The Android community has grown a lot these past 2 years. So much, in fact, that the community has room for more than a few people willing to take their love of the little green guy and make something a little extra out of it. The really unique of these precious few are able to make a lot of their trinkets and the community will happily pay for a personal piece of the community. I had the incredible opportunity to chat for a while with Aaron (@devdroidian) of the hit site AndroidSWAG.com and really got to know more about how someone can go from a really neat idea, to a focal point in a massive and growing community.

me: So, AndroidSWAG.com is, in many ways, a community center point for Android now, especially with the big BBQ on it’s way. What was the point where you guys decided to do this? What started this for you?

aaron: Last September I was on twitter and I don’t remember what he said, but I replied to Greg Carron (@Pixeladdikt) saying “Yeah man I am drinking the Android koolaid”. Then I said I wanted that on a shirt a Big Android guy busting through a wall with a speech bubble saying “OH YEAH!”. So he tossed a design together, and I can say this now because we have talked about it, but it was no good. Greg has amazing skills I just don’t think he cared and I didn’t really care much at the time either, but it was like a seed had been planted. I never made the shirt. I don’t even know what happened to the art. So after that nothing really happened for a while. Then one night in tiny chat, I don’t remember who all was there, the topic of cyanogen panties came up. I had no idea where to start, so I used one of the normal custom clothing sites, zazzle cafe press or spreadshirt and put a design together. Everyone thought they were funny and cute but again I didn’t pursue it. Then, around the beginning of January I went to a GTUG meeting in Dallas. At the meeting I met Jake Southers (@Droiddev.) I was impressed with his blog and the following he had developed, I was pretty much a nobody at the time (haha still am). So Jake and I chatted for a while and hit it off really well. I mentioned this Android store idea I had been tossing around for a while and that I knew I couldn’t do it on my own. We decided on the name AndroidSWAG, I couldn’t have picked a better name if I do say so myself! After deciding on a name we started putting together a plan. There were already a few little Android stores that had popped up – wait, before I go any further I want to point out as if there was any doubt I AM ALL ABOUT THE COMMUNITY – in an effort to help and support these other sites I reached out to them to see if we could work together instead of competing against each other. Nobody was interested, too bad for them lol. From day one, I knew we needed to be more than just a sticker or t-shirt site. I wanted it all. I am still not satisfied, we continue to search for new products.  Seeing as we were an Android site we wanted to stick to the theme. So we had a Beta launch and boy did we learn a lot. We had no site, only a sign-up page for an email list. We sent out 3 items to our list of I think it was 200.
We sold very, VERY little, but 200 sign ups was encouragement enough to pursue this project. We printed some St. Patty’s day shirts, still one of my favorite designs, and I went to SXSW in Austin.  I had a blast, met a bunch of people and gave away about 12 shirts. Let me clarify, I crashed SXSW; I was not a paid attendee. We got some great feedback on the shirts and I knew that we had something going. When I got back we launched our site and didn’t sell much.  I learned some very valuable lessons during this time. The most important: if it is not in stock, it does not get published, a painful lesson to learn; however, I knew people would be understanding as long as I was easily available and contacted them as soon as we had a problem. I was right, we have had VERY few complaints. There is one customer that I will never forget though and I should thank him for it because it drove us to be better.  I think it was Chris Soyars (@chrissoyars) who said he was unimpressed when we launched.  It hurt… all that hard work we had put in we thought it would be a hit, and it was mocked.  But, instead of getting mad or giving up, we looked at the site and realized he was right.  The site was weak, very few products and the ones we had were poorly designed and cheap looking. Since that day I have been obsessive about our quality. I have already fired one printer. The way I see it is our products are who we are.  We have the best quality products available. If we don’t have the best, we can’t be the best. I have tried several shirt styles and still try new ones. Our latest batch of shirts is another new style, slightly more expensive but better quality. Our designs continue to get better and we want to bring in more artists who can help us think outside of our box. I want to Be sure to mention the BigAndroidBBQ, I started organizing this event a few months ago, and have been able to bring together some amazing people to turn this into a truly EPIC event.  We are putting together the largest independent grass roots Android event in history. The BigAndroidBBQ is by the community for the community.  I think that brings us up to current!

