Our 84 mile sponsored walk of Hadrian’s wall is looming ever closer. Seven months and twelve days close to be precise.
I’ve started to cast my net around for some corporate sponsorship and the wonderful people at Qtag.com have been the first to step up to the plate with an extremely generous donation of £100. Thanks especially go to Simon Turner from their marketing department who set it all up. You are a gent sir.
Qtag sell wholesale clothing to the general public. By way of thanks for the donation I asked Simon if there was any way to promote his company on the blog. He very kindly sent me a set of Berol fabric crayons and a couple of T-shirts for me to take a look at and review, with the understanding that I’d be 100% honest in my appraisal.
Fortunately we all loved them. It would have been rather awkward if we hadn’t.
The crayons were bright, fun, and easy to use. But best of all they were clean. We’ve used fabric paint on T-shirts before and I’ve always needed to lay down protective sheeting worthy of a microchip factory. But with these crayons you just draw them on the fabric , iron it, and you’re done. Marvellous.
Amy loved making the T-shirts. In fact she was pestering me to do it from the moment the package from Qtag arrived. It must be something about being given permission to draw on previously forbidden canvases. If someone invented special Wallpaper Crayons I’m sure they’d make a fortune.
Here’s a photo of Amy modeling her new bespoke T-shirt:
The crayons are also cheap. Very cheap. Including VAT the crayons come to a total of £4.11. When you add to that the fact Qtag sell blank white kids T-Shirt for just £1.09 (or if you’re feeling posher a Fruit of the Loom one for £2.75), then you’ve got yourself a pretty good stocking filler.
What’s more, if you buy in bulk (10 or more) you get it even cheaper. Kerry and I are seriously considering getting a small stockpile together for the relentless onslaught of birthday parties we go to throughout the year. That way we get to be the smug parents who give the cool creative presents rather than the ones who obviously rely solely on 3 for 2 offers at Boots.
You can buy the fabric crayons here, and the kids T-shirts here.
The rest of the Qtag website is also pretty impressive price wise – adult Fruit of the Loom T-shirts for £2.30, cotton polo shirts for £3.69. However it’s all pretty plain and simple stuff. You’re not going to find any Fred West or Matthew Perry labels here (or should that be Fred Perry and Matthew West? I get confused). But for the fashion phobic such as myself it’s a good place to stock up on the essentials. It’s also pretty good for getting those plain polo shirts for kids school uniforms (£3.20 to you squire).
And if you’re looking to buy any sort of uniform for a team event (like a group walk along Hadrian’s Wall for example) it’s a great place to go. As is their sister site, clothes2order.com where you can get stuff printed with logos too.
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Disclaimer. As Qtag gave us a donation towards the Joseph Salmon Trust I suppose you could argue that this is a paid post. My review was honest and I’ve also personally donated the equivalent cost of the crayons and T-shirts to the Trust as well. Donation or not, I wouldn’t be recommending Qtag unless I believed in what they are peddling. My only reservation is that I imagine the majority of their goods are made overseas by exploited workers; but lets face it, you’d find it very difficult to find any item of clothing in the shops on the high street that isn’t.
Oh, and I made up the designer “Matthew West” for the purposes of that crappy joke. Sorry
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so…you lied to us!! There is no Mathew West???? I’ll stay away from your blog for a day just to punish you.
So you’re thinking of putting in your children’s labour to make us some Hadrian’s t-shirts…
Arjan´s last blog ..Death Korps of Krieg
@Arjan, There is a Matthew West. he just appears to be some sort of christian music singer in the US.
http://matthewwest.com/
They look like great fun. I’m definitely going to get me some of those, even though no-one in our house can draw anything recognisable!
Steve´s last blog ..Like father, like son? Not necessarily!
@Steve, They really are good. And as for recognisable pictures – there is a reason I didn’t post a photos of Evan’s T-Shirt
The t-shirt looks fabulous and I will probably buy my own pack after such a positive review. IJ would love creating her own. It is wonderful the company have donated so generously. I hope many more follow.
Rosie Scribble´s last blog ..Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels… oh really, Kate?
@Rosie Scribble, Yes, they were incredibly generous, far above and beyond really.
Those crayons are a fantastic find. So very cool. I will have to buy a box for MaxiMads Party in March. We love craft as you know!!
TheMadHouse´s last blog ..Advent Crown or Wreath
@TheMadHouse, they would be very cool as part of a kids party. A couple of boxes for 10 kids and a Tshirt each would cost very little really. Cheaper than the pot painting parties we’ve been to in the past anyhow.
Great news, thank you Qtag for your very kind donation to our charity. I think Lydia and Eve will love the crayons and t-shirts too and plan to order some :)
We hope more companies follow your lead and support us!
@Neil Salmon, if you do let me know and we can combine orders and save packaging.
That’s amazing – both the price and the cleanliness!
@Oli,ho dare you sir! My kids are always clean!
Ahem.
Given the number of PE t-shirts my dahling children lose between school and home I cannot thank ye enough for those links – I’m going to get them 5 t-shirts each and write their address all over them – maybe they will be more successful finding their OWN way home.
MrsW´s last blog ..Not even two lollipops…
@MrsW, it’s an excellent site for school clothes. I’m surprised they don’t push that more to be honest.
I can’t draw like Amy
I wish I could.
Gary´s last blog ..Maureens incredible baps
@Gary, You’re nearly there Gary. Maybe with a couple more years practice you’ll get there.
Dan´s last blog ..Qtag and the art of scribbling on T-Shirts
Thanks i’ll have to remember these fabric crayons for the next onslaught of birthday parties Mia is invited to, i’ve never been the smug creative gift giver, i’m too last minute…not anymore though :)
@Wife of bold, yes, it’s always good to have a stockpile of stuff. Though it does cause a bit of hassle if your kids uncover it.
Dan´s last blog ..Qtag and the art of scribbling on T-Shirts
Crikey! Your disclaimer is almost as long as the review! I’m starting to think about how on earth I manage balancing Dad Who Writes with the need to start pestering work colleagues for sponsorship. Will mail you!
Dad Who Writes´s last blog ..Jorge Luis Borges, “Seven Nights” (1984)
@Dad Who Writes, You know me, I like to beat myself up about these things.
Maybe you need to set up a third alter ego.
Dan´s last blog ..Qtag and the art of scribbling on T-Shirts