Competitions

Hello everyone,

How are you? I'm gonna keep this nice and succinct today. I promise. No waffle. The only thing I'm gonna tell you is that I've been speaking to Luke Hodson over the weeked and we at Awesome Merch have a lot in store for you. New product launches, new website stuff and a much improved system - so our already awesome customer service will be improved hundredfold. I for one am excited! Anyway, let's get on with this comp! At AM, we like to embrace all Social Media sites. Well not My Space anymore as it sucks but at the moment Instagram* can do wrong! So we're gonna do a little comp on it.

All you have to do is follow us @awesomemerch on Instagram, take an AWESOME photo on Instagram, tag us @awesomemerch in the caption, use the hashtag #awesomephotocomp and if you tweet - then link it into Twitter as it will come up in our feed. There are no guidelines but justify to us why you think the photo is awesome. It can be a picture of your drunk uncle, a cloud that looks like John Lennon and or even a lovely sandwich you've just made. Just justify it to us why it's AWESOME. Please note that no pictures of cats will be accepted. There's already way too many on Instagram.

The prize will be £150 to spend on whatever you want on the Awesome Merch website! The winner will be chosen on Friday 18th of May. How does that sound? We'll even put the best ones up on our shiny new Pinterest page. That's it folks - good luck and get entering! Can you do better than my entry below? Enter as many times as you like!

Jhon x

Website, Facebook, Tumblr & Twitter.

*This comp is in no way affiliated with Instagram other than we're using it as awesome pictorial platform. If you don't have it, don't worry - just go and get it.

Here's my awesome photo. Unfortunately I'm disqualified for getting a cat in the picture.

Hello,

Well we did it! Thanks very much to everyone that helped us get to 5000 followers on Twitter. It's much appreciated! Next stop - 10,000! To celebrate this milestone, we're gonna have a Twitter competition. The winner of the comp will win 250 x custom shaped vinyl stickers, 100 x 25mm badges, 10 x pocket mirrors and 20 x bottle opener keyrings. A hefty haul I'm sure you'll agree and a useful (awesome) prize for bands, brands and individuals alike. We'll send out goody bags to some runners up. We're awesome like that.

As always I've punned TERRIBLY on the title and for this I apologise. A while back I was a contestant on the TV show - Come Dine With Me. If you want proof, click on this link or this one. Warning, I did get naked. So don't watch if you're having your lunch. So what relevance does this have to the competition?

I didn't get to choose my guests when I went on the show but you can! Who would your three ideal dinner guests be? They can be dead, alive, fictional, a friend, cartoon character, pet or whoever you want. It can even be me, if you want a naked clown ruining your night with his albino Twiglet. Tweet us your answer, with maybe a reason and use the hashtag #awesomedinewithme.

If you wanna know how to get more involved with Awesome Merch, then read this. Okay, that's it. I've now lost what little dignity I had left and I'm off to bow my head in shame. Winners announced a week today! Good luck :)

Jhon x

Website, Facebook, Tumblr & Twitter.

Here are my guests, who would yours be?

The winners are as follows...The winner is @MikeG_Design who claims the main prize. Well done Mike! Runners-up @lisajanephoto @Millie_Dollar @tomstuttdesign @eject_ep @slackerspeloton Mail address/shirt size to Jhon@awesomemerchandise.com

Thanks to everyone who took part! You're all AWESOME!

Hello everyone!

Did you have a good Easter holiday? It seems from your Twitter replies this morning that a lot of you have been busy all weekend or have been at work! Boo! Hiss! We're back at HQ and busy making up all your awesome orders with a little bit of help from fairy dust, double-sided sticky tape and of course - our awesome elves. We employ Santa's elves during the year so they're not jobless. We're awesome like that.

Anyway, it's an AWESOME competition that you want and it's an AWESOME competition that you're gonna get. We're big fans of all things arty, geeky and fun at AM. Unfortunately we just got outbid on purchasing Instagram by some chap called Mark Zuckerberg, so we've decided to utilise the popular Draw Something* app for our latest comp. Firstly, I'd like to thank one of our awesome staff for coming up with this idea. Thank you Sean Mort. You should check out his website as he's a very talented designer and artist. He's been running a comp where people guess something he's drawn on Draw Something. So we've decided to give this a bit of a cheeky tweek and now we're running our own comp. Here's the blurb!

