussions and phone calls have proved to be effective in coping with the time and distance of the city. Also, finding print partners who will last was obviously the biggest issue as they’re at the core of our project,” adds Sagar.

Sourcing raw materials

Sagar mentions, “We buy T-shirts and print them from the same printing partner that we’ve tied up within this venture. When it comes to designing products, I handle the creative aspects of quotes and framing observations, whereas Abey takes care of the illustrations and design editing. All three of us collectively handle marketing and operations.”

What makes these t-shirts so special

“Our USP is handling single customised T-Shirt orders. It either becomes too hard or too expensive for a person to get T-Shirts customised from the market, which was an integral part of our research before starting up with things. Thus, giving buyers complete customization and flexibility on single orders sets us apart right from the designs to colours!

Our in-house designs have been rated fresh to overtly funky by varied buyers/clients and critics at college alike. Our designs talk more pictorially than humongous lines of text written everywhere on the apparel because frankly, who has the time to read, and moreover who cares about the 10 reasons why women are better than cars?” adds Sagar.

As of now, the team of Quote Uncoat is only trying their hands on customised T-Shirts. Their T-Shirts are priced at Rs. 450/- per tee for single orders. Bulk orders and custom design orders start from Rs. 150/- depending on the size of the order and the designs.

Quote Uncoat are very excited about one of their recent projects where they were asked to design a T-Shirt for a co-director of a reputed event management company in Mumbai, who happens to be a fashion designer himself. Sagar beams, “The T-Shirt was customised by one of his colleagues as a surprise birthday gift. It was one of the most creatively challenging concepts we’ve pulled off till date.”

Future plans

An optimistic Sagar modestly adds, “As of now we’re still building up Quote Uncoat, hence it would be highly unrealistic if we commit to something at this stage. We’re taking things the way they come at this point in time and all we can do is hope for the best whilst working hard!”

Order your Quote Uncoat T-Shirt today

You can directly contact Sagar and his team on (+91) – 95610 69693 or visit their facebook page http://www.facebook.com/Quote.Uncoat to place your orders or enquiries and get in touch. You can also mail them at quoteuncoat@gmail.com as well!

So the next time you’re looking to gift something really whacky to your friend or want to get a batch of t-shirts for your college fest or office, you know whom to call and get your fit!

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