Recurring Disappointments: coq music

All, I deeply apologize for the way Coq Music came out. We take full blame for it and are learning from our mistakes.

Both Cameesa and the artist of Coq Music approved the mocks for printing; unfortunately, it is a design that was printed exactly as mocked, so the printer was not liable. So you can understand where we are coming from, I have attached the mocks that we approved. (It was very difficult to tell that the rooster was going to come out pea green, especially since the color listed is 'creme')

As a lesson learned from this situation, we are going to require artists to list the actual colors (and color #'s) that are seen on the design. So, people can see the actual colors that they are supporting.

Once again, we are very sorry that you are not happy, and we are 100% guaranteed so you are free to return the Tee if you don't like it for any reason.

With that said, I feel that it has taken us a long time, but we have found the perfect printer. Now it's just a matter of getting the process down where everyone is on the same page.

- kamil commented 270 days ago

maybe it's just me, but it looks quite greenish in that mock, as well

You picked a color which erred on the wrong side of close... your mock is similar to the original, but with more green tinge. The print itself is greener still, making what used to be close into something far away from what it should be.

Whether it is the printer, or the mock, its not our responsibility. it's yours. and if you have a shirt that came out wrong, no matter who was at fault, it needs to be fixed. It's not like we're buying pre-printed shirts. We're buying art on a mock-up. We expect to own a piece that looks like what we pre-paid for. I for one don't want a 100% guarantee for returns. I want to get what I paid for. If I send this back because I am dissatisfied, I do not get the shirt I wanted. I NEVER get the shirt I wanted. Because you're gonna sell it green, just like you are selling Gamer Mother green. Somewhere along the line, someone screwed up, and when it happens this much, I don't believe it's the artists. And we the customers suffer for it. That pretty much negates the guarantee, to me. We should get what we paid for.

- AdderXYU commented 270 days ago

That's because 7485 is light green, not even close to cream (which is more like 7499). Seems like someone with a pantone book ought to have checked that out before this even went to the printers...

Haven't received mine yet, but this has me worried.

- MJ00 commented 270 days ago

And that makes three (who are willing to voice their disapproval). I just got mine today and I too am upset at the 'pea green'. I supported this in good faith, as have others regarding the designs they hold dear. Now I own Gamer Mother and Coq Music with misprinted colors. That's two mistakes too many.

Why haven't I sent it back? Really, I want the shirts I requested. But I'm not going to get them, from what I can see. So although I'll get my support money back, I'm not going to get my shirt, which was the reason I was willing to lay out the money in the first place. Then I have to pay to return what I received. It's a hassle and I'll never see the print I wanted.

As someone who has a design up here, I'm incredibly worried. If/when my design prints, I'll be the first to have a specialty ink involved. That scares me since there's been such a huge issue just getting Pantone colors correct. Now, having the artist list them is all fine and dandy (I do this on my PS files all the time - each layer is noted with the color it's displaying), but I think it's a bigger deal than this, since I believe the Gamer Mother artist is all too familiar with having to list her Pantone colors for other projects.

I really don't want to be on the designer's side of this when a misprint happens. Because I'll feel responsible if I sign off on a design and it gets misprinted, even if it's not my fault in the printing area. I know that as a company, you say you are trying to learn from your mistakes, but how many misprints will we have before we see a product that we'll be happy with? How many shirts will I end up supporting before you resolve the issues? Well, sadly, I can say that except what I've supported at this point, I cannot support more until I can see quality product. And unlike some who support your site, I've pimped out Cameesa a great deal. And not just for my own design (although, yes, I try to get people to support my work). But if this is the path for Cameesa, you'll lose your supporters, if you haven't lost some of them already.

- JadenKale commented 270 days ago

On an off shoot, I'm kind of dissapointed that the colors were pretty different for Dmitri was a Dreamer as well. The dark parts of the elephant bodies are almost a brown/grey color, not the light grey shown in the comp.

Oh well. At least it's not pea green.

- JustLikeYou commented 270 days ago

As another who received their Coq Music shirt today, I was shocked to see the pea green rooster. I don't care where you feel the blame should lay, it is not the shirt I supported. You can say 100% guarantee till you are blue in the face, but I have heard about and seen too many color mishaps to support any more shirts until things improve.

BTW, I feel the blame lies with whoever picked the pantone colors that got sent to the printers as MJ pointed out. Also, as owners of the site, ultimately, all blame lies with you regardless.

- snarkygal commented 270 days ago

Well, I, for one, am not disappointed with my Foo Dog shirt. It's pretty awesome with correct colors and all that. ;)

- EdwardBlake commented 270 days ago

We are taking steps to ensure this does not happen in the future. I will post some actions we are taking to resolve the issue before the end of the week.

