Interview w/Ben Scrivens
Fright Rags
www.fright-rags.com
To most fans of Fright-Rags, I'd say the biggest change in the last 24 months is the switch you've made to ringspun shirts. Personally, I have really enjoyed them and I felt the transition was smooth but obviously, it was a big move in so many ways. I am not going to ask you to rehash the whole process as it was well documented in this FR blog entry (http://www.fright-rags.com/
For the most part, the response has been positive. Sure, there are a select few (including some good customers of ours) that would have preferred us to stay with the old brand of shirt we used. Some of them refuse to buy from us now. But then again, we’ve had people that wouldn’t buy from us before, when we were using those shirts, and now buy from us regularly. We’ve lost a few people, and we’ve gained a few. Regardless, the transition had to be made. I got to a point where I wasn’t even wearing our shirts anymore because of how uncomfortable they were. And that’s not a good sign.
While most enjoy the ringspun, I have heard a few dislikes from fans regarding the sizing/fit of these compared to the old Gildan ones (which I find funny since this has always been a common complaint lodged against that brand). The price increase has also lodged some moans and groans. I know you have firm faith in the mantra of "I'd rather explain the price than apologize for the quality" and obviously you can't please everyone but I wonder if you could take a moment to address these questions and concerns:
Well, the price increase comes with an increase of quality (i.e. ringspun shirts) and also cotton increases as well. But it also comes from our brand position. We want to be able to provide top notch designs, on top notch shirts, and deliver top notch service. Quite frankly, that costs money. I look at Fright-Rags as a premium brand. If you want “just a shirt”, I can point you to several other sites that will sell you a horror shirt for much cheaper than we do. I’m not interested in customers who are looking for the lowest prices. I’m looking for those who appreciate fine original art and understand quality. Competing on price is a race to the bottom…and that’s not where I want to be. That said, I do not feel we are gouging people either as our prices are quite standard among similar sites offering similar quality products.
It's pretty crazy to think you guys have already been in business for nearly a decade. When you started Fright-Rags, did you ever think it would grow to be the gold standard in horror shirts?
Absolutely not. I’d be lying if I didn’t have visions of growing the company, but I relegated those to daydreams and never thought they would be a reality. But here I am, 8+ years later, waking up every day to do this. It feels great. It’d also the hardest I’ve ever worked in my life, and I’m astounded by how much I’ve learned along the way…and how much I have yet to learn.
In the same vein, I've noticed a massive surge in the amount of horror related merchandise year round; I mean, we are about the same age so I have no doubt that you remember when getting the new issue of Gorezone, finding a Screamin' vinyl kit or mailing away for a puffy print TCM2 shirt was the like hitting the lottery. Now, I am probably shelling out $1000 a year on horror merchandise and am barely scratching the surface. Without a doubt, eBay, PayPal, Etsy and folks own sites have fueled this increase but it just seems as though community has really found its crest. I am sure this is a boon to Fright Rags, such a supportive environment but do you ever worry that it will lose its momentum and be maintained just by the often fickle diehards as opposed to a boost from the general populace? Also, how has the downturn in the economy over the last few years affected Fright Rags in respect to materials cost, less disposable income from consumers? I don't think a lot of fans are aware of these kind of issues.
Yeah, there has definitely been a surge in the horror community over the past 6-7 years and I do wonder how long it will last. I think the mass-market companies will see diminished returns sooner as it’s so hard to compete in brick and mortar stores these days with all the online shopping. So stores are trying to stay relevant and that might mean cutting back on the fringe categories that horror tends to dwell in. Then again, you can now walk into a Toys ‘R Us and buy a Jason hockey mask…go figure. As far as Fright-Rags goes, I do often wonder where any eventual downturn in the market or fallout from the economy will take us. I do think diversifying is good, and there are other areas and markets I could see getting into. I also think that the collectors market will always be there, and there will always be a demand for shirts and other collectibles, no matter what. T-shirts as “wearable art” have been around for years and I do not think that will change. Plus, it’s an affordable luxury…we’re not talking about a $1,000 fur coat. So it’s up to us to keep putting out shirts that people want to wear.
