Last November, after leaving my last job, I launched a small project on Kickstarter, Fiks:Reflective Rim Stripes.  I had a goal to raise $1,000 and ended up raised over $8,000 and turned the project into a full-time job.

Now, I’m back seeking help to launch a line of stylish and fashionable reflective clothing.  We are starting with a collection of reflective T shirts, with the ultimate goal to expand into other garments.

The shirts

-Fashionable and stylish
-Quality garments and materials
-Chemical free process
-Domestically produced

This collection of shirts were all designed with form in mind as well as function.  We wanted to create apparel that will not only help keep you seen at night, but also looks great during the day.  A lot of consideration was taken when working on positive vs. negative space and placement-- not only for comfort and breathability, but also to maximize nighttime visibility.  We are also utilizing reflective materials in colors other than silver--something that no one else really offers.

For this first stage of clothing, everything is being produced on American Apparel shirts. I chose these for a few reasons—most people are familiar with the quality and fit, we can buy them direct from the manufacturer (AA), and they have the near-perfect shirt, drirelease® T.

From American Apparel's website:
A patented Poly/Cotton blend that utilizes the best features of synthetic and natural fibers to create a fabric that is wicking, fast-drying and environmentally-friendly.
drirelease® features FreshGuard, a natural odor neutralizer that prevents odor causing bacteria from cultivating in the garment. drirelease® is not treated with any chemicals, and feels like a natural fabric. Because all features are built into the yarns, the benefits of drirelease® won't wash or wear out. Wicking and fast drying performance will last a minimum of 30 washes.

Since drirelease® Ts are only available in black and white, we are offer other colors in the very popular American Apparel Fine Jersey Short Sleeve t Shirts.

Code (Black drirelease®, Aqua - Sizes XS-XXL)

Print (White drirelease®, Purple - Sizes XS-XXL)

Bikes (Black drirelease®, Pink - Sizes XS-XXL)

Bricks (White drirelease®, New Silver Tank)

Kids Code (Sunshine Yellow - Sizes Y4-Y12)

Kids Bike (Ash White Stripe - Sizes Y4-Y12)

In addition to these designs, we will release one additional design for every 50 project backers, to the first 150.  This means you will have your choice from an even larger selection for your reward.

50 Backer Benchmark
Tribar  (White drirelease®, Navy - Sizes XS-XXL)

100 Backer Benchmark
Four (White drirelease® - Sizes XS-XXL, Lemon Yellow Womens T  - Sizes S-XL )

150 Backer BenchmarkDotx (Black drirelease® - Sizes XS-XXL, Heather Black Poly-Cotton Women's T - Sizes S-XXL)

How retroreflective technology works
Instead of being screen printed, these shirts are produced using CAD cut films that are melted onto the fabric.  These special films are embedded with microscopic glass beads that bounce light around to reflect it towards the source instead of away from it. 

What this means is light from a vehicle’s headlights is bounced back towards the vehicle to be seen by the driver.  This not only highlights you to the driver, but it also prevents you from being a distraction to drivers not headed in your direction.

This kind of technology isn’t anything new--it has been used for years on emergency vehicles, road workers clothing,  and road signs.  What we are doing is taking this idea and translating it into a stylish and functional package that anyone would want to wear just about anywhere.

What your money will be used for
If we reach our funding goal, most of the money will go towards buying more equipment, shirts, reflective material, and tags.  Though, we already have the equipment to begin production on a small scale, upgrading these machines will allow production to run more efficiently, thus reducing costs.

In addition to simply purchasing materials and equipment, the rest of the funding will go towards marketing and getting us to the biggest bicycle trade show in the country, Interbike.  Showing our products at Interbike will give us a chance to get exposure to a much larger audience than otherwise possible, with the ultimate goal to get Fiks:Reflective products in your local shop.

What makes Fiks:Reflective different
From the beginning, Fiks:Reflective has been committed to not only designing, but also producing fairly priced goods while outsourcing as little as possible.  While designing, producing, and distributing goods all in-house isn't an easy job, it allows us to go from concept to finished product very quickly and it also gives us control to maintain quality and fix problems we otherwise would not have.

Rewards

In addition to these reflective shirts, we are offering a few other cool rewards for backing this project, including reflective sticker packs, and invites to our launch party / trunk show in Pittsburgh where will have will beer, wine, and food and you'll have the chance to buy some our of one-off pieces of reflective apparel at discounted prices.

Special thanks to:
Kris Mortensen and Kevin Dreher for the fantastic video work and Lauren Boback of Status Photography for photo work.