Our Journey

MerchCrafter™ Crafts Stores That Quietly Perform.

We began as a one–desk design experiment, uploading a few T-shirts to Amazon Merch to see what would happen. That experiment slowly turned into a studio that now builds full Shopify + Print-on-Demand systems for serious sellers and brands. The style is simple on the surface, with all the heavy thinking hidden underneath.

MerchCrafter team collaborating
Where It Started

From Late-Night Sketches to Real Stores

MerchCrafter™ was founded by L. Athu – a designer and developer who loved turning notebook ideas into real listings. Nights were spent testing colour combinations, reading Amazon rules, and refreshing sales dashboards. Every small win became a notebook line: “this style works”, “this niche is dangerous”, “this keyword is gold”.

The Early Chapter

The very first designs were uploaded from a tiny desk with a single monitor and a lot of curiosity. At that stage our goals were simple: learn which designs deserved to live, and which should die quickly.

  • Hand-built typography and graphics for Merch by Amazon, Etsy and Redbubble.
  • Dozens of micro-experiments in pricing, keywords and thumbnail styles.
  • A growing “do & don’t” list of safe niches, policy traps and long-term themes.
The Origin Desk

One Small Table, Thousands of Listings

This was the very first MerchCrafter™ workspace – a single desk, stacked notebooks, and a screen full of spreadsheets and Amazon tabs. Every design, colour tweak and keyword test started here.

  • Late-night uploads to Amazon Merch, Etsy and Redbubble to see what actually sells.
  • Constant note-taking on safe wording, layout rules and policy landmines.
  • The mindset we still keep today: experiment in small steps, keep what works, quietly kill what doesn’t.
Original MerchCrafter desk setup with computer table
At a Glance

A Small Team With Long Merch Memory

We stay intentionally small and specialised. That means you always talk to the people who actually work on your project, and every new build benefits from years of live merch data and mistakes already paid for.

400+
POD & Shopify projects
25k+
Designs touched
6+ years
Inside merch & POD
2018–2019

First designs go live on Amazon Merch, Etsy and Redbubble. We track every click, sale and failure to understand what buyers actually respond to.

2020–2022

Creators start asking for full stores, not just art. We move into Ella-based Shopify builds, Printful/Printify integration and merch-first navigation systems.

Now

MerchCrafter™ focuses on a limited number of clients per year – mostly merch sellers, POD brands and studios who value structure, safety and long-term growth more than quick noise.

How We Help

One Stack, Many Outcomes

We work inside a clear stack – Shopify + Ella + POD and Merch by Amazon. Within that lane we can help you clean up, reorganise, or build from zero.

Shopify Store Engineering

Minimal storefronts that focus on speed, clarity and trust. Each section exists for a reason – to guide a visitor from “curious” to “this is exactly for me”.

  • Ella theme setups shaped around POD catalogues.
  • Collections and filters that match how buyers think.
  • SEO-ready product structure and on-page basics.

Merch & POD Design Systems

Instead of random art, we create design directions – families of graphics that can live across markets and seasons without causing policy headaches.

  • Tier-focused design packs
  • Safe, evergreen themes
  • Listing-friendly layouts
  • Price & keyword notes

Workflow & Automation

We think about the day after launch: how you’ll upload, update, track performance and hand tasks to a VA without chaos.

  • Reusable product templates and tags.
  • Clear file naming and folder structures.
  • Room to plug in new tools as you grow.
The Evolution

From Single Listings to Full Shopify Architectures

Shopify storefront builds by MerchCrafter

As client requests grew, the work moved beyond single designs. MerchCrafter™ evolved into a Shopify development and automation studio, creating stores that look clean on the outside and think very hard on the inside.

  • Conversion-focused Ella layouts tuned for POD catalogues.
  • Printful / Printify flows that feel native to your brand.
  • Schema, SEO and analytics baked in from day one.
Global Impact

A Remote Team That Thinks Like Sellers

Today, MerchCrafter™ partners with clients across Europe, Asia and North America – from solo creators to established e-commerce brands. Our network of designers, developers and SEO strategists work between Cyprus and Sri Lanka, connected by spreadsheets, message boards and a slightly unhealthy love for dashboards.

  • 400+ Shopify & POD builds delivered so far.
  • Lean 10-member core crew supported by specialists.
  • Every project run with long-term maintenance in mind.
MerchCrafter global creative team collaboration
Brands We've Empowered

Some of the Stories Behind the Scenes

We rarely shout about client numbers, but we do love watching their brands grow quietly. A few of the projects we’ve helped shape:

FitlyPro brand preview Heiter bis Zynisch brand preview PrintKore brand preview

Planning your next merch or Shopify move?

Tell us where you are now – your tier, your catalogue size, and your main bottleneck. We’ll reply with how we would approach it, even if we decide not to work together.