Nico Wießbach (black shirt) and Danny Kurzeja (magenta shirt) are Spreadshirt’s purchasing team and make sure that the shelves in our Production centers always remain full. The two work so well together, it sometimes seems like the two have known each other long before Spreadshirt was founded. The questions remain then what these boys exactly do all day long and if they really do get along outside of work. continue reading ‘Meet two Spreaders – Nico Weißbach and Danny Kurzeja’

Anne is our house photographer and snaps her camera a just about everything t-shirt related for our platform. Learn about Anne’s journey across the world before she landed at Spreadshirt and check out her tip for photographers.
continue reading ‘Meet a Spreader – Our Photographer Anne’

Some of you might have picked up on the bold additions to the typography t-shirt scene coming from Wordboner. This is another one of our shop partners who is dealing out his shirts on both sides of the Atlantic. You can make your own assumptions on his choice of title, but it was very clear to Peter after 5 seconds of thinking about it (see below). The shop has certainly gathered attention, recently appearing on Tee Junction and Coty Gonzales. One very commendable part of Wordboner, the shirts aside, is its use of social media. There’s a lot to learn from this ambitious Shop Partner. We thought we would ask Peter a few questions, and this is what came of it:

What’s the story behind Wordboner?

Wordboner was born from two separate creations I had nothing to do with. One day, about a year ago, I saw this quote on Postsecret that said “I have no direction in my life and I’ve never been happier”, which I thought suited my own life at that moment very well (at least the lack of direction part). I’ve put it together with a nice picture of balloons I found on visual.iz.us, as that seemed to go perfectly with the text: the balloons don’t really have any specific direction, yet they are symbols of happiness and joy. I published it on my tumblog, and got some great response. I immediately thought of a separate blog where I would post such quotes. I don’t think I thought more than 5 seconds on the name, it just occurred to me and it fit.

continue reading ‘Wordplay with Wordboner : Typography with Personality’

Swen from The Shirtpage loves clear, bold shapes. His designs are simple, strictly geometric and reduced to the bare essentials. It’s like wearing minimalism. His technically oriented job could very well be the source of his inspiration. Don’t miss his impressions of Leipzig – I totally agree. Swen in interview.
continue reading ‘Pure Geometry – Swen from The Shirtpage in Interview’

Patterns and forms can be found just about anywhere. Take a look around the room and I bet you can find a number of examples of natural and man-made patterns. They often get ignored. Not at ctrl-clothes.com where these modern, abstract forms are front and centre. The triangles, squares, lines and shapes are certainly fresh and original, and remind me a little bit of a mix between my geometry class and class trip to the modern art museum. Give the Tunnel? shirt a good long look and you might get lost therein: certainly works brilliantly as an eye-catcher. But, shirts aren’t the only things greeting you at ctrl-clothes: you are presented with quite the innovative, interactive store front (based on a Manchester street – see below). Here’s the interview with Ben, the man behind ctrl:
continue reading ‘CTRL Clothes – Modern, Abstract Patterns Make Their Way onto Shirts’

At first glance Zoo&Co The Drawing Lounge might come across as a shirt shop for young’uns with its vibrantly colourful designs reminiscent of Saturday morning cartoons. Perhaps it was that very fact that made the shirts “grow” on me, and there is much more to discover and enjoy upon closer look. What really impressed me was their ability to create complex, colourful and detailed designs even with the “limitation” of 3 flex/flock colours. Shadows, outlines and contours in one colour, fillers in another and a third for accents are puzzled together seamlessly. For a relatively young shop, they have a great selection of animals, celebrity caricatures and creatures – all well integrated into a skillfully designed site. Zoo&Co in Interview:
continue reading ‘Colourful Critters, Creatures and Celebrities – Zoo&Co Interview’

The site HELLO WORLD WE ARE ELECTRO is a small altar for Electro music and its fans. It is a boldly colourful electronic world in itself filled with pacmanian figures, vibrant and vibrating contrasts over an electro-shade background and plenty of writing done with CAPS LOCK.  Some of the styles found in the HWWAE shop might come across as familiar to those perusing through Spreadshirt – specifically the prolific hand of Marketplace designer Romibello, part of the Electro-duo. A mini-interview tells the tale:
continue reading ‘Hello World We Are Electro’

The relatively-new-to-Spreadshirt.com partner Glarkware is no newbie to the t-shirt universe. His almost daily re-introduction of designs and addition of new gems are almost sure to induce a spout of laughter or brow-raising. As the slogan “Storied Shirt Jobbery” forewarns, each of Glarkware’s shirts is coupled with witty, ironic, informative and entertaining stories. Dave, the man behind Glarkware and the numerous other Glark Industries pursuits, talks about his move to Spreadshirt, gives us a quick lesson on Canadian pronunciation and graces us with his good-humoured nature. The interview with Dave from Glarkware: continue reading ‘Storied Shirts of Glark – Interview with Glarkware’

The Graphic Design Agency Büro Destruct’s shop is a classic on the international t-shirt shop scene and those into design might have come across their work, knowingly or not. This group of four Swiss designers are prolific in bringing out absolutely top-class work. Their designs, like the faceless bearded man above are brilliantly minimal, yet still seem to radiate warmth in that minimalism. In addition to the Spreadshop, you can get a real idea of the vast spectrum that their work by taking a look at their posters. Loptez from Büro Destruct interviewed: continue reading ‘Minimalistic, Stylistic, Simply Top-notch – Büro Destruct Interview’

I’ll go out on a limb and say that we’ve all stared at something long enough that another form appeared. Animals on the Underground is based on that very common fact and is living proof that day dreaming isn’t just a waste of time. Animals has grown since the first “discovery” by Paul Middlewick in 1988 and the team of Paul, Nick and Jon allude to some upcoming developments with the concept. During the interview, Paul delves into the history behind Animals, the shop, his approach to design and (don’t tell the emu!) reveals his favourite animal. Come and take a ride with him through Animals on the Underground.

What is the story behind Animals on the Underground?
I got the idea when I was travelling on the Tube. It gets very boring commuting daily on the Underground, and I’d stare at the map as I waited for my train.
After a while, I started to see shapes in the tube map, particularly animals. I sketched them down and Animals on the Underground was born. Since then, I have picked out over 20 different animals from the intersecting lines and stations on the map, including an Emu and a Penguin! I decided the internet was the ideal medium to bring the troupe to a wider audience, and set up the Animals on the Underground website in 2002.
When did the first t-shirt appear?
We started to print our own merchandise to sell on the site but found that the effort of printing individual items on a supply on demand basis was not feasible while trying to hold down a full time job. So, in 2006, we found Spreadshirt and set up a shop to manage the orders for us. Since then, we have received a regular steam of orders which have been fulfilled without any input from us nor any problems or complaints; we just get sent the commission – what a dream!
What do you do outside of Animals on the Underground? continue reading ‘Elephants, Emus and Whales, oh my! Animals on the Underground’