me: The community seems to have really jumped on this in the short time that it has been around and the result is a really great list of products. Your epic BBQ aside, what are some of your plans for the future?

aaron: More products! Better Products! I have never taken a penny out of AndroidSWAG. In fact, I continue to put more in; although I think that’s just about over. Everything we make goes into getting new products, reducing prices, or expanding our shipping area (we just added free shipping to Canada).  I hope, hope, HOPE by the end of next week we will be shipping world wide. There are a few specific products that I want to get very soon. I know people want them. I have seen people begging for them all over the web and currently there is nowhere to find them. I am also trying to find some good quality female designs. I feel we are neglecting some of the best supporters in the community. Another thing I am big on is getting the products people request. I take every request very seriously. It’s why I started all this, I wanted the products we sell.  An example is our new colored phone outline decals, we had a request and within a week we had them available.  Another new feature we hope to launch soon is our community SWAG section. We will support and promote members of the community who produce their own items. @misscocogold is a perfect example, I love her beanies and want to help her be successful.

me: That actually leads right into my next question- are there community items you have your eyes on? People you would like to bring into this?

aaron: Oh yes. @iShawnW has great key-chains. I actually contacted him several months ago but I don’t think the timing was right for either of us. That’s changed. @DroidHead_Ryan made me a pair of his “Android Kicks”, custom painted android shoes. His and @misscocogold‘s will both be in community swag. If you know of any others, please let me know. I would love to talk to them. Oh, how could I forget the wonderful GeekSoap girl, who lovingly supplies us with our Android soaps. If you look at that product you will see, we always give credit where it is due.

me: Awesome! I want to shift to the personal here for a bit. What device are you running right now? Any mods?

aaron: My every day phone is an N1. I am patiently waiting for CM6. I was on CyanogenMod before but went back to stock to try out the OTA. You should check out the “BS Button” on the market. That was my very first android project! My old room mate and I put it together. That’s how I got my N1. THANKS GOOGLE! I still have my Storm Trooper modded G1 though. My black G1 died. I knew a friend that was no longer using her phone and she was kind enough to pass it on to me. So I had this white G1 now and the KB was not usable in the daylight. You couldn’t read the keys. I LOVE the G1 keyboard, still the best to this day, so I merged the KB buttons and front buttons along with a few of the accents from the black G1 to the white G1. I don’t remember who did the tutorial on XDA but THANKS! I was sure I was going to screw it up. Fortunately, it still runs Cyanogen Mods like a champ to this day.

me: What are your favorite apps right now?

aaron: So, I am indecisive. I continue to flip flop between ADW and Launcher pro. There is no question, they are setting the standard for launchers. I give credit to Home++ for kind of starting it off though. That was the first VERY impressive home replacement for me. I currently have both launcher pro and ADW installed; however, I really like Ander (@anderwebs) and his approachability and I love the hidden dock, so I have been using his launcher lately. Handcent sms is fantastic. Canned responses are great when driving and the pop up is convenient. After tweaking the settings so it isn’t all iPhoney, it is good looking too. I help with so many twitter accounts, it’s gotten impossible to use one client. For my personal account, I use Touiteur. I use twicca for another and hootsuite for 3 more. I love Swype; it needs the mic though. I LOVE TWITOC! (Not just because I know the guys who made it.) I could go on and on, Did I mention the BS Button yet? :p

me: Are there any of these new Devices (or upcoming) you have your eye on?

aaron: This is the hardest part of loving Android. You think the Evo, for example, is going to be the hotness for a while. Then the Galaxy S -whatever the sprint one is- rolls out and oh, it’s even better and will be out in just a month or so. Then here comes the Droid X, or whatever project Emerald is.

me: Got any AndroidSWAG stuff you want to talk about?

aaron: AndroidSWAG is run out of my house. Warehouse #1 is my closet, well a closet. Every order comes with free swag and we are working on a rewards system for frequent buyers.

me: How about a leak on a new product?

aaron: Android Umbrellas! There are about 20 others I am working on but they will probably be next. I don’t have a pic of the umbrella yet. The one I am working on right now is all black with big pink androids on each section. I will do a black or white and green one too. Still playing with designs and hope to get the price down a bit.  Look for them in the next 3 to 4 weeks.

So new products, a community section, and personal requests at any time! If you have never been to AndroidSWAG.com, it’s time to head there now!