- viktor commented 270 days ago

I'm in Chicago and yet all of you have gotten your tees before me (highly illogical). Does anyone have any pictures available? I'm quite perturbed by this pea green debacle... though, if the "pea green" is like the greenish creme that shows up in the comp kamil provided above, then it doesn't seem too bad, at all. I just thought, when I received the email, that the rooster neck would end up being a ~pinker~ or ~yellower~ creme. I am itching to see this pea green, and I'm too impatient to wait for my own tees to arrive.

If tees are going to show up significantly different than the comp's on which I base my support, then I feel like I should only be supporting black and white designs from now on. Something needs to be done about these discrepancies. Big picture, this is serious money--both on the part of supporters and Cameesa proper.

- goldenthorn commented 270 days ago

Goldenthorn, you should have it tomorrow. I live in Wisconsin and got it this afternoon.

I looked closer at the comp that was posted by kamil and did my own color searching on it. I'm rather concerned that, while the colors are close, there's an obvious difference. Well, based on where they fall on the chart, they seem obvious to me. One has more yellow to it than the other.

- JadenKale commented 270 days ago

A real live picture. It's greener still in person:


You'll note that other than that color, it printed wonderfully. But that color is a killer, especially for a shirt that was languishing so long without printing.

- AdderXYU commented 270 days ago

Here is a real picture in the sun.

- snarkygal commented 270 days ago

It really concerns me that this situation has happened yet again. It's heartbreaking because I know how excited and supportive people were to get this shirt printed.

Now regarding Gamer Mother, I haven't been very loud and clear about my disappointment except to a select few. But now that I see it has happened again, I feel like I should be more expressive so people see things from the artist's perspective. I too got a similar mock up image to approve. At first I was very appreciative that they included me in the reviewing process. I noticed that the green of the chair, TV, and floor was off and it also did not have a pantone number indicated like the rest of the colors. I also noticed the print size was a little larger than I liked. So I responded with a comment about the pantone not being indicated and a question about the size. I never got a response back from that email. Hours later I got a totally separate email asking about what color I wanted my tag info to be, but that was it. I didn't push it further because I know that I have issues with obsessing over details. However, now I wish that I had obsessed with it. I should have been more aggressive because technically speaking, I never approved that mock-up.

I can't speak for all artists, but to me communicating color is so terribly complicated and nerve-racking. The problem is that all monitors are different. If you actually choose your color in Photoshop by its pantone number, on screen it's can be totally different from the physical swatch in the book. So when I first saw the Gamer Mother mock up, I didn't start screaming at them right away because I thought maybe that was the case. I just wish I had gotten proper feedback when I emailed them about it. And that's really the heart of the issue here: proper communication between the artist, owners of the site, and the printer.

Whatever happens, the product absolutely needs to look like the image that the consumers vote for and support. If the artist makes a mistake and transposes a number or something, I believe the owner of the site has the responsibility and right to make sure it looks as close as possible to the original image. I have no idea how the communication went regarding the approval of monsieur-pimpant's design mock-up, but even if he said it was fine, I don't understand why the person on Cameesa's end couldn't say something like "I dunno, that looks kinda green. Are you sure? Let's make it look more like the original." That's just my opinion though, and again, I don't know the whole story.

- theinfinityloop commented 270 days ago

Oh, gods... see, I was assuming (hoping for) a yellower or pinker creme mixup in the rooster neck because at least it would have blended (matched) well with the other colours. This--according to your pic--is just ultra-clashing and hurts my finely honed matchy-matchy sensibilities. If only it were a warmer shade; everything else is jewel-toned and rich.

I guess I have to hie myself to Michaels and buy a fabric pen in some other colour. Any suggestions on what colour(s) I should use to ameliorate this pistachio nightmare?

*sighs*

Play it off, Keyboard Cat...

edit: Oh, hey, @snarkygal: did you dye the bottom of the tee blue? It looks pretty great. What did you use? (I wonder if I dyed the bottom as close a match to the rooster neck colour as possible, if ~that~ would aid in toning down the discrepancy.)

- goldenthorn commented 270 days ago

Jaden, I think your example shows the problem with choosing colors based on photoshop swatches- in an actual hard copy pantone swatch, both appear much more green than they do in your image. I'd suggest that what appeared in the original voted image looked more like a warm gray 1 or 7499 than any shade of green.

- MJ00 commented 270 days ago

@Goldenthorn - That's a shadow from an overhang, I believe.

@MJ - Agreed. I don't think my colors chosen via PS are correct. I actually agree with 7499. If you use the ORIGINAL submission piece, that Pantone color comes up correctly (and I know I sampled off his small version kamil showed, but still, what I came up with was less green than what we got in the print.). Be that as it may, we are still owners of of green roosters.

