This weeks weekly recap comes to you two days late because unfortunately my MacBook Pro had to go in for some minor hardware surgery. It needed a new trackpad. Tear. But it’s back in my hands and at 100% and I couldn’t be happier. BTW, if there are any mothers that read this blog: HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! Now, back to the recap!
Around This Blog:
This week I featured the new and up-and-coming brand, Regan Smith Clarke. If you haven’t watched the episode yet, you can do so right now! Clarke’s unique, vintage, art deco style will make you want to reach deep down into your pockets. Trust me, it’s good stuff.
My buddy Bunny Dojo recently submitted his first Threadless design. Fun side note: he actually designed the logo for this blog and my site for beverage enthusiasts, Call Me Thirty. He’s also quite adept at DVD and Blu-ray packaging design. Let’s hope we see more from Mr. Dojo in the form of T-Shirt designs! Two more days left to vote!
Threadless in conjunction with Gilt Man released some very neat (albeit expensive limited edition designs. Gilt Man is invite only and I’ve got invites that you can use.
I finally saw Iron Man. Not sure why all the hate for this film. I thought it was pretty freakin’ awesome. Needless to say, if you’re not a physicist and don’t have the fat wallet of a billionaire, you can always just pick up this shirt from NerdyShirts.
T-Shirt Blogging Friends:
Did you guys spot the new Lady Gaga inspired Lady Pugaga tee from Teefury? Based on Lady Gaga’s behavior on American Idol this past week, it looks like she’s turning all Madonna diva-ish a little too early in her career. Multiple platinum albums will make you a diva, Gaga. A few radio hits, not so much. Plus, that Alejandro song really sucks. Via Loving This Tee.
I wonder why no one thought of this earlier. It’s the college-ruled T-Shirt. The shirt is officially called E For Effort and is from Artware (just in case you were wondering). You know, because everyone knows a parody of paper. Via Fashionably Geek.
Someone decided to install his iPad into one of his kitchen cabinets. Pretty cool. Via SwipeTap.
Say hello to the coolest little USB drive -- it’s the USB Bottle Opener! Via Tumblr Trends.
This should be a T-Shirt because it should be. Via Tumblr Trends.
Threadless News:
My Threadless pick of the week is Star Sabers by Tal Zubalsky because it is too cute for words. Do you think Lucas et al. will send a cease and desist?
Oh how I love this tee from Threadless. Was Jesus a streaker? He very well may have been. First released in 2005, JC Was A Streaker was recently reprinted at Threadless and is available now in all sizes. This might very well be the first reprint of this tee since 2005, so if you dig then go buy it now … and then wear it to church. $18 for the tee, miracles not included.
Fork, knife and … record? Consumer is a great statement shirt from the people over at People Like Me, a New Jersey based brand that insists the right brain is never wrong! What do you consume? Some of you might be mass consumers of vintage vinyl. Others might enjoy consuming the written word, weather it be in the form of books, magazines, comics or manga. A few of you might be gadget consumers, always eating up the latest and greatest technological marvel. What kind of consumer are you?
Consumer is printed on a 100% fine jersey tee and is available now from People Like Me for $28. Think the price is a bit too stiff? Sign up for the People Like Me newsletter and you’ll be rewarded with a 15% coupon code that you can use!
In this episode of Co-Tee TV I wear Creativity Not Conflict by Ban T-Shirts and review Bodega which was designed by Regan Smith Clarke for his own brand of the same name. The essence of the Regan Smith Clarke brand is simply in the message. Step back, appreciate the meaning and become more aware of your environment. Clarke’s love for all things vintage is his main source of inspiration.
You can also watch this episode on Vimeo, Viddler, YouTube, blip.tv and download and sync all episodes to your iPod or iPhone by subscribing for free to Co-Tee TV in the iTunes Store.
Coty’s Thoughts:
Bodega by Regan Smith Clarke.Pros: T-Shirts came packed in three separate packages – your T-Shirt will definitely be safe during shipment! Included with the T-Shirt were a few Regan Smith Clarke branded stickers and pins. The T-Shirt was tagless and featured a screenprinted label on the inside neck area. A custom hang tag adds an extra professional touch to the T-Shirt. Each hang tag is custom made based on the T-Shirt, and includes a description of the tee. Bodega was printed on a Navy colored American Apparel blank, so you know that you’ll get a super comfy T-Shirt. The design is large but not excessively large and the print itself is quite soft. I really think Regan Smith Clarke is doing all of the right things with his debut release. I was absolutely impressed with Bodega, from the quality of the T-Shirt, well thought out hang tag and neck label, to the cohesiveness of the design. Cons: My only criticism for the brand (the T-Shirt itself was flawless) would be that I think Russian Doll (if you watch the video I show it off during the unwrapping) does not entirely fit in as well with the other T-Shirts in the current line. Price: $20.
Creativity Not Conflict by Ban T-Shirts.Pros: Printed on a brown Royal Apparel T-Shirt, which is very soft and comfortable. I love the idea and meaning behind this T-Shirt. Cons: If you’re the kind of person that loves to shoot at things with big manly guns then this might not be the shirt for you. Price: $19.50.