Fright-Rags is well known for its motto of "kick ass original horror shirts" but I've noticed that over the years, this desire for personalization and innovation has even extended to the shipping bags, imprinted tagless "film ticket" tees and printing of your own "Fright Flicks" style trading cards. Are you planning to branch this trend anywhere else (shipping tubes, other bonus items, etc) and is are these extra touches something view as enhancing the experience and building your brand?
I’m always looking for ways in which we can extend our brand. I’m always mining my own childhood for things I thought were cool and trying to figure out a way to bring them into what we do. Like the Fright Flicks cards…I wanted to do our own, so we did. I want to create an experience for the customer. I want them to open up their mailbox and see that distinct bag looking back that them and forget all about their bills, or worries, and run inside to open it. And then I want to wow them again by including something extra inside. Sometime I’ think people buy our shirts just to get a free Warhead inside! It’s all about experience and enjoyment. Once and awhile, it’s good to feel 12 years old again.
Since we are talking about your expansion, how many employees are involved in Fright Rags now and can you talk a little about who they are and what they do?
Right now I have two full time employees and one part time employee. Tim is our Phantom of the Warehouse (i.e. shipping manager) and works tirelessly at pulling, packing, and shipping all the orders. He is assisted by Jes who helps him out part time. Kristy is our Executive Director of Service and Sass (i.e. customer service) who handles customer service, some bookkeeping, and a host of other duties along with going to shows and, in general, pimping us out everywhere. I also have another bookkeeper and accountant who I work with on a regular basis, and great team of designers I work with too.
For quite some time, Fright Rags has been associated with artist Jeff Zornow whose has work has been part of countless, popular offerings. Yet, I know you keep a stable of around 8-10 rosters. Anyone you wanted to highlight? How do you choose what artists you work with?
I’ve been extremely lucky to have worked with some great and talented designers over the years. Aside from the amazing Zornow, a few that stick out are MunkONE, who actually contacted me a few years ago and ended up doing designs for us such as Braindead, Tide You Over and a few others. Lately I’ve been working with Justin Osbourn who has a great eye for that 80s retro style seen on so many VHS covers from our youth. He recently did our Hatchet shirt and poster and nailed the look perfectly. I have no idea how he does what he does, but I imagine he has parted ways with his soul to do it…it’s incredible. As for how I decide on the artist, it all depends on the concept. If I have a specific idea in mind, I can usually tell who would be good for it. Or sometimes an artist comes to me with an idea and if it fits, I let him roll with it.
Fright Rags does not accept unsolicited submissions from freelance artists but I recall something about a fan design contest- any additional information on that?
We hosted a fan design contest years ago. I’m not opposed to doing another one, but we really have to take into consideration various copyrights when letting people design for whatever they want. So, if we ever do it again it will be with restrictions.
The "We Belong Alive" special edition originally created to help your friend Leisha is now being reprinted to raise funds for METAvivor. You give a good overview on this but I was wondering how Leisha and her family are doing and is there any way donations can be made directly should readers want to?
Leisha is doing well and is still receiving regular chemo and radiation treatments which will continue t least until March/April 2012. When I last spoke with her she was in great spirits and continues to fight this deadly disease. She is an inspiration and I cannot wait to see finally in remission. For those who would like to donate directly, here is a link: http://funds.gofundme.com/pp7k
Fright-Rags seem to have a really good sense of humor, as do most horror fans (although not all) with shirts like "All My Kittens Now", "Screaming Like Banshees" and "The Real Lost Boys." What kind of feedback have you gotten on these particular pieces of horror hilarity? Bonus question: what is your favorite horror comedy of all time? (Extra credit: Will you guys being doing anything in conjunction with the recent ROTLD retrospective book and documentary?)
