By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert Let’s Clear Something Up About Branded Merch There’s a common misconception I hear all the time: I’ll sell merch for passive income. Hard truth?Merch is not passive income for most businesses. 🙅🏻‍♀️ And honestly? Most things in life aren’t really passive income.(That Etsy shop, that […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert Let’s Get One Thing Straight: I Normally Hate Branded Pens. They’re forgettable.They’re generic.And nine times out of ten, they do absolutely nothing for your brand. But last week?A single photo in my inbox made me pause and — dare I say — smile. “Saw This […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert I’ve Seen Grown Adults Lose It Over a T-Shirt Not because it was the perfect fit.Not because it was sustainably sourced or printed with glow-in-the-dark ink.Not even because they picked it out themselves. But because it was launched from a cannon. 💣 Let that sink […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert Not All Merch Deserves a Spot in Your Bag But this little guy?He’s definitely coming on the road trip. Last weekend, I stumbled into a Rivian showroom at the mall — and was instantly pulled in like a moth to a headlamp. Not by a […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert Conferences: Where Sustainability Goals Go to Die ☠️ Let’s talk about the dark side of branded merch.A Reddit thread recently lit up with complaints about conference giveaways — and if you’ve ever walked out of an expo with a tote bag full of junk, you […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert I’m not just in the business of designing custom swag.I’m in the business of becoming a full-blown fangirl for my clients. Not out of obligation.Out of obsession.Because when I believe in a founder’s mission, I really believe. Not performatively — passionately. When Branded Merch Sparks […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert What does a love poem to smoked fish 🐟 have to do with swag? Everything – if you’re Zabar’s. To celebrate their 75th anniversary, the iconic Manhattan grocery store dropped a limited-edition branded tee. And it didn’t just feature a logo—it came with a perfect […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert My love language? Getting texts about bad merch. And wow, do people deliver. 🖊️ Sad piles of broken conference pens🥏 Branded frisbees melting at field day😂 “hashtag#badmerch” pics straight from the group chat Because let’s be honest: ugly swag is universal. It fills tables, clutters […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert Let’s get one thing straight: I’m not just in the branded merch business—I’m a full-on fangirl for the brands we work with. Not because I have to be. But because when I believe in a client’s mission, I don’t just support it—I live it. Not […]

By Amanda Hofman, Chief Swag Officer and Branded Merchandise Expert New York has no chill.And neither does Playa Betty’s, in the best way possible. I popped in for Taco Tuesday and left thinking about the merch.Their waitstaff? Decked out in bold shirts that say: “Don’t be a Playa hater.” It’s cheeky. It’s confident. It’s totally […]