we’re starting a print-on-demand store from zero. here’s day one.
For months, this site has been telling you print on demand still works in 2026. Today we start proving it — with real money, real numbers, and a real dog.
The promise: we’re building a brand-new print-on-demand store from absolute zero and documenting every step here — niche research, designs, listings, the first sale, the flops, and the actual dollar amounts. When it works, you’ll see exactly why. When it doesn’t, you’ll see that too.
The niche: dog-breed merch, starting with vizslas. Why: our own research process (the same one in our Etsy trending guide) showed a passionate, underserved breed community — big enough to buy, small enough that no dedicated brand owns it — with a legally clean name and a proven expansion path into other sporting breeds. Also: the founder lives with a vizsla named Zuri who is, at this moment, lying on her feet. Authenticity was not optional.
The brand: Underfoot & Co. — named for the only place a vizsla ever stands. We trademark-screened it first (lesson one: our first-choice name contained a famous trademark, and one search saved us from building on it — check yours at the USPTO before you fall in love).
The shop is live: the first listings are up now at Underfoot & Co. on Etsy. It’s day one, so it’s small — that’s the point. You’re seeing it from the very start.
day-one spend, actual numbers
- Etsy shop setup fee: ~$15
- Domain (underfootandco.com): ~$12
- Design tools: $0 so far (free tiers + AI)
- Printful: $0 (free — you pay per item when it sells)
- Total: about $27 to become a company.
What happens next: first three designs are done, made with the AI workflow from our t-shirt design guide; more listings follow (per our Etsy + Printful guide), and a goal we’re saying out loud so you can hold us to it: first sale within 30 days.
Follow along — every update lands here and in the newsletter. And if you’ve been waiting to start your own store: start it alongside us. Same steps, same week. The free 2026 Starter Guide is the map.
