The Backpack: Issue 45

A merch first? Pro soccer + pro baseball collab

The football club AC Milan is known for their fashion-foward style and cool merch drops but maybe this is a merch first? The trendy club just dropped a collection with AC Milan football branding on the front and New York Yankees on the back. Some smoooooth merch here: Varsity jacket, gorgeous fleece, and even this branded baseball is stylish. Check it out for some design inspo!

The DC Metro has a shockingly rad merch shop

How could a subway system merch so hard? I mean, it’s a boring, ol’ subway system right? Wrong: It’s a ride that shuttles people through neighborhoods they love and the brand folks at The Metro get it. Check out this brutalist collection of merch called "brutiful" and these foggy bottom briefs (note the video merch promotion on that product page). But the smartest merch play? A “choose your station” dropdown that allows you to rep your hood’s merch! City merch is trending everywhere, how's your city's merch?

Knit merch trending thanks to Ella Emhoff

Potential Madame President’s stepdaughter Ella Emhoff is a stylish influencer and a famous art knitter and she’s bringing the knitting world into full focus. The knitting trend might take main stage so you should probably expect knitting products to rise, especially as we head into cooler weather. And the most adorable knit product we’ve seen? Jeni’s Ice Cream knit koozie. Yep, a pint koozie for your ice cream. You’re welcome. BTW: Jeni’s just released a new flavor with streetwear creator Ben Hundreds called Bastani, scroll to check out the launch and the merch!

Sky High Soars to New Heights

When Sky High Marketing partnered with commonsku about four years ago they had 25 employees and in the short time since, have doubled their team to 50! Owners, Josh and Rachel Kozinski just opened a brand new 40,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility in the Milwaukee area complete with warehousing, in-house decoration, and embroidery, hear our exclusive chat with Josh and Rachel here!

Calculate taxes at checkout for pop-ups!

commonsku's Pop-up shops capture individual shipping addresses from your shoppers as they checkout so that you can drop-ship products right to their door - but now, you can calculate taxes based on individual shipping addresses rather than using a single tax rate for all checkouts! Remain tax-compliant and simplify split-shipment orders. Details here!

Disconnected tech got you 🤪?

Picture this... An employee is out sick, their entire workload grinds to a standstill. Your client asks for an order detail, and you're embarrassed you can't find it. Your disconnected tech is killing you. It’s time to unite your team with a single source of truth, join Bobby Lehew and Tony McNally to learn how to bring it all together!

Desa potato head’s sophisticated merch drop

Nope, not a Hasbro product. One of the top 50 hotels in the world released a first-class sustainable merch drop worthy of its stunning architecture. Esquire breaks it down here. “Potato Head invites customers to bring a piece of the Desa experience with them wherever they go….the collection captures their ethos, ‘Good Times, Do Good,’ blending elements of music, art, design, and wellness to reflect the hotel's vibrant and multifaceted identity.” Check the collection here.

175-year-old company reaches Gen Z with merch

“Fish but make it fashion” is the headline that greets you at Gorton’s famous fish sticks merch store. Fast Company tells the story here. Gotta admit, the Pop Art Mackerel Tee is retro-sick and we’re kinda astonished at the cool Fisherman Cropped Tee but the fish sticks towel, maybe a bit much?

How one Waffle House umbrella made an impact

Want a heartwarming merch story? Beloved Waffle House CEO Walt Ehmer tragically died (obit, NYT) and Madison O’Hora shared on TikTok how a branded Waffle House umbrella, given to her by Walt, made a small but lasting impact. Listen to her quick story then check out the umbrella.Merch really can make an impact. 🥹

👊 Ummmm okay, here’s another merch-first: insult merch.

💍 Wedding merch pop up shops?!

😎 For design nerds, Elizabeth Goodspeed warns about the danger of unrealistic mockups, “A brand only exists if it’s on a tote.”

🎨 Is it art or is it merch? Marcy Freedman, artist and art historian, challenges your perception: If the Monet Lisa’s mug is on a mug, is it art or merch?

💃 Blippi TikTok merch drop is sooooo much fun.

🐄 Woody Jackson is a celebrity cow and people are collecting his merch.

👵 Something Wicked this way comes….

🍿 Beetlejuice popcorn bucket. Yay or nay?

💥 Merch brings two candidates together: A dueling Harris and Trump merch booth set up right next to each other in Orange County but with a sign between them “We both ask please be nice.” 🥹

👜 Gatorade x Kristin Juszczyk drop a patchwork bag capsule, what do you think?

💫 A “jew-ish deli” named "Call Your Mother" has some brightly clever merch.