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’

I recently came across a relatively new shop by the name of Ush-op. I had to take a second look at the title to try and guess how to pronounce it. I’ve landed on “you sh op”, but there is something about “ushh op” that I like. I was firstly impressed that the shop, for its age, already existed on two continents – with the UK/Europe shop boasting a larger range of designs. Ush-op has big intentions! I like how this shop has started up and where Gary is going with his designs – the intricacy in TWIGGY and the pun of Treecycle. I caught up with Gary, the man behind Ush-op and asked him about his shop, Scotland and fizzy ducks. Gary in the interview:

Where are you from and where do you live now?

From and still living in East Kilboring, a small “polo mint city” just outside Glasgow with nothing much to do.

What do you do, other than t-shirts?

Well by day I am design engineer. But by night I philosophise, or let’s be honest I do nothing much really, just hang out and have fun.

What’s the story behind ush-op? continue reading ‘Ush-op: “For cool new sweet rad funky fresh clothing of sorts”’

Jerkass Clothing Company offers a vast smorgasbord of hilarious to knee-slapping t-shirt designs geared towards anyone from the uni-aged crowd to those who never really left uni. The site is broken down into four categories: Too Cool for School, National Lampoon, Coast to Coast State Slogans and Vintage Tavern & Bar T-Shirts. That means you can get anything from a lederhosen-wearing, bier-stein holding Hans Solo shirt to fictitious and suggestive vintage bar shirts.

Obviously, many of Jerkass’ shirts are geared towards the American crowd, but I think some of the designs (and humour) would work wonders on the streets of the UK. I would also suggest taking a look at their use of both Digital Direct and plot print designs, highlighting the advantages of our different printing techniques. The “Founder and Lead Dance Instructor”, Richard, introduces his story on his site, but I thought there were some questions left unanswered. Richard’s interview:
continue reading ‘Jerkass Clothing Interview – The Man Behind the Humour’

The onset of summer brings out a lot of sights, smells, tastes and sounds – all three of which are well satisfied by an oncoming ice cream van. The NY Daily News wrote a special piece on the New York ice cream sellers and their vans, one of which happens to be a Spreadshirt partner.

The British climate can make this business quite unpredictable, but certainly come heatwave there are kids and adults alike moving in droves towards the sounds of a cool treat. I’ve certainly seen and tasted from uncountable ice cream vans in my lifetime, but none quite as unique as this one.

One of the hippest vans of the year, and the lead-in for the Daily News article, is the “Big Gay Ice Cream Truck” from Doug Quint, who tends to cover Union Square or East Village. Doug is pretty new to the ice cream van business, just getting his license this year. He runs the van together with his boyfriend and decided to get into the tough market after being jealous of a friend who had started her own route a year ago.

When he is not out on the streets of Manhattan selling his unique ice cream and toppings (cayenne pepper, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, Nutella and caramelised bacon, to name a few), he is a bassoonist working towards his Doctorate of Musical Arts at the CUNY Grad Center.

Doug explains with a laugh in the Daily News article:

Then, as now, the whole point is to make people happy. Whether they want to be or not, that is. There are a few people who I’ve yelled at for not smiling.

Asked by NPR what exactly makes it the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck (he certainly gets the question a lot):

Every day, at least a couple of times. And every time, I say, ‘I make it gay.’

I had never imagined a ice cream van driver to be very tech-savvy, but hey it is 2009. If you happen to be traveling to New York this summer and want to find out when and where Doug is selling, it’s best to check out his Twitter account. More background information about the project can be found on the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck blog and, of course, his EU shirt shop biggayicecreamtruck.spreadshirt.net provides you with the uniquely branded merchandise.

P.S. To hear the man himself, check out NPR’s radio interview with him at the top of their article.

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 complete selection of Amorphia Apparel’s designs is finally available for us t-shirt wearing Europeans. So what’s the big deal, you ask? Faster and cheaper shipping for fantastic shirts! Amorphia designer Jeremy Kalgreen has been making waves in the North American market for quite a while, continually expanding upon his at times ironic, enigmatic or witty approach to design. From its conception, the Amorphia family has now grown to four separate lines, each with their own niche-like target. There’s a little something out there for animal aficionados, (dis)believers in intelligent design, science buffs and pretty much anyone with a good sense of humour. Find the links to the shop with photos and design examples after the click. continue reading ‘Amorphia Apparel extends its reach - “Hey Europe, what’s up?”’

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’