We’ve gotten some pretty good feedback on most of our humor/parody tees. There have been some people who hated them, as is the case whenever you go out on the fringe and do something different, but I take it in stride. Our sense of humor is part of what makes us unique. I mean, the first design I ever did was What Would Jason Do?, so doing the “Kittens” design isn’t too far off. In general, I find that the majority of our customers share the laughs with us.
As far as a favorite horror comedy goes, that’s a tough question. Return of the Living Dead definitely comes to mind, as do films like Beetlejuice, Ghostbusters, and Tremors if you count those as horror comedy. We have been approached by the producers of “More Brains” about the possibility of doing a shirt, but as of right now we have not made a final decision.
Speaking of humor, you guys have been collaborating with Adam Green on numerous designs. How did you get hooked up with him and do you guys have any other designs (especially those based on his annual Halloween shorts?)
He actually contacted us a few years ago about selling his own shirts (that he was currently selling on his site) but I turned it down because we didn’t want to sell shirts you could buy anywhere else. However, earlier this year he decided that he needed someone to take over that part of his site, so he contacted us again about selling shirts on an exclusive basis. This time we were able to secure rights for his films and the ability to create our own designs based on them. Adam is a great guy and it’s been a dream come true to work with him as I love the Hatchet films and Frozen.
Another group you are involved with is the film making collective behind the "Never Sleep Again" and numerous other first rate documentaries. How soon did you try to get this shirt out once you saw it?
We had actually been in talks with the producer before the film was even released about doing a shirt with the artwork on it. I mean, to have a Matthew Peak original on a shirt is just too cool to pass up. Once the DVD came out, I grabbed a copy right away and fell in love with it. It’s just an amazing and incredibly extensive documentary. Once I saw it, it just sealed the deal.
Fright-Rags got a big promotional boost from "30 Rock" actor Judah Friedlander rocking your designs. Without disclosing any confidential information, was he someone who was already buying your stuff or did this come out of the blue? Did you see a big increase in sales after he was seen wearing your work?
I met him at a Monster Mania show in Cherry Hill, NJ. He really liked our shirts and I gave him a few to take home. He mentioned that he wanted to wear one on the show, but I just figured it would never happen. It’s nice to hear of course, but I just assumed it would never come to fruition. Well, he contacted me a little over a year later and mentioned that NBC needed me to sign some paperwork so he could wear one of our shirts on the show. I talked to him on the phone a few mnths later and he had just shot the episode so I knew it would be on sometime during that season. Then, sure enough, in February 2009, he showed up wearing the shirt. It got great air time too, and I didn’t expect it to be so front and center as it was.Immediately following the airing, I checked the site and found dozens of orders for the shirt. We probably sold a few hundred in the first couple of weeks since it aired. and then again when the reruns came on later that year. Even though they never mentioned Fright-Rags, people found us doing searches for it on Google, etc. It was nuts.
An effort I was really impressed with is the King Collection that debuted earlier this year. As a huge King fan growing up with these particular hardcover editions. Was it hard to choose between all the available designs? Do you have plans to expand this line and will you resurrect any of those that have gone out of print?
Thanks! That’s one collection I’m especially proud of as I’ve been a fan of King’s since I was a kid. As far as choosing the artwork, I already had a couple in mind (Pet Sematary, Night Shift) and the hardest part was just getting in contact with the artists. I wanted to narrow it down for the first release, so we just chose the four we did to see how they’d do. They were met with a great response, and I hope to do more at some point.
It seems as though your foray into film screenings was a big success when you had a historic night for Fred Dekker and Tom Atkins by showcasing "Night of the Creeps" and "The Monster Squad" as well a sweet double feature of "The Fog" and "Halloween III: Season of the Witch." Do you have plans for any additional celebrations of the like? Any particular memories you want to share about that event?
