Metafizics.

Metaphysics is the study of the order of the universe. Everything has its place. The idea that the most minute daily actions lead us to our current place in the universe. Metaphysics strives to answer all the questions that science cannot. Mainly the ones that start with "why". Unlike science in its approach, it acts as another branch of philosophy. While many people use religion to answer questions like "why are we on earth?" and "why do we exist?" Metaphysics is the philosophical inquiry of a non-empirical character into the nature of existence. 

So what is "Metafizics"? 

The next chapter. A re-branding. Tastes Like Gold is undergoing a revolution/evolution of sorts. In the upcoming months there will be a shift to more metafizical matters. 


Metafizics strives to spark your brain and force you to ask questions. Do research. Be curious. Wonder. 


Stay tuned. 

-TLG/MTFZ  

Like a Ton of Bricks.

I'm waiting to be hit by something that resembles a ton of bricks. Not literally. An idea that has the weight of 2,000 pounds of masonry. Currently, I'm in a transitional state. I really want to move forward with the shirt production but I think re-branding myself is more important at the moment. 

Having your own name is an investment in security and peace of mind. I do not want to share someones steez, swag, (whatever you want to call it.) If its going to be my work, I want it to be mine.. all mine. So thats why I've been waiting. To be inspired. To be hit by this ton of bricks. I have a few ideas. I'm not planning to share just yet. I'm still experimenting. Be patient y'all. 

I've also been really busy and kinda blank in terms of what to write about. So forgive me for the lack of blog posts. This is a little thing to let you know I'm still breathing. :) 

-TLG 

My rendition of the "I Love New York" T-shirt.

On the way to the Roots concert, I caught a glimpse of this cool tag on a pillar in the 157th street station (Uptown Side). When on my way back home I remembered at exactly the right moment and got off the train and took the shot and headed home. I'm definitely going to keep this in the vault for the future. 

 The never ending love story. 

-TLG 

Anybody Want Candy??

I get my candy fix from this truck. No trust me its cool, he's a good guy! 

Just Kidding. You gotta be crazy.  

I've been seeing this van on and off all summer a couple blocks away from my place. I kept telling myself I would get the shot. So I finally did. 

Future T-Shirt? Perhaps.  

-TLG 

More Than Just T-Shirts.

As the days go on, this project/experiment is becoming more of a way to unite like-minded, passionate people. I'm a firm believer in strength in numbers; the power of many. Through this blog, I not only want to showcase my own ideas but to deliver the ideas of others, equally as passionate. 

I want to start a family. A family of creative people who are in the same struggle. The TLG family. It starts now. Flesh and Blood. The Family isn't just biological; birth given. In my opinion its a group of people joined together by a common bond. That bond would be our creativity and thirst for success. Who knows what our family could achieve? 

All I know is that I'm interested in giving this my best shot, I have no idea what will happen tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year. But for as long as this can work, I'm planning on taking it one day at a time. 

What I'm about to say can be applied to anything in life. 
Remember: Life is a marathon, not a sprint. The things most important to us should be dealt with using care and calculation. 

-TLG  

What's in a Name?

Letters strung together to form words? Words strung together to create phrases? Can you own a word, name, or phrase? Yes, Yes, and to some degree yes, would be the answer to all these questions. 
Most importantly, a name should have some sort of a personal meaning, especially if you're going to claim ownership to it. 

But what if someone has the same name as you, the same idea, but a different personal meaning than you? 
1) you can get in serious trouble.
2) you can get creative. 
3) you can get lucky <<< My story. 

Now the origin of Tastes Like Gold, at least in terms of my firm, is as follows. It happened one afternoon, last summer, with my parents on the way home from Manhattan. My father's '01 Camry broke down underneath the George Washington Bridge on Riverside Drive. (uptown Manhattan around 181st st.) After my dad called a friend to help us start the car, we were on our way. Along Riverside Drive, there are these pillars holding up an overpass. Scribbled on one of these pillars was: Tastes Like Gold. Once I saw that I KNEW that I had to name the T-Shirt line that. 

I returned the following week to photograph the future of my line. >>>


That was the original logo I used prior to knowing about the lovely concepts of intellectual property law. Apparently, the graffiti artists actually can reserve their rights to their own artwork, even if it's illegal. Go figure. 


To avoid any legal recourse I invested in my own logo; the same logo you see today. I assumed that I would be okay as long as I had something of my own. This brings me to TRADEMARK LAW. Which I discovered just last night. For months, I was aware of this other brand selling clothing under the same name, different logo, different style. It scared the living hell out of me but I tried to ignore it. 