- JadenKale commented 270 days ago

Oh, damn... it doesn't ~look~ like a shadow from an overhang. Grrr. Who feels stupid now, huh? NOT ME (yes, me).
Well, it's still a fine visual inspiration. I can use one tee for experimentation in emendation, the other kept pure for hopes that it'll grow on me. *shuts up and scurries away*

- goldenthorn commented 270 days ago

All, we have decided that the right thing to do is to re-print Coq Music. Thank you very much for your Support to this day, and for speaking your minds. Cameesa, after all, is an open and honest community, so we want to hear what you have to say at all times. We are making small steps, that are definitely in the right direction.

We know that without you, our Supporters, Cameesa would not exist. We will always make things right for you.

So we are on the same page, in terms of the Coq Music Colors, the rooster neck will be 7499 C, and the remainder of the colors will remain the same.

- kamil commented 270 days ago

@Everyone, your feedback is extremely important to us. We love this sort of dialogue. You are Cameesa. Everyone here makes this possible.

@theinfinityloop, Please push for what you feel is right. If you feel your colors and sizing is off let us know right away. Don't ever hold back.

To all artists please be as vocal as possible when it comes to colors. Be pushy and be picky it will only lead to a better quality product.

These are some of the steps were are taking to ensure this doesn't happen again.

- Artists will specify Pantone colors at the bottom of the placement image.
- I am buying Huey from Pantone to calibrate my monitor as close as possible to the right colors (http://bit.ly/14vmJ8)
- I will also obtain the appropriate Pantone swatches and coordinate with the printers in regards to the swatches they have so we are on the same page.
- I am rigorously going to examine colors and work closely with the artists to ensure that people are always getting what they supported.

Thanks for your feedback.

V.

- viktor commented 270 days ago

Heck, I had another good idea. After we review everything. We should make a forum post and get everyone's feedback when we've chosen colors so we can get as much feedback as possible.

- viktor commented 270 days ago

Great thinking Vik, we'll do that and we'll see what the feedback is like.

- ajcronk commented 270 days ago

I missed out on supporting Coq music, but I was considered a purchase, so reading this thread was pretty interesting.

I'm glad to see staff taking the step up and fixing a problem, with all the plugging of the site I've been doing, it's much easier to tell people I trust this place when I see staff going well out of the way to correct issues, instead of ignoring or downplaying them.

As an artist, I think I'll be buying myself a nice printed pantone guide, since this seems to be the biggest issue with the micommunication between artist, staff and printer.

- Skulldog commented 270 days ago

@goldenthorn - Jaden is right. That is a shadow of an overhang. It does look blue, doesn't it LOL.,

- snarkygal commented 270 days ago

Yesterday, I thought the issue was the natural-ness of the green.* Since not everyone grew up with chickens (in their own yard or a neighbor's yard) I'll point out just a couple of things. Green is usually seen on black. If you've ever seen a black bird in direct sun light, some shine green, some blue. Close examination of some pigeon colorations will reveal greens, but once again usually on dark gray to black feathers.

http://www.cacklehatchery.com/blacksumatra.html
"This is a fowl of graceful form and has a long flowing tail with lustrous greenish black plumage."

*Yes, the designs ending up with the correct color (as designed) is the important thing.

So... if anyone had issues with a chicken being green, quit worrying.

- Janie commented 269 days ago

@Janie: Errr, that wasn't ~ever~ the issue? Because it isn't anywhere close to a greenish-black rooster neck? It is a very pistachio/matcha rooster neck? And it looks terrible? And is a completely different colour than the original comp? Which was the entire and only issue? Because I tend to assume that people here are not so stupid as to take issue with the possibility of a rooster erroneously being green, since--first of all--roosters DON'T WEAR GLASSES? And these are non-pertinent issues never raised in the discussion? And it doesn't matter anyway? Since Cameesa is really impressive with its customer service? And its mightily honourable decision to reprint? Which assures and inspires my spending money here?

Answers: Yup.

(edit: Oooh, I re-read this comment. May be too bitchy. Whoops. I am on a miscommunication roooooooll.)

- goldenthorn commented 269 days ago

It's good to see Cameesa correcting another misprint... The main complaint I have here, even though I didn't support Coq Music(I did, however, support Gamer Mother), is that you guys shipped the shirt even when you knew it was off... I would think, as soon as something was caught, you'd fix it. Don't leave it up to the support base to see if they complain or not, as Adder said, it makes it look like you don't care for your customers or take pride in your product. I can also say that I'm more than a bit worried as to how She Found You will turn out... If it's screwed up as well, you guys will lose a lotta people... That is to say, if you haven't already.

- Mixer23 commented 269 days ago

@Mixer23 - We will correct all issues and have taken measures to ensure this doesn't happen in the future.

