Robo7, the Brooklyn-based artist known for his officially licensed Ultraman and Kamen Rider t-shirts, has announced a new partnership with Craft MFG. The two will bring more shirt sizes, revitalize Robo7’s online storefront, and even bring back older fan-favorite designs that you may have missed out on. This new opportunity will also allow for riskier, more obscure fan-favorite characters to get their own shirts & designs, so if you’ve been begging for an Ultraman Geed shirt done in John Bellotti Jr.’s signature style, now is your chance!
KU had the opportunity to ask Robo7 some questions about this new opportunity, gaining insight as to what Craft MFG’s role is, how this process works, and what else we may see from this new collaboration.
KU: Can you tell us what exactly Craft MFG is? From what we can see, they handle printing and distribution for artists. Is this the case, or is there more we should know?
R7: You are correct! They do custom apparel and merch! They have been making my licensed Ultraman shirts since day one! Basically, between launching my convention, Kaiju Brooklyn, then later acquiring the license for Kamen Rider, my time has been limited to do both. On top of that, throw in a packed convention season for Robo7 and online orders and then losing track of inventory plus a full time day job, I really needed some help. Robo7 is just me and no person is an island. Then serendipity struck! After a huge inventory depleting AnimeNYC for me, my guy Zane from Craft reached out to me offering to run my online shop! They offer print on demand services with the same great quality they are known for! He hooked me up with my guy TK and we’ve been working hard behind the scenes to launch this shop!
KU: Tell us how this new opportunity will benefit fans that have purchased some of your officially licensed shirts. How about people that are new? Will it be easier to pick out a shirt and keep them in stock?
R7: Definitely! Want a size 5XL? Child sizes? A pink Jirahs shirt? Now you can get all of the above! I sell out of those extra large sizes at cons so this is a great way for people not have to wait for me to restock! The other amazing thing is that this frees me up to just create while they process all of my online orders. What this means is even MORE licensed tees! I can now do more obscure characters with little risk because it’s all print on demand! Typically I have to bulk order 200+ shirts so each design has to be the absolute best representation of each franchise. Now I can take some chances! Take Ultraman Agul from the acclaimed Toku show Ultraman Gaia. I’ve been dying to make an Agul shirt for years but it’s risky. Is there enough demand for an Agul? I can’t order 200 shirts and find out the hard way that nobody likes a blue self righteous Ultraman who only cares about planet earth and not the humans who inhabit it. So if I make it a print on demand shirt I can see how sales are before I decide to bulk order them OR make it a web exclusive only! I can also do capsule drops! I could theoretically do every form of Ultraman Tiga as solo tees, and maybe even one day as long sleeved shirts as hoodies, tote bags and fanny packs all in one exclusive online drop!
KU: Will fans see the return of old favorites that have been sold out, or is that pending licensor approval?
R7: Nope, it will all be available! I was going to retire my Ultraseven and Tiga/Dyna/Gaia shirt because I finally sold out of all of them but demand for Seven and TDG has been high this year. Now it’s available again in funky colors! I also have a navy colored TDG shirt which I’m excited about!
For more updates on all things Robo7, we encourage you to visit his official website and social media channels. Robo7 also is the co-founder of Kaiju Brooklyn, the annual convention dedicated to Godzilla, Gamera, Ultraman, and more. Stay tuned for more updates on the artists in our community and various event happenings on Kaiju United.