AWE-SOMETHING.

It wouldn't be an AM comp if there wasn't a rubbish pun involved somewhere. All you have to do is use the Draw Something app to draw what Awesome Merch means to you. Then send in a photo of it to jhon@awesomemerchandise.com with a SHORT EXPLANATION. All the photos will get put into a Facebook gallery and we'll choose the best one. The winner gets 50 shirts!

The rules:

1)The next time you're playing a game; instead of drawing a hedgehog or Skrillex, draw something for this comp and screenshot the photo and e-mail Jhon@awesomemerchandise.com. All entries will go into a Facebook gallery. Don't forget a short explanation as to what the drawing means and your name!

2) NO voting is necessary and the judges' decision is final.

3) The prize for the best will be a more than generous 50 white shirts with a one colour print! We've currently got two offers on white shirts, on quantities of both 100 and 200. Check them out here. You can also have an oversized print if you win (or on the deals) for NO EXTRA COST.

4) We won't just be judging on artistic merit but THE SENTIMENT BEHIND THE PICTURE and how well you've thought about what Awesome Merch means to you. We're looking forward to your artistic interpretations and now you can get your own back on all the twerps who have drawn willies and clogged up your Facebook feed.**

5) The winner will be picked on Friday April 20th by all the AM staff.

6) Don't stress if you don't have an iPhone, iPad or smartphone you can always borrow one of someone and enter. It won't ruin their game as they can erase your drawing as soon as you've taken a screenshot of it.

7) Please see my interpretation below. You can do better. If you have any questions, get in touch through all the usual channels or on my e-mail. Capisci?

8) If you tweet about it please do and spread the word), then use the #AweSomething hashtag.

Okay, that's it. Let's make this competiton a cracker!

Jhon x

Website, Facebook, Tumblr & Twitter.

*We're in no way affiliated with the Draw Something app.

**Please don't draw any willies.

Here is what Awesome Merch means to me. This is my head plus my laptop and what I do every day. Obviously I haven't drawn a javelin as that's not the aim of this game. Good luck!

**Winners**

The winner of the 50 shirts is Matt Mulholland for his Woody design and caption. At HQ we liked the sentiment, humour and art. A winning package. No pun intended. As always, we've chosen some runners-up and will be sending goody bags to the following people - Jimmy Turrill, Luke Etherington, Rosemarie Cumella, Freya Baldwinson, Sarah Haskins, David Winder, Niall Cunningham.

A massive thanks to everyone that entered - you're all awesome! More comps in the very near future. We're gonna be stepping it up :)

Hello all!

How are you? This is just a quick little blog to inform you of a few things. Changes are afoot at AM! As in, we have lots of things happening over the next few months that will make our service even more awesome! If I was you, I'd honestly be very excited! Imagine if changes were literally afoot, no one would actually ever change. What would you do with a third foot? It'd be okay if it was an athlete's foot you could get around faster but if it had athlete's foot then you'd better go and see a doctor.

Anyway, three feet aside let's get on with the winners of the Apprentice comp.

Twitter winners - @gemmagwynne @bewarewetpaint @samarieneville @CorinneDinDin @actionthom @FreshEyesShout @limicooper @gazpachodragon @bob_Marsters @MikeG_Design @reefers77 @Munkinpure

Facebook - Keelan O'Neill, Burhanuddin Qutbi, Philip Annesley, Alan Perkins, Ruth Miller, Matthew J Wainman.

Please mail a postal address (one where you will be in to collect) to Jhon@awesomemerchandise.com - PLEASE MAKE SURE SOMEONE WILL BE IN TO COLLECT AS WE WON'T BE SENDING THEM OUT AGAIN. We also need your shirt size! Ahem. Thanks. Please mail me photos when you get them!

In other news, we're employing some new full-time staff. If you're awesome and totally employable, then check out the poster below and mail us. Capiche? You could be part of the awesome gang. Trust me, it is awesome. I'm in it.

