Full Q&A with Amber Easby

Official White Stripes Merchandiser
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higherlimits
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Full Q&A with Amber Easby

Post by higherlimits »

White Swirl is extremely proud to present the following Q&A with Amber Easby. An enourmous thank you is in order to Amber for being so great to deal with and for answering EVERY question we gave her.

Amber is the official Merchandiser for The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather, and is in charge of all the merch sold both in concert and online. She became the merchandiser for the White Stripes in 2003. She co-write a book, with her husband, titled "The Art of the Band T-shirt" and together they own D.O.C. (Department of Conversation) which is a bar back home in New Zealand.

We all very much hope you enjoy this rare opportunity.

1. How did you get involved with The White Stripes?

My good friend John Baker brought The White Stripes to New Zealand for the first time in 2000. I remember picking Jack and Meg up from the airport and taking them for burgers. I worked on the Auckland shows – doing the door and driving the band around. I organized a not-so-secret show at Pizza Pizza. The place had a legal capacity of 60 but we let in 180 people that night. Jack played a solo set before he and Meg went on. It was amazing.
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2. What was your original position?
Aside from that first tour in New Zealand, I have always worked as a merchandiser.
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3. How did you transition to Merchandiser?
I moved to England in late 2002. John Baker was The White Stripes tour manager by this time. Baker had forgotten to organize a merch person for a UK tour so at the last minute, he asked me to do it. I think it was April 2003 – Elephant had just come out. The first show was in Wolverhampton. I wasn’t prepared for how popular the band had become or how busy I would be! Whirlwind Heat had to jump behind the merch table and help me after the show. That tour was a lot of fun. Since then, I have been lucky to work for The White Stripes, as well as The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather.
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4. How did you figure out what to put in and leave out of your t-shirt book? Are there plans for a volume 2? There have been so many great t-shirts over the years it feels like the book could be ten times bigger.

There are no plans for a second volume. For the most part, copyright issues dictated what made it into the book and what didn’t. We photographed twice as many t-shirts than what ended up in the book. Especially with the older tees, it was unclear who owned the rights and therefore impossible to get permission to include them in the book.
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5. How does the price for merchandise get set? Is seems like t-shirts for example are waay waay more than a few years ago for a number of bands.

Prices are set according to the production costs, which are always more than you’d expect. There are a lot of things to consider when calculating the true cost of making something.
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6. I heard it said that the merchandise manager often gets a copy of every poster from ever show. It your house a mecca to all the bands you work for or is most of the stuff in storage / open for trade ...?

I have a large poster collection and a small house so most of it is in storage.
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7. What is your favorite piece of White Stripes merchandise?

I would have to say the Tripleinchophone. When they first arrived, I sat in the venue car park and played with one for an hour. It felt like Christmas.
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8. Do you own a White Stripes Frisbee or clock?

I have a clock but not a Frisbee.
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9. What pays more to the band - the merchandise or the music ?

Are you serious?
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10. Which piece of merchandise surprised you the most in the way it was received by fans? Either something you didn't think would do that great and sold like crazy, or something you thought was going to be a big hit, but was a bust.

You know, I don’t think I have ever been surprised by how well something has sold. I am often surprised by how much things sell for on ebay.
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11. What piece of merchandise has caused you the most trouble and stress? Aka least favourite

The Tripleinchophone caused me the most stress but it is still my favourite piece of merch. We limited 10 pieces to each show so fans from different places would have a shot at owning one. People would literally push their way to the front of the merch booth. One girl just missed out and she burst into tears. I felt terrible.
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12. What do you want to see on the merch stand?

I like the more unusual items - things that are hard to make or have a cool story behind them. The collector in me likes anything that is made in small numbers.
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13. What was the thought process behind the sewing kit?

The sewing kit was Jack’s idea. It was influenced by the pearly suits from the Icky Thump cover. It was a lot of fun going to all the button manufacturers in New York.
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14. How long does it take for some of the items to be produced (like the cameras), and how are they kept so top secret?

It varies. The cameras took a long time to produce; I think the longest lead in time of anything we have made. Only the people directly working on the project tend to know what we are making.
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15. What's the worst bit of merch you've had to sell?

As a favour, I worked a one off show for a band. They had a million t-shirts in a million different sizes and I sold about two of them.
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16. Have you ever considered trying a fan design contest? Like a record box or something?

I have thought about it – and have a few ideas on how it could be done. I used to take polaroids of fans who wore homemade t-shirts to shows. I have photos of some really great ones.
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17. If you didn’t work in the music industry (or own a restaurant) what would you be doing?

Sleep! I own a bar, not a restaurant though.
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18. Are you involved in Third Man Records at all? If not, were you offered a position?

Sure - we all work alongside each other. I think it is pretty exciting what they are doing at Third Man.
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19. As far as I can tell you currently live in New Zealand, does this impact your merchandising at all or do you just do everything on the internet?

I am living in New Zealand at the moment. Apart from the time change, I don’t think it makes much of a difference. I do a lot of my work via email. I spend hours on the phone. I was traveling to and from New Zealand during the last White Stripes tour. I guess I am used to those long flights now.
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20. Your husband went from being the bass player in Die! Die! Die! to law school, have you ever thought about “Quitting the band” and doing something else full time?

