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Van?s tchotchkes

cderk

Well Known Member
Is it just me, or does the swag that Van’s offer leave a lot to be desired? I get it - they make airplane kits, not swag.

I’ve contemplated calling and seeing if I can use their logo and name and work on coming up with some nicer apparel and stuff like that (not for my own profit). When I was at Oshkosh the last few years, I have to say, I was kinda jealous walking in to the Piper booth, Cirrus, Mooney, etc and seeing all the nice stuff owners can buy with the company logo on it.

I’d love to wear the Van’s logo, but the shirts/sweatshirts I’ve purchased are kinda cheesy.

Anyone interested in working on some stuff if we can get them to agree? If not, I guess I’ll just make my own stuff. I don’t want to make any money off of this - heck, they can, or donate the money to VAF.
 
If you can be patient, we're working on a few things. You may have noticed we change a bit slowly over time. But we do have some changes coming. :)

greg

Is it just me, or does the swag that Van?s offer leave a lot to be desired? I get it - they make airplane kits, not swag.

I?ve contemplated calling and seeing if I can use their logo and name and work on coming up with some nicer apparel and stuff like that (not for my own profit). When I was at Oshkosh the last few years, I have to say, I was kinda jealous walking in to the Piper booth, Cirrus, Mooney, etc and seeing all the nice stuff owners can buy with the company logo on it.

I?d love to wear the Van?s logo, but the shirts/sweatshirts I?ve purchased are kinda cheesy.

Anyone interested in working on some stuff if we can get them to agree? If not, I guess I?ll just make my own stuff. I don?t want to make any money off of this - heck, they can, or donate the money to VAF.
 
Quality of garment or product every time wins.

I have a 10 year old Polo that is in better condition than a 3 year old one, the latest RV6 anniversary T shirt is very thin and I doubt it will last.

Go for the higher weight, the better quality and make the through cost neutral of the uplift but that enables your products to still turn coin for you.
 
I would contact Mike Seager's Wife Georgianna. She makes much of the stuff Van's sells and probably could custom make things for you. I think she is still doing the embroidery and probably can get you anything you want.

I'm sure Van's can put you in touch with her.

Roberta

I donated, too!!
 
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Dri-Fit

I would love to see the Polo's on Nike Dri-Fit or similar material. I want to wear them at work as we are now allowed to wear Polo's. Also XXL would be nice.
 
I would love to see the Polo's on Nike Dri-Fit or similar material. I want to wear them at work as we are now allowed to wear Polo's. Also XXL would be nice.

Personally, I would rather not see the Niki "swoosh" on a van's product, but I agree that new merchandise would be welcome.

-Marc
 
Personally, I would rather not see the Niki "swoosh" on a van's product, but I agree that new merchandise would be welcome.

-Marc

That is why I said or similar material. I am not sure what other mfg's would call that material. I just love the feel of the Dri-Fit while I am working or golfing. If they can make something similar I would be all over those.
 
I would contact Mike Seager's Wife Georgianna. She makes much of the stuff Van's sells and probably could custom make things for you. I think she is still doing the embroidery and probably can get you anything you want.

I'm sure Van's can put you in touch with her.

Roberta

I donated, too!!

Georgeannna does make a bunch of the clothing we sell at Van's (namely the embroidered items) and she does do custom items on request, with a variety of different apparel items. Her web site is http://www.rvshirtsnmore.com/
 
Keep the ideas coming!

.... and keep your ideas coming. Appreciate the input so far. We will be producing some new items over time, so good timing on providing input here. No promises of course. :) But we do listen!
 
Can I use Van's Logo legally to buy / sell logo gear

Greg
I buy Logo Gear for the company I work for. I would love to buy/sell logo gear with Van's logos. I'd like to have a nice hat for example.

Can we just get Van's approval to use their logo and make our own gear?
 
New shirts, hats, fleece jackets or hoodies would be awesome! Unfortunately the current vans gear is geared, how do i say this, towards an older crowd. Every year at oshkosh i go by the vans tent and every year i walk away realizing its all the same stuff designed 30 years ago.
 
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Quality of garment or product every time wins.
+1

Greg, I'm glad that Van's has focused on quality kits so new swag is nice but not super important to me. But if you're changing, good quality garments are a must - I'd pay a few extra ducats for 'em! Maybe we can convince EAA too, their clothes aren't what they used to be.

Dave
 
Beige??

No. I can?t wear Beige. I paid a shop to make me Blue hats with Vans on them. My RV grin is much bigger.
 
Well it says ? VANS?

Wife bought me what she thought was a VANS aircraft T shirt at the mall.
Now all the skateboard dudes think this old guy is cool. :rolleyes:
 
Tip Toe

New shirts, hats, fleece jackets or hoodies would be awesome! Unfortunately the current vans gear is geared, how do i say this, towards an older crowd. Every year at oshkosh i go buy the vans tent and every gear i walk away realizing its all the same stuff designed 30 years ago.

+1 I want to wear it proud but......
 
I agree - every year I go by the Van's tent at OSH and there is never anything new.

I vote for comfort ... not a fan of the heavy stiff cotton t shirts that barely break in.

New stuff would be great!
 
How about restocking the missing "RV-12" decals in BLACK in 6" and 12" sizes. They have been unavailable for several years. Could use some "RV-12" hats as well.
 
Idea

How about some VAF Vansaircraft and Osh on the same shirt to sell at OSH it would be a hit covering all the bases.Same for S-N-F.but not many RV guys go there like OSH so scratch that.
Bob
 
I'm loving all these ideas..

..and I'm glad someone finally came out and said what I've been thinking all these years. I bought several 40th anniversary T-shirts and they have all died already. I think there is a lot of opportunity there in the merchandise, since there is such a large customer base.

So, here's my best idea for you:

- Include the "cost" of a nice hat and shirt in the price of your Tail Kits and send that swag along with every new tail kit purchased. That way, your new builder immediately can begin to advertise for you! Other than first flight, I can't think of a prouder moment in a builder's journey than when the first boxes begin to appear...
 
shirt idea

A few years ago I bought a shirt at Oshkosh in the homebuilder's shack.
On the back it said "It's not what you can buy, its what you can build"
I loved that shirt, I wore it all the time and eventually it was not wearable. I went back to the shack over the last couple years and the nice folks there remember the shirt but it was not replaces as a product.
Maybe Van's can use the line and put it together with Van's graphics?
Just an idea,
Larry
 
This is one selfish reason why I didn't mind getting my wife that embroidery machine last christmas. She is very creative and will design our shirts with a pic of our plane and N number when I get it done. I wonder if vans will sue me if the word "vans" or "RV" shows up on one of my shirts.;)
 
..and I'm glad someone finally came out and said what I've been thinking all these years. I bought several 40th anniversary T-shirts and they have all died already. I think there is a lot of opportunity there in the merchandise, since there is such a large customer base.

So, here's my best idea for you:

- Include the "cost" of a nice hat and shirt in the price of your Tail Kits and send that swag along with every new tail kit purchased. That way, your new builder immediately can begin to advertise for you! Other than first flight, I can't think of a prouder moment in a builder's journey than when the first boxes begin to appear...

I placed a $200 order with anti splat and they sent a hat with it. I placed a $7500 order with vans and I have to buy a hat at their booth. Hmmmmmm.
 
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