One more thing on this marvelous Monday morning! We've had the amazing Drew Millward in the office all weekend painting us an AWESOME mural. For a sneeky peak, please click this link. We'll have some awesome photos and videos of the whole process coming this week! We think it'll eventually become more iconic and culturally important than any of the world's other famous walls.

That's it! Have an awesome week and if you need me for anything please mail jhon@awesomemerchandise.com - if you send me any pictures of you merch I will put them on our Facebook!

Jhon x

Website, Facebook, Tumblr & Twitter.

p.s Last chance for our current specials!

Hello everyone,

How are you on this fine Monday morning? I hope all is well and you've had a good weekend. I had a reasonable one which involved a few cold beverages, my radio show, cricket and band practice! So I'm in a very good mood this morning. So without further ado let's crack on with some competition fun.

Over the last week, we've held a comp for all you awesome bands. The winner is Armchair Committee who win the 20 shirts, 250 stickers and 100 badges. They went to the effort of making us a lovely photo from their merch! Well done dudes, there's some more on it's way so you can complete the photo!

RIGHT! Now it's what you've all been waiting for. Did you see The Apprentice last week? If not, you can watch it here. To sum it up in a nutshell, the guys screenprinted some AWFUL buses on some tote bags. It was embarrassing and cringeworthy for any printer that's worth their salt.Here at AMHQ it's our mission to make sure the cosmic screen printing balance is restored. If we don't print some homage totes, the nation will think that it's impossible to print a bus on a bag. We don't want this on our collective conscience, so we've decided to keep it awesome and share our design with you. We can guarantee a high quality print with no splodges of ink ruining the design. The right mesh count will be used and we'll apply the required finesse so you'll have a garment that you're proud to wear or carry. No returns will be necessary!

We'll have 20 shirts and 20 tote bags to giveaway to 20 lucky winners! All you have to do is this. Write on

our Facebook, Twitter or Google+ the answer to this question...(thanks Steve McGowan!)

'If you were a contestant on The Apprentice, what would you name your team?'

The best 20 answers will win the prize. The comp closes on this Friday, March 30th at midnight - so hurry the hell up! The artwork is below and my decision is final. I am the Lord Sugar of this competition. I will choose whether you're hired or fired.

Please use the hashtag #thisisanawesomebus on Twitter! Good luck everyone! Have an awesome week and stay in touch.

Lord Jhon Sugar x

Website, Facebook, Tumblr & Twitter.

Hello all,

How are you today? I'm blogging on a Sunday. This either means I have a dedicated work ethos or that my days of rock n' roll excess are well and truly behind me. Let's go with the former. I'm honestly not watching the Eastender's omnibus and contemplating going for a swim. In days gone by, I'd be feeling terrible and plotting world domination for my band whilst still wrestling my duvet cover. I don't miss the hangovers but I do miss playing music all the time. Being in a full-time band is great fun but mega hard work. Here at AM we appreciate that fact and that's why we're gonna have a little comp to give away 20 one colour printed shirts, 250 paper stickers and 100 x 25mm badges to one lucky band.

All you have to do is the following. Log into Facebook as your band and leave a message on our new timeline telling us why you deserve the prize. Feel free to post a musical link or picture as well. No My Space pages or you'll be automatically disqualified. The best answer will win the shirts. Get creative! Just impress us and stand out from the pack. Good luck and the winner will be announced next Saturday, March 24th. This comp is only open to bands, DJs or solo artists and you must comment us from your facebook fan page.

Have an awesome week and stay in touch with me via all the Awesome social pages!

Jhon x

Website, Facebook, Tumblr & Twitter.

p.s Check out our new special offers on t-shirts, tote bags and more!

If anyone knows this band, I think they automatically win 20 shirts.

Hello everyone!

How are you? Well the Hybrid Bands comp was a resounding success with hundreds of entries, and people joining in the fun and using the hashtag #hybridbands who didn't even know we'd set it up. Mad viral! It was hard choosing a winner from so many awesome entries but here are some of the best!

Shaun Bunting - Orson and Sum 41 = Orsum 41

Zoe Hannon Jazzy Jeff-erson Airplane

Benjamin Newham - Panic! Garry Glitter at the Disco! and Marvin Justin Beiber is Gaye.

