The Olin Gear Test Storefront (this page!) is a Products and Markets project aiming to redesign the process by which new products are added to the Olin Gear store. Six first-year students have been working with Brenda Kavarnos, Manager of the Olin Gear Store, and Alyson Goodrow from Marketing and Communications over the past several weeks to develop a way to test new products before adding them as more permanent fixtures to the official Gear store.

Hello! We are Berwin Lan, CJ Hilty, Claire Hashizume, Elias Wheatfall, Ishaan Oberoi, and Keanu Richards, first-year students at Olin College of Engineering. We created the Olin Gear Test Storefront as a project for our Products and Markets class, Olin's introductory entrepreneurship class. In the future, we anticipate that the Test Storefront will be run by Brenda Kavarnos, Manager of the Olin Gear Store. We encourage you to get in contact with us using the feedback form on the homepage!

This site has been set up by Berwin Lan '24 and CJ Hilty '24 in collaboration with Brenda Kavarnos, Manager of the Olin Gear Store, as a way to sell limited-run Olin-branded merchandise. Custom Ink handles all transactions, from the time you place your order to the time it arrives at your doorstep. We will not ask for any personal or financial information on this site, and we (as organizers) cannot access your personal or financial information through Custom Ink. We encourage you to contact us using the feedback form on the homepage with any further questions.

The Test Storefront is our attempt at letting you, as a member of the Olin community, directly drive the items that are stocked in the official Olin Gear store. This is in no way meant to replace Olin Gear; rather, the Test Storefront focuses on providing never-before-seen, limited-run gear in a fast-paced format. The items sold on the Test Storefront may make their way into the official Gear store, but they may also only run once. In addition to the items sold at Olin Gear, the Test Storefront offers you the opportunity to have a say in the future of Olin Gear while having access to original, MarCom-approved designs.

Due to the limited-run, test-bed format of the Test Storefront, we cannot guarantee that these designs will be available to buy later on. If you see something you like, we encourage you to place an order now, as this may be the only time that logo design gets printed.

Custom Ink is a platform used for designing and manufacturing custom apparel. In our case, we are using Custom Ink to design, print, and deliver merchandise; you will use it to place an order for apparel in your size and provide billing and shipping information. Custom Ink will produce the apparel, which will arrive at your doorstep or be available for pickup about two weeks after the fundraisers close!

One limitation of this platform is that each logo design must be ordered separately; for example, you would need to fill out separate Custom Ink order forms for the "Olin Gears" t-shirt and "Oliner Definition" crewneck. We recognize that this is not ideal, and will look at different ways to streamline the process going forward.

You will be charged through Custom Ink when you place your order, and the Test Storefront website (this site) will never ask for your financial information. If the minimum total quantity needed for each individual logo design in order to go to print is not reached, you will be immediately refunded through Custom Ink.

For shipping to campus: On-campus students, faculty and staff can ship their items to campus for free for on-campus pickup. You must be able to pick up your order in the Oval between 9AM-9PM on Tuesday, 5/11.

For individual orders: Custom Ink charges a shipping fee of $5.95 for one item and $2.00 for each additional item of the same kind for domestic orders. International orders have a delivery fee of $16.95 per shipment. More information about shipping is available here. Individual shipping and distribution are completely handled by Custom Ink; please contact them for questions about your order.

For shipping to campus: Your order will be available for pickup in the Oval between 9AM-9PM on Tuesday, 5/11.

For individual orders: Although Custom Ink cannot guarantee a date by which you will receive your items, items ordered to domestic addresses can expect to receive shipments around the week of May 9, 2021. You can track your order here.

• For general questions or feedback, please use the feedback form on the homepage. This may include:

  • Questions about the designs being sold

  • Bugs on this website

  • Questions about shipping to organizer

• For questions about the status of your order, please contact Custom Ink. This may include:

  • Questions about the apparel being sold

  • Questions about payment, shipping, and order fulfillment

• For immediate issues, please email blan@olin.edu.