That weekend was a blast, and remains a highlight of Fright-Rags history for me. The memories I cherish from that event are of the down times when we weren’t showing the films. I spent all of Saturday afternoon with Tom Atkins eating lunch at a restaurant nearby that overlooks the lake. It was just he and I, talking and eating for a few hours. Or the night that Tom, Fred, and I spent drinking at the hotel bar where they stayed until 3am, again, just talking and sharing stories. It was incredible. Then, on Monday afternoon (after Tom had left), we spent the day at the office with Fred as he signed our posters. We’re sitting there doing our work, and there is Fred, signing away, like he worked there too. Surreal!I hope to do another screening like that again and we’ve been coming up with ideas for another one. I’d like to say that we’ll do it next summer, but I’m not sure at the moment as no plans are nailed down yet. I sure hope we can, though!
There was a rumor going around that I am not sure you will be able to address but it concerns talk that Fright Rags ran into some legal trouble with the limited edition poster for NOTC/MS, due to different copyright restrictions. Any comment?
Really? I’ve actually never heard of that rumor. We’ve never had any problems with it.
Also, how exactly do you work with various license holders to produce designs with their properties on them?
It all depends on the property. Some films are owned by the filmmaker, as was the case with Ted Bohus and Deadly Spawn when we did our design, or Frank Henenlotter with Basket Case. In most cases, we have to track down the company that produced it and see who may own the rights now, especially for an older movie since all movies from the 80s seemed to have switched hands quite a bit. It can be exhausting at times.
Since we are talking about super fun court time, can you shed some light on the lawsuit regarding WWJD?
Luckily, there was never actually a lawsuit. Our original WWJD? design had a hockey mask that was too close to Jason, and New Line Cinemas sent us a cease and desist letter telling us that we had to halt production of that design or risk being sued. I complied, but I also felt that if we took out all the trademarks they own of the hockey mask (no, they don’t own all hockey mask, but they do own various trademarks of the mask that makes it look like Jason including eye hole shape, the triangle, vent hole placement, etc) then I would be able to keep selling that shirt. I sent their lawyers a revised design and in a month they sent me back a letter confirming that it is OK for me to sell the shirt with the revised mask. That is what we still sell today.
Can you discuss a bit about your role in "Thread's Not Dead" book? How did you get involved in this project and what is the most important advice you would give someone interested in entering the t-shirt business?
I’ve worked with Jeff Finley over the years (he designed our Phenomena and Eraserhead shirts) and he contacted me when he first started writing it asking if I would participate. I get a lot of questions from people who want to start their own shirt business and I’m always welcome to share my experience. Hell, I was there once too and was able to make this into my full time job, so why not share what I’ve learned with others?
As far as my most important piece of advice? It’s simple. START. So many people get hung up about the logistics, the technicalities, and all the other crap that they never get anything off the ground. Yes, you need to make sure you have that stuff in order, but if learning how to start a business is getting in the way of you actually starting your business, then that is a problem. It is always a work in progress, it will never be perfect, so you might as well start it now and learn by doing. I still learn something new everyday as I do this.
The entire limited edition thing is a really tough and controversial issue. You covered this in your "Is Limited Too Limited" blog ( http://www.fright-rags.com/
I think going with a pre-order way of handling limited editions helps ease the worry of a particular size selling out. People sometimes complain that we don’t print enough of a certain size when we do our other limited shirts, but the fact is, we print quite a bit more of popular sizes (i.e. large), and they still sell out. So keeping it to a pre-order alleviates that concern, but still allows us to put a cap on it and keep it limited. We won’t be doing that with every limited edition, but probably the majority of them, at least for the time being. My only concern is making people wait the 3-4 weeks for the shirt to ship, and while we don’t get many complaints in that department, I’m extremely sensitive to wait times, and try to do everything I can to keep our customers informed as to what’s going on so they’re not wondering where their shirt is.
Also, I wish there was a system to alert when shirts were going out of stock so they could be picked up more easily? I mean, before they going on sale. Understandably, you are trying to liquidate stock but I really would like the chance to get some shirts before the only option is to wait until they are "back from the dead." What do you think?