Keelan O'Neill - Bullet For One Direction

Steve Powter - The Madness of Boy George?

Seb Carey - The Meshuggah Babes

@dexymusic - Whamsteinn

@wethedee - Brand New Kids on the Bloc Party

I think a mention should go out to Lindsey Appleton for the worst entry, which was Spice 182.

The overall winner and the one that made me the happiest was Phil Skeggs with the AWESOME - The Fountains of Lil Wayne

As we're feeling genrous, everyone gets a goody bag except Phil who wins the stickers. Please mail me your postal address to Jhon@awesomemerchandise.com along with a shirt size. Please make sure it's an address where someone will be in!

Hello everyone,

How are you today. Today is St.David's Day, the national day for all our Scottish friends. It seems like every day has some significant meaning at the moment. We've had valentines, pancakes, leap years, St David's - and that's just in the last two weeks. I am going to e-mail the government and insist that we have a day called 'Awesome Day.' On this day, everyone will have to down tools and instead they will just walk around - keeping it awesome. This will be done by playing frisbee in parks, eating bagels with loved ones and of couse by helping the elderly and the short reach things on the top shelves in supermarkets.

I digress. it's competition time everyone!

If you fancy winning 250 x custom shaped, full colour vinyl stickers then all you have to do is this. I want hybird band names. Here's some examples - 'The Aero-Smiths, Reverend Al Green Day, The Black Sabbath Keys, Florence against the Machine Head Automatica (there are four bands in there!) Facebook, tweet or google us your answers RIGHT NOW!

The best answer wins the prize and will be chosen next Wednesday, March 7th. Good luck and make us laugh. Use the #hybridbands tag on Twitter please!

Jhon x

Website, Facebook, Tumblr & Twitter.

p.s You can't enter with 'Queen and Reef.' Thanks.

Here's an awesome dog playing frisbee in my awesome utopia.

Hello all,

How are you? Well I hope? I am well. Thanks for asking. It's 'competition thyme' everyone! We have an awesome prize for you on this one. Something that's not even on the website! We're giving away 20 one colour printed shirts... but these ones will have oversized prints on them. AWESOME.

All you have to do to enter the comp is the following. Go to our Facebook page and post a picture of some thyme with the caption - "It's competition thyme with Awesome Merchandise and I really want to win 20 shirts with a one colour OVERSIZED print on! Check out www.awesomemerchandise.com for all your merchandise and printing needs."

It's as simple as that. One winner will be picked at random and will be announced on Monday night (Feb 27th). I know this is a ridiculous competition idea but i think it's fun. I hope you do too.

Good luck and get entering!

Jhon x

Website, Facebook, Tumblr & Twitter.

Here is some competiton thyme.

This is an oversized prince. You won't win this, you'll win some oversized prints. There's a difference.

Hello Awesome people.

Firstly, a massive thank you to everyone that entered the photo sharing comp. We had 337 shares which is amazing - so cheers you lot! I know Facebook is fast becoming a dumping ground for stupid photos and I suppose what's funny or worthwhile is subjective, but we wanted to give you something in return for helping us jump on the 'what we do' photo-wagon. What annoys me more are the people that then go and make a photo that takes the piss out of the whole situation, whilst retaining the same format. I think it's kind of paradoxical and definitely a ridiculous contradiction. Even if it's a joke, most the people that then share it, don't get it!

Rant aside! Let's get on with the winners. If you're name is below, then e-mail me with your postal address to Jhon@awesomemerchandise.com and I'll sort the rest. If you've won a goody-bag, let me know your shirt size.

The winner of the 20 shirts - Red Wall Studios

The five winners who will each receive a goody bag - Colin's Guitar Repairs, Alison Doyle, David Lee Jones, Lee Timms & Jolly Along Art & Clothing.

Well that's it for another AWESOME comp. We'll have another one later in the week. Enjoy Pancake Day and if you're like me, celebrate Puncake Day instead. You too can batter yourself with some simple jokes. I was gonna say yolks, but flippin' hell even I'm not that unfunny.

Cheers!

Jhon x

Website, Facebook, Tumblr & Twitter.