Last night I looked it up for the first time. The Trademark Registry. Typed in Tastes Like Gold, only to find that it had already been registered. NOOOOOOOOOOOO! I was finished. Done. Terminado. Finito. In one second, my heart sank faster than a two million pound stone in the Pacific Ocean. I continued to read the web page hoping that I had read wrong, trying to find a shred, a table scrap of hope left for me to chew on. 


And there it was. The word "ABANDONED" in capital letters. Closer to the end of the page was the word "DEAD" in capital letters. I was revived. I was pulled out of the abyss of pain and suffering and wasted time and all the bad stuff you could find in an abyss. 


I did further research and found that the previous owner cannot prevent someone new from reviving the old trademark as their own! Which means I can restore it. Registered in 2008 and abandoned MAY 3RD 2010, only about THREE MONTHS AGO! HOW LUCKY CAN YOU GET????


There are some questions I still need answered but all my fears of stealing unintentionally are gone, we can continue as Tastes Like Gold and hopefully the future is as bright as it seems. This is a victory for us. 

So, come along on this little journey. It's far from being over. 


-TLG

The Status Update.

Since the first post back on WordPress, I've been playing the waiting game. Just over a week ago I received the first sample t-shirt. So what's the verdict??

 I was mildly satisfied with the sample, there are some things that i would like to tweak a little prior to releasing.

The one thing i was satisfied with was the quality. One of the problems that plagued my first line of shirts, was the stiffness of the ink transfer paper. When you put the shirt on it wouldnt bend or flex in the normal fashion. Even worse is if you throw it in the dryer. It felt like some sort of a leathery, reptilian, scaly texture. So somewhere through the struggles i knew i had to find a solution. Compared to the old t-shirts, this new model is more comfortable and washer-machine ready(at least more so than the last ones.) 


One of the problems with the sample was how dark it printed. The original image from now on needs to be pre-adjusted for print. Which means adjusting brightness, lightness, contrast, hue, saturation and converting it from RGB to CMYK. The last setting is specifically for the printers benefit. It makes the colors of the original image duller, but it allows me to see what the printed shirt will probably end up looking like once i get it.
 















 For this specific shirt design, the logo came out a little dark against the background, so i outlined it in white for the actual release.  Here is an example of the original image, converted to CMYK, logo outlined in white, and all the other settings adjusted: 

 -TLG

The Re-Post.

I figured I would re-post the first blog entry on the wordpress site. Just for those who didnt see it the first time and then do an update. 
"I’ve been waiting for this summer to start for such a long time. so its only fitting that I post this on the FIRST NIGHT of summer. Leading up to this point, I was preoccupied with… life. It prevented me from taking any new pics.. spreading the name around.. I did nothing with Tastes Like Gold in my second semester.

So this summer has been an entire year in the making. The summer that I finally put some capital, energy, elbow grease, whatever you want to call it, into Tastes Like Gold. It’s the perfect time to do anything.

My first plan of action.. find an affordable T-shirt printing website, I found more than I bargained for. shirtmagic.com also supplies a very intuitive online shop option that allows the seller to make money off his/her designs. I said “Why Not?”

My second plan of action… create a sample t-shirt. As some of my close friends know, I was making my own designs in my dorm room for about a year. I did all the Ironing. all the printing… all the purchasing.. it was my own creation. Was I proud of it? yeah most definitely.. was it the best I could do.. no. This lead me to finding a higher quality option that would end up saving me money in the long-run. This sample t-shirt is on its way as we speak. the shipping is taking forever (heads up to future customers, it’s a bit of an extended wait period unfortunately :/)  Simple putting it on a black tee, no?"

The Construction Process.

I feel like I've been to hell and back with this one. But after a month of waiting, I got off my ass and did it myself. 
Although it was not the original game plan, I am still happy with the result.

Before i get into the whole thing i just want to say thanks to an old friend from high school, Jomi Cubol. I thank him for the guidance, template ideas, and helping me actually visualize this on paper. Because of the help i have a completely different way of thinking.

I never thought that I would start coding HTML and CSS (i hated the idea of it). This cryptic language of brackets, abbreviations, symbols and numbers are the steel and concrete foundation of the blog. At the end of the day, it was NOT as hard as it first seemed.

I had an initial template that was set up by my friend and i used his example and some other examples i found online. it took me about 5-6 hrs to finish it. Here we are.

This is the start of something new. Stay tuned.

-TLG