We’re working on ways to make that happen. I understand it’s a concern when you don’t know how close something is to being out of print, or when a size is sold out, and I am addressing those issues in a new website design that I hope to unveil in the upcoming months.
What other kind of horror collectibles are you into?
My only other vice besides shirts and DVDs are masks. I haven’t been too active in the community for awhile, but I still lurk around at what people are doing. Being a big slasher fan, I have a few shelves stocked with high end replica Michael Myers and Jason masks, along with a few Freddy Krueger gloves. I also have a few other replicas and screen used props that I display in my home office.
I know you are a big Halloween/MM fan; are you a devotee of the MM mask hobby? If so, what is your favorite "Hero"?
Yeah, I’m a sucker for a Myers mask! All my favorites have been made by my good friend Justin Mabry of Nightowl Productions (www.nightowlpro.com) and my current favorite is his Psycho from a few years back. On the shelf, it looks harmless. But in the right light, damn it’s creepy as hell…just like the Shatner mask in the original film.
Are there plans to extend the 11x17 poster collection or sticker selection? Have you ever thought about making pins of popular designs?
There are no current plans to extend the 11x17 posters, but we will most likely continue to add to our 18x24 signed poster line-up. We do have some original ideas for stickers that will be out some time in the next year. As for pins, I think that would be fun to do at some point, if the idea is right. I’m just not sure if our main designs would translate to a 1.5” circle.
What are your thoughts on recent remakes (Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark, The Thing) and what films are you looking forward to in 2012?
I’ve given up being grumpy over remakes. They are going to happen, no matter what. And yes, I’ve seen my share of them. Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark was ok, but not stellar. I enjoyed Fright Night for what it was, yet it will never replace the original of course.As for upcoming films, I’m curious to see what Rob Zombie’s The Lords of Salem is going to be like. Cabin in the Woods looks intriguing, if only to see what they could possibly bring to that type of storyline that The Evil Dead and Cabin Fever hasn’t already covered.
What is your favorite horror flick of 2011?
Hands down, Hobo With A Shotgun. I don’t know if it’s a horror flick per se, but definitely my favorite film this year without a doubt. The runner up is Insidious.
What did you watch for Halloween month this last year?
We’ve been hosting some horror flicks at a local theater over the past week, and I’ve seen some great flicks on the big screen. Tucker and Dale VS Evil (amazing!), The Woman (wow…intense film), plus vintage prints of The Shining and They Live. I have also been going through all the Halloween films (a tradition), as well as Silver Bullet (another October tradition for me), and Trick ‘r Treat. I don’t get to sit down and watch too many movies these days, but I do try and catch a few when I can!
Not sure if you wanted to have Kristy drive for a second but I wanted to know more about the upcoming Popcorn reissue as there hasn't been an update since July. We need to know! :)
All I can say is that it is in the works. She has secured the rights to the film and a distributor. All that is left is to finalize the contract, which I believe will happen in the next month. Once it does, she will be releasing all the info…and I can tell you, fans will not be disappointed!
I've always been a big fan of the blog; wanted to ask about two very cool stories (your fine lineage in the shirt business) and the story about your time in Germany (the latter of which is was going to ask about when I originally started crafting this interview.) Have you uncovered any more regarding your ancestry and can you talk a little about how the horror scene was in Germany?
Wow, people do read that stuff?! Not too much more is known about my families’ shirt business. I do know that it was quite big in their day, and they made undergarments. There is even a legend that says the term “scivvies” came from my last name “Scrivens”, but I don’t know if that’s true.I don’t recall there being too much of a horror scene in Germany. I lived in a very small town in former East Germany and aside from the local mall, it was as if the wall had never come down there. So there wasn’t much of a scene at all there. I did dabble in the club scene a bit in the nearby larger cities such as Leipzig and Berlin, but it was mostly ravers. One thing I did do was listen to the Misfits box set every single day I was there, literally non stop.
What is happening with the vintage line?