- viktor commented 268 days ago

So how do reprints work? Can I exchange my first edition coq music for a reprint or is it 19 dollars for the reprint or what? Really cannot wait to get this shirt with the correct color rooster neck!

- fleebenworth commented 268 days ago

You can keep the Tee that you currently have and you will receive the new, free of charge to you. Just for being awesome.

- kamil commented 268 days ago

@ viktor- I hope so, as I really like the idea of Cameesa and I hope to see it succeed.

- Mixer23 commented 268 days ago

Wow kamil I have to say I am very impressed with your resolution of this issue. It completely assuages any concerns I might have had after reading this thread. It also makes me want to spend more of my tee dollars here instead of other sites.

- fleebenworth commented 268 days ago

Oh, and another thing. My children, my brother, and I have all supported (under my account) this design. You could say I've thrown over $50 at this shirt. Maybe it was too many cartoons watched as a child, but I thought the colors on the design were just fine.

I just recieved the email saying the shirts were printed and on the way. We'll see what kind of phone call I get from my brother. (I'll post his reaction if it is report-worthy.)

- Janie commented 262 days ago

[quote]Heck, I had another good idea. After we review everything. We should make a forum post and get everyone's feedback when we've chosen colors so we can get as much feedback as possible. - viktor[/quote]

Viktor, I like this idea a lot. I have received 2 shirts that I supported, and both came out differently than I expected. If I had a chance to see the mocks, I could have pointed out things I had a problem with. Even if those are things that could not have been fixed, at least I would have had a chance to participate.

I think that since a community gets together to support a shirt, that same community should be allowed a peek at the mock before printing. I thank you for suggesting this, and hope it is possible to implement.

- mjc613 commented 259 days ago

I finally just got my 'COQ Music' shirt. The rooster is very green. It's pretty humorous. I think I may tie dye it to give it a more psychedelic flare.

- tpapp157 commented 257 days ago

What the heck? Is this spamming above?

- AGrant311 commented 255 days ago

@AGrant I removed the comments and banned the user.

Man, growth brings on all sorts of fun new things!

- ajcronk commented 255 days ago

Thank you, ajcronk. That kind of threw me for a loop. I was tempted to go to their site and do random postings, if possible. But I didn't.

- AGrant311 commented 255 days ago

We recently received the new version of 'Coq Music' where the rooster body is now creme instead of green.

We decided to reprint this design because of the large disappointment in the supporters.

Please email me your first and last name by Friday at 12pm CST, if you would like the new version of Coq Music sent to you. This will be no charge to you and you can keep the current version of Coq Music that you already have. The reason I ask for your response is because some of the supporters were happy with their green rooster version.

If you respond to this email and previously supported Coq Music with 2 parts, then we will send you two parts of the new version of Coq Music.

We apologize for the inconvenience that we may have caused, and will always try to make things right for you.

- kamil commented 249 days ago

I'm game. Everything is great except that ****ing pea green.

- cleverconveyence commented 249 days ago

And here I thought I was the only person a little irritated at the poor quality of "Gamer Mother." I still wear the shirt and people love it! However, I must admit that I was extremely disappointed when I opened it up and pretty much ALL the colors seemed wrong. :(

- pakrem commented 247 days ago

*COQ MUSIC UPDATE*

I don't know how many of you have received your newly reprinted Coq Music shirts, but I got mine today and I'M SO HAPPY I COMPLAINED! That is to say, this time, it is as it should be: creme, not pea soup.

It came out very well and I thank the cameesa staff for listening to us complain about the first run prints!

- JadenKale commented 241 days ago

I got my color corrected shirt today and agree that it looks better. However, the blank that it is printed on is so tissue thin it is ridiculous. The printed on tag is visible from the outside of the shirt. It is much thinner than an AA white shirt (of which I have a few).

Thank you Cameesa for reprinting Coq Music. That was a stand-up thing to do.

- snarkygal commented 240 days ago

the reprint looks great. Not thrilled with the new blanks, but that's so much less important to me than a great print.

- AdderXYU commented 237 days ago

Yeah, i live in Canada and havent recieved either a reprint or the original print shirt. Takes this long?

- campbel7 commented 237 days ago

@campbel7, let us know if you don't receive it within a week or so. The US peeps are starting to get theirs now, so I am guessing that yours should be there in a week.

- kamil commented 237 days ago

Got mine the other day. Wore it today and enjoyed it thuroughly. It's summer and hot in Atlanta so I actually appreciated the lighter shirt . . .

- tpapp157 commented 235 days ago

got it! took it at the Post Office because nobody at home when it delivered. To me its never ending smile...love this reprint so much. this tshirt has gained so much attention from people, especially my beloved mother-in law! she loved it so much.

- koalakuskus commented 231 days ago