Man, someone has been doing their research! I don’t think about quitting. I love my job – I like the bands I work for and everyone I work with. Plus I have time to pursue other interests. I own a bar and I am finishing my Masters in Film.
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21. Why do you think that the White Stripes have become so collectable?

I think it’s because a lot of people REALLY like them. It sounds silly but it’s true.
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22. No other band today has marketed themselves through their merchandise as well as the White Stripes. Why do you think this is?

Jack and Meg like to keep things interesting. Whether it’s a surprise show, $5 t-shirts, records that you can only get by meeting one of the band members – they like to do things a little differently from most bands in their position. The best thing is they do these things, not as a conscious marketing decision, but as a way to keep things exciting for themselves as well as their fans.
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23. According to some people’s counts there are now 33 different Jack White records (different versions of The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, Dead Weather & Sympathetic Sounds of Detroit) are there any plans for a 12” record box?

I am not sure. You’ll have to ask Third Man about that.
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24. How did your book “The Art of the Band T-Shirt” come about?

My husband and I had the idea in early 2006. A Japanese tour had been postponed so I found myself with some unexpected downtime. I started working on the book straight away. People like Bill from Tannis Root and BT from Love Police were super helpful. Dave Kaplan put me in touch with a literary agent who gave me some good advice on how to put together a proposal. Then I just started telling anyone who would listen. Eventually, someone at Simon and Schuster heard about our idea. We spent the summer in New York photographing every t-shirt we could get our hands on.
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25. Ben Blackwell recently had a book proposal rejected by the 33 1/3 series. Did you have any problems with your book and what would you recommend to someone trying to get their book published?

We were really lucky with our book deal, almost embarrassingly so. I am not equipped to give advice on publishing but I am a big fan of telling people about your plans. I can procrastinate when it comes to my own creative endeavors. If I tell someone what I am up to, I am more generally more productive. And sometimes, that someone can actually help out.
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26. The White Stripes cameras were poorly received do to their high price, having talked to other people involved in their production there wasn’t much of a markup. Why did they end up costing so much to produce?

So much time and effort went into making the cameras. Rob spent months on the design alone. Every element included in those camera kits were made especially for the band. I think they are pretty amazing pieces of merch.
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27. Do you collect White Stripes things? What do you think about the people who do?

I do so I can totally relate. I am fortunate that I get some things as a part of my job but I buy stuff as well. I joined the Vault as a platinum member. I bought an original Peppermint tee on ebay. I don’t have a Sub Pop single and it kills me.
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28. Do you collect anything in particular? Why?

I try to limit myself these days – I am running out of room.
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29. What do you think about people who buy rare records & merch only to sell it on ebay?

I think it is a bummer. I have turned away suspected flippers from the merch table numerous times. I know it is not a perfect plan but we limit certain things to one per person in an effort to stop this from happening as much.
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30. What impact do you think that Rob Jones has had on The White Stripes’ public image?

I think Rob is pretty amazing. Whenever I get a design from him, he sends me an essay-length explanation and then follows it up with a phone call. He thinks about every possible aspect of a design and has an incredible knack for channeling the aesthetic of the band into his own work.
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31. Do you wish you weren’t limited to red/white/black when creating merchandise?

I really enjoy working within the red, white and black color scheme – it is like a never-ending puzzle. I make stuff for The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather so I get a shot at utilizing other colors. I love that each band has a completely different aesthetic.
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32. What is the process that potential merchandise goes through from just being an idea to the merch table?

If Rob or I have an idea, I take it to the band for their approval but a lot of the time, the band will come up with the idea. I figure out how we can get the item made.
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33. Amber, how hard is it to come up with original merchandise that will set the white stripes apart from other bands?

The band’s sensibilities dictate what merchandise is made. I think their way of doing things is pretty unique.
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34. How cooperative are companies whose products you brand with White Stripes/Raconteurs associations e.g. Stylophone, Bandai 8ban etc?

Everyone has been great so far. No complaints.
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35. Is there any prototype reject merch that has never seen the light of day?

There are some samples of items that didn’t make it to the merch booth. There are plenty of ideas that couldn’t get off the ground for one reason or another. Maybe one day!
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36. IS there a story behind the white stripes clocks and were they official?

Yes, they are an official piece of merchandise. John Baker had those made for a tour of New Zealand and Australia in 2002. There were only 100 made but Baker probably has some miscellaneous parts left.
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37. What makes the perfect piece of band merchandise?

Oh man. I wish I could tell you.
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38. What is your favourite band tshirt ever? (Personally mine is the Dirtbombs 'You Are Being Watched' tee)

When I was a kid, I bought my Dad an awesome Velvet Underground White Light/White Heat tee as a present. Twenty years later, he still has it and it has worn perfectly.
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kevron6
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Re: Full Q&A with Amber Easby

Post by kevron6 »

Wow what a great interview I would like to thank Amber for graciously agreeing to do the interview and Ian for taking the time out to put this together. This was a really fun interview to read.
I always said, if I had to fuck a guy... I mean had to, if my life depended on it... I'd fuck Elvis.
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