I normally do not blog about Threadless submissions mainly because I don’t like to be teased and I don’t like to be a teaser. I take that back, I actually enjoy teasing others, I just don’t like being teased with designs that might possibly never see the light of day as a bonafide T-Shirt.
Let’s face it, submitting a design to Threadless is like throwing your piece of art into a haystack filled with other, equally good, pieces of art, with the hope that the Threadless regulars (and staff) will see the glow in your artwork and vote with a 5$. Oh the coveted Threadless 5$. Your design also seemingly gets lost in the crowd a bit faster if you’re new to the Threadless scene. Lack in name recognition could be the only thing holding you back from seeing your little baby of a design earn you $2500 and T-Shirt design immortality.
Having said all of that, I’d like to introduce my friend, who goes by the name of Bunny Dojo in the webiverse. He is quite a skilled designer and has a very polished portfolio. He specializes in key art and logo design. He’s also pretty good at designing those covers that your DVD’s and Blu-ray discs come packaged in. Despite this, the world of competitive T-shirt designs contests is a different kind of beast and he knows it! So I am showing off his first Threadless submission, Here’s Looking At You, Kid, partially because he’s my friend, a little because I’ve been a big fan of his work for many years now, but mostly because he has a solid design that I truly believe is worthy of being printed at Threadless. Now go vote for it!
The world will always welcome lovers. As time goes b-a-a. Inspired by a love of “Casablanca” and the styling of ‘Glennz,’ this design is my first that felt worthy of submission to Threadless. I’m really happy with it, and I hope you will be too. -Bunny Dojo
If big, bold designs are your thing then definitely do yourself a favor and check out Akumu Ink. They’ve got some awesome designs infused with elements of horror and mystery. Some of the designs are a bit Tim Burton-ish, which I can appreciate considering I am a fan of Burton’s work.
My favorite designs from Akumu Ink have got to be Starved and The Investigation. Starved reminds me a bit of the classic Hitchcock movie from 1963, The Birds. And The Investigation looks like it was inspired a tad bit by the tales of Sherlock Holmes. Both are solid T-Shirt choices.
The shirts shown here are priced at $21.99 and are printed on American Apparel tees. They also have hoodies and v-necks available for sale.
It was inevitable that the guys that delivered the Exploded iPhone and Exploded Mac 128 tees would also give us the Exploded iPad T-Shirt! I am a fan of all things Apple related, so it should be obvious that I am a fan of this latest exploded Apple T-Shirt by artist Garry Booth.
What is truly remarkable is how simple the hardware seems to be. Just a quick glance at the graphic of the exploded iPad, and you’ll notice a relatively small amount of pieces, screws included.
The Exploded iPad (it’s technically named the “Exploded Pad” for what I would believe to be legal reasons) is available now from ExplodedPad.com for $19. You can also pick up a matching poster for the same price. The poster is 18 inches x 24 inches and is hand-pulled screenprint on quality 100lb. French Paper Speckletone (Kraft).
The Threadless Limited Edition Tee sale at Giltman has officially begun. We finally get to the see the full lineup (15 designs) and details of the Giltman Limited Editions. The designs chosen are indeed Threadless classics, including, Pandamonium, The Communist Party and Lions Are Smarter. Some of the desgins are also slightly modified from their original counterparts, including MP3, which includes just one of the three MP officers.
The Threadless X Giltman tees are printed on 50% Polyester, 25% Combed Cotton, 25% Rayon shirts. The colors are used are definitely uncharacteristic of Threadless. They are more of an earthy tone, so you’ll notice a lot of greys, blacks, and deep blues and reds.
The shocking part has got to be the price. The shirts are available today for $29 until May 5 at 6PM HST. The Limited Edition tees have a retail price of … gasp … $60. I am not sure if these will be available once the sale ends, but, I’d prefer not to pay $60 for one of these T-Shirts.
If you want to pick up one of these Giltman X Threadless Limited Edition T-Shirts, then you have to register first at Giltman and I’ve got invitations that you can use (Giltman is by invite only). Also, when you register with the invite, you get an $10 gift voucher (bringing the price of the shirt down to $19) that you can use on your Threadless tee or anything else at Giltman.
It’s been a very long time since I’ve featured a design from Crazy Go Lucky. Why? Because there’s been a lack of new designs, that’s why! But that all changes right now. Crazy Go Lucky founder, Crazy Mike, has put up for pre-sale four new designs and a reprint with a custom poster. Was it worth the wait? Absolutely!
I think that Crazy Mike hit a home run with the design he chose to print with this release. The new shirts are fun, colorful, loud and hip. They’re infused with an anine type style that we’ve seen in past Crazy Go Lucky designs. Feeling Froggy is a bit Kermit-ish which is cool considering I’ve been wanting to see a parody type tee from Crazy Go Lucky for some time now. This might be as close as I’ll get to that. The new shirts are available now for pre-sale at Crazy Go Lucky for $18.
No I’m not, but you can sort of be Iron Man. How? I never thought you’d ask! Easy. And the best part is that it does not involve metal or welding tools! Sound good so far? More importantly, you don’t have to have the disposable income of a billionaire to become Iron Man. Sold yet? Thought so. By now you want the newest shirt from NerdyShirts. The Iron Man inspired tee is the perfect wardrobe compliment for when you go and see Iron Man 2 a second, third, and for you uber comic geek types, a fifth time.
