ImagesMagUK_Digital-Edition_January2018

www.images-magazine.com JANUARY 2018 images 103 MARKET INTELLIGENCE decorator to work with the club, reports Lesley. Given jiu-jitsu’s status as a niche sport, she wouldn’t expect the average embroiderer to stock the thick, heavy uniforms; however, before finding Logobear, she was surprised at the difficulty she encountered in finding local companies that were willing to embroider the large designs, due to the high number of stitches needed and the length of time each embroidery takes. She also identified a problem that presumably other martial arts clubs face: finding quality ‘spats’, ie compression leggings. “We’ve found that a lot of the companies that sell leggings don’t expect people to do anything more than yoga in them. We would be willing to pay more to purchase custom-printed compression leggings that are a bit more durable and hardwearing.” The popularity of both spectating and participating in martial arts is soaring in the UK and across the globe, with sell-out mixed martial arts events at the O2 becoming the norm. So those garment decorators that are willing to experiment with embroidering on the specialist uniforms required for jiu-jitsu and other martial arts could find that they’re on to a winner. www.originbjj.co.uk www.logobear.co.uk O rigin Sports is a Brazilian jiu- jitsu club in Newcastle Upon Tyne. Set up three years ago, the club has 70 members aged between 3 1/2 and 25 years, and has a sister club for adults. It meets three times a week as well as hosting seven tournaments a year that attract participants from across the country. Co-founder and coach Lesley Harrison is responsible for picking the club’s garments, although the members do vote on the designs. The club buys the garments in bulk a few times a year and members then buy direct from the club. They offer embroidered gis (heavyweight jackets and trousers), T-shirts, rash guards (close-fitting shirts with stretch) and patches. “We are always mindful of how selling personalised or branded garments may be perceived,” says Lesley. “We don’t want our members to feel like we’re always asking them to spend money, especially since we cater to younger users, primarily. However, we’ve found that there is member- led demand for custom garments. Before we offered them, some parents were making their own team name patches and putting them on the gis! Our users like to represent the team, especially when they compete.” The gis are bought from martial art uniform specialists Scramble, for the younger children, and Tatami, for the teens. Because of the weave of the fabric used for gis, screen printing doesn’t work well or give the desired look, so the garments are embroidered by a local company, Logobear. Custom- made patches are also available for people to add to gis if they prefer. Both the T-shirts, by Fruit of the Loom, and the custom-made rash guards, from Scramble and Tatami, are sublimation printed. “We’ve found that screen printing just peels off too quickly, which is why we chose sublimation printing,” explains Lesley. It’s also the best technique for the rash guards as they are printed all over. The club aims to keep prices as low as possible. “If the trade price is £33 we’ll charge £35. Any profit we make on a batch goes back into the club for the purchase of loaner gear or to cover bills.” It wasn’t easy finding a garment A lot of companies that sell leggings don’t expect people to do anything more than yoga in them Lesley Harrison of Origin Sports shares how best to grapple with the apparel needs of martial arts clubs Fight clubwear The gis (floor) are embroidered, and the rash guards (standing) are sublimation printed The Origin Sports jiu-jitsu club: Martial arts are growing in popularity in the UK and across the world