We’ve decided to split the vintage line off from Fright-Rags and give it its own website entirely. The vintage line has always been a great addition to the site, but never quite meshed with our other products, especially since they are custom made and take weeks to get, and our other shirts are in stock and ship immediately. And with some recent issues we had with fulfillment, we’ve decided to pull them from our site and move them to a place all their own.
The great thing about this is that the company taking over printing for us will also be shipping orders which will drastically cut down on shipping time as most shirts will ship in just a few days rather than weeks. Plus, they are a high tech facility that will allows us to offer other types of custom items such as laptop skins, prints, and calendars.
I’m really excited for this next wave of the vintage line and I feel it will be the best for us and our customers. We’re still in the middle of everything, but I hope to have a major announcement in a couple months.
I've always wanted to know this; is there a particular reason for the hyphen between Fright Rags?
Funny you should ask… Actually, there is no reason other than I felt the site domain should have the words separated. Unfortunately, I should have also bought www.frightrags.com at the same time because after we started generating some noticeable traffic, it was picked up by a link bait site and buying it from them is much too expensive to be worth it. So, fright-rags.com it is!
I am not a big hockey dude but when doing research, I learned about the goaltender who shares your name. Living in a region famous for the sport, does anyone not in the know get you two confused?
Yeah, I was made aware of that a few years ago. The only time people ever confused me with him was when Facebook just started and I got an account. Al the people who wanted to add me were doing so because they thought I was the hockey player. So I literally had to add “No, I’m not a hockey player” to my profile page. People stopped after that.
So I understand that you were nominated for Rochester's "Go Getter of the Year" award in 2009? Did you win and what was the feeling of receiving some serious hometown recognition?
No, I didn’t win. I don’t even remember who did, or who was in the running. I can tell you that the hometown recognition has been great though. Around the time that we were on 30 Rock, I was on the local news twice, in three different newspapers, and even a local magazine. It was crazy. My proudest one was a Father’s Day article in our local paper in 2010. I was asked to be a part of an article about entrepreneurs who are dads, which I was happy to contribute to. What I didn’t realize was that I would wake up that Father’s Day morning to see me and my kids on the cover of the paper and the entire article was about us. And while they did talk about one other person toward the end, I thought they were going to be focusing on more people. It was really cool to see that as it puts the two things I’m proud of most together; being a father and running Fright-Rags.
What do you have planned for 2012? Any sneak peaks?
We’re still in the planning stages for next year, but I can tell you that there is no shortage of ideas! We’ve got plenty of limited editions, new designs, and some original stuff coming too. It’s going to be chock-full of horror goodness, you can be sure of that!
I was looking through stacks of CDs recently and I noticed a demo from an Upstate NY brutal death metal band called Veneral Messiah that my friend Barrett from Sevared Records put out. I noticed that it says it was mixed by Ben Scrivens. Is this you? I know you played guitar but wasn't sure about your creative ventures. What other bands have you been in/produced? Are you still involved in the death metal/extreme music scene?
Yup, that was me. To be honest, all I really did was tighten up the tracks on their album and mess with the levels a bit. I don’t fancy myself as a sound engineer or mixer by any stretch of the imagination, but I do like creating music when I can. The main reason I was even asked is because my brother Mike is in the band and knew I could do it. I used to be in a band with both of my brothers but eventually quit because fright-Rags was taking up all of my time. These days my music is relegated to practicing at home and occasionally jamming with my brothers. I do wish I had more time to devote to it though.
As for the death metal scene, I’m not really into it at all. I’ve been to a few Venereal Messiah gigs, but I can’t say I’m a huge fan of that type of music, even though my taste in music is varied. I’m more of an early punk, blues, hard rock, heavy metal fan. You know, just hard enough that your ears bleed but you can still understand what the singer is saying.
www.fright-rags.com
www.twitter.com/frightrags
www.facebook.com/frightrags
ben@frightrags.com
No comments:
Post a Comment