Today was a day of a Million Ideas, which coincided with Egypt's Million man march.  We sat down with pens, (scrap) paper, and loads of ideas to brainstorm.  We did a brain dump and everything was on the table--from branding to designing to sales channels.

Cellphones were turned off, emails were left to linger, and orders went unfulfilled. We reviewed policies and came up with best practices.

We resolved to focus on new marketing ideas, new styles, and new distribution channels.  We'll keep you posted on implementations and themes we discussed.  

At the end of every year, we get to reflect on the year that has passed.  It offers us an opportunity to stop and think about where we are, how far we've come, and where we're going.  For Crooked Monkey, we get to see if we accomplished our goals and set new benchmarks for the next year.  Here's some of our accomplishments from this year:

1)We focused even more on making sure our company goes green--reducing waste, paper use and energy use.  We encouraged more working from home--which reduced our carbon footprint.

2)We launched our Kids t-shirt line in January 2010.   The line has improved dramatically since it started and the January, February and March deliveries look amazing and the stores are reacting very positively.  Our East Coast Showroom has done superbly, and we just added a West Coast showroom.

3)We started working on a new, higher end t-shirt line called "Blueprint."  Samples have been produced--quality is supreme and the graphics are incredible.  We'll talk more about blueprint as we launch it.

4)Our customer service has always been paramount to us, and we maintained our strict standards.

5)We attracted top notch new accounts--from department stores to boutiques--that fit our "Livin the Dream" mentality and offered them the best t-shirts around.

And looking towards the future, here's what we hope to do in 2011:

1)Formally launch blueprint and target unique, edgy, higher end boutiques that want to grow with Blueprint and be at the beginning of something special.

2)Obtain more licenses--from artists to household brand names we are looking for partners who want to give us artistic license to bring their traditions into our world.

3)Continue to develop the kids line, juniors line, and men's line.  We're always producing new graphics, new bodies, and new styles so that our customers can rely on us for fashion forward, hip t-shirts.

4)Start producing non t-shirt items.  We are in the process of launching a tote bag line in the next month or two.

So there you have it--our year end review and our milestones for next year!  Drop us a line if you have any goals for us--or major accomplishments we forgot about.  Or if you think we need improving in a certain area.

Crooked Monkey moved offices about three years ago. And by "offices" I mean basements--we moved from my former business partners basement... to my mom's basement.

Just last week, my former partner's mom was reorganizing, and called me to pick up some Crooked Monkey boxes. It took me about a week to find time to head over there, but when I did it was like going back in time.

Heading down the staircase brought memories of a nascent company looking to find its voice amongst the throng of t-shirt companies. Swinging open the doors to the basement door, I flashbacked to the dog days of cold calls and 2 PM happy hours. Of long road trips to Chicago and of Crooked Monkey Hotties.  Of "Fuck Duke" and Cease and Desist Letters.  Of "Party with the Monkey" and of brainstorming sessions into the wee hours of the morning. Of being a budding Entrepreneur, living in my parents house and sleeping on friends couches, with wide eyes and the naivete to push forward--against the odds.

I haven't looked through all the boxes yet, but I'm excited to. It's like a time capsule--a window into the beginnings of the Crooked Monkey brand.

Its the holiday season, and people like to buy Crooked Monkey shirts for their friends--because they want their friends to love their gifts and not return them.

We have a gift option at the checkout, and we have the pleasure of writing whatever note you want us to write. We've written a funny blog post about the notes we've written. But this is a different post.

This is about our interns who write those notes and how pretty they make them, because they want the gift to be perfect. Anyways, enjoy this special gift note, and when you buy a shirt from us, take advantage of our interns. Not in the sexual kind of way, but in the "They'll make your gift look even cooler than it already is" way.

This creation was done by Jacqui, our intern from Walter Johnson High School.

We're gearing up for the launch of our graphic t-shirts, with a "Photoshoot at the Warehouse" in Washington DC, mid-September.

It's going to be as much a launch of our graphic line as a celebration of how cool DC has gotten. Over the last few years I've written a lot about DC--how it's become hipper and funner everyday. It's about to get a lot cooler.

The party, featuring our t-shirts and all that DC has to offer--from Emperor Vodka to Mi n Yu in Georgetown to graffiti artists--will be a true testament to Crooked Monkey's roots in Washington DC. Now all we need is a professional sports team that can win games.

Details about the party--including the invitations, timelines and guests--will be on the blog throughout the month.

One day a week, I work from my apartment instead of the Crooked Monkey offices. These days turn into mini staycations--I get to explore parts of DC, have meetings at new restaurants, and get lost in the streets of Washington DC.

It breathes inspiration into our funny and graphic t-shirts. If you're all about DC staycations, check out KstreetKate's blog--she's about to drop some knowledge on the topic.

Hilary had to come into work late today because her house was toilet papered and Egged. To make things worse, it was pouring while she cleaned up the mess. As you can imagine, she wasn't very happy this morning. But we want to turn that frown upside down.

We're going to start a fund to purchase eggs and toilet paper so she can retaliate against the perpetrators. 10% of the sale of t-shirts for the next 2 hours will go to a special Intern fund! And our Father's Day coupon is still up (Promo code: "Father") so go help a good cause--Crooked Monkey Rules.

Yesterday I decided that I wanted to get to the office early, so I left my apartment at 9 AM. I was rewarded with a lot of traffic and an extra 25 minutes to my early morning commute. I learned my lesson. Today I'm still working from my apartment.

Early bird gets the worm? More like, early bird gets stuck in traffic.

People always ask why I blog under then name Bruno. Here's a little glimpse into my reasoning. Enjoy it and go see the Bruno Movie.

http://www.traileraddict.com/emd/9995

The day has come. As much as I like to make fun of Twitter, I just recently added Crooked Monkey's twitter address to my email signature.

Heres the response to the first email that I sent with the new signature:
"YOU ADDED TWITTER TO YOUR FUCKIN EMAIL SIGNATURE!? WHO ARE YOU, CNN?"

I believe the emailer was referring to my blog post making fun of all the CNN people for using anything social media.

But I had to find a way to thank Twitter for the recent celebrity sighting--Ryan Seacrest wearing our I'm not a gardener i juts like hoes t-shirt. Now Twitter resides in the coveted email signature.