MCHN | Authentic Street Wear

I’ve started MCHN (read: machine) with my friend Stephen Cackowski at the end of 2011. It was a street wear brand based in Belfast. None of us had a prior experience in apparel or running a clothing brand. So we had to figure everything out on the go.

I’ve developed some of designing skills earlier as I’ve worked as graphic designer since 2006. We both have already done a number of projects together so this time we decided to try something new. All of the MCHN’s t-shirts and hoodies were design based. Inspiration came from the street culture.

We operated for about two years and decided to close down in 2013 due to the brand not being profitable enough.

What might sound like a FAILURE, in our eyes is NOT.

Over the course of two years we’ve learned how to: register a trademark, start a limited company, source garments, prepare design for printing, design own packaging and labels, design and operating our own on-line store, marketing, social media, and far more.

It was an amazing journey which allowed us to do a lot of great things including starting a charity against human trafficking called No More Traffik.

The main reason for failure was not knowing our market. We’ve designed a niche products and brand simply couldn’t sustain itself.