Good morning, John. Happy Pizzamas! I know, I'm still on paternity leave, but I made this video early because I felt really bad that I wasn't gonna be able to make a Pizzamas video.

Right now, I'm walking to a place where a bunch of people who I like make a bunch of stuff that I like. And I wanted to show it off. It's Pizzamas specific. I don't know why I'm trying to be, like, oblique; you're gonna find out right now.

["Sorry, I'm not Sorry" by Tessa Violet plays]

This is Zoo City Apparel. They've been printing shirts for us for almost 3 years now, and they print pretty much every shirt that we sell at DFTBA. I asked them if I could go visit during this year's Pizzamas printing, and they graciously accepted and even, amazingly, provided me with pizza. 
So, let's meet some of these people. This is Chris, he owns Zoo City.

Hank: Why did you start a print shop?

Chris: I have no idea.

H: How long ago was that now?

C: Ten years.

H: Oh my god. 

This is Lou, he's one of the press operators.

Lou: I started in my garage when I was 17, I went to school for graphic design. It took 20 years for it to come back around. I'm gonna go ahead and set it around, just this shirt. Yeah, and if you wanna walk around, it'll go through every head it'll print just this shirt. [Machine noises] And it'll look completely different when it comes out the back.

H: This is Corey. He's the ink guy.

H: Do you listen to podcasts while you're doing this? 

Corey: Oh yeah, oh yeah. I was actually listening to yours before you walked in here, so, yeah

H: Oh that's crazy.

Printing a shirt is like printing from a printer; the colors get made, the inks get mixed, by Corey. Sometimes he has a formula to start with, but he usually ends up eyeballing it. And the color ends up looking different on the shirt than it does in the bucket, so it's a skill that can only be developed with time.

We work with Zoo City because they make a fantastic product. They care about making our shirts fantastic, and they know how to get it done. I love watching them utilize their skills to great work, and I'm very glad that they were okay with me jumping into their space, to appreciate them making our stuff.

I think for the most part, businesses want you to imagine that the things that you buy are made in Star Trek style replicators, because that's simple, and they don't wanna complicate the transaction. They want you to think about the thing, not the people who made it. Not necessarily because those people aren't happy in their jobs, just because it complicates things. But I think it's nice, and also maybe important, to see a bit of the complexity and the hard work that goes into the things that I buy and the things that I sell. It might not be simple, but I think it's more rewarding, and it's definitely more real.

And frankly, it's too easy to never appreciate all of the people who work hard, making their lives, and everyone else's lives, a little bit better every day. 

John, happy Pizzamas, I'll see you tomorrow, and you will see me when I get back from Paternity leave.

["Sorry, I'm not Sorry" by Tessa Violet plays as Hank dances in all the Pizza John shirts]