Spreadshirt´s International Blogs:

Welcome to the official Spreadshirt Blog.

Here you can find news, partner information, and things generally worth knowing, direct from Spreadshirt HQ. At Spreadshirt, you can individually design over 80 apparel articles, open your own shop for free, or feed the marketplace with your designs.

Feed me

Archive for the 'Shop Partner Spotlight' Category



An Interview with Amorphia Apparel’s Jeremy Kalgreen

jeremy.jpgThe top selling designs at Spreadshirt.com in the past few months has been a design from Spreadshirt shop partner Amorphia Apparel. Amorphia Apparel has also received lots of press and blog attention for their great t-shirt designs. All of this is the work of Jeremy Kalgreen, founder and proprietor of Amorpia Apparel. So we thought it was time for an interview. I called Jeremy up to talk shop. When I asked for a photo Jeremy sent me this awesome Spreadshirt-esque self portrait (I think it would make a great t-shirt design too). I really enjoyed talking with Jeremy. Here is what I learned about the man behind the t-shirts…

The History - A New Skill Every Summer
Jeremy told me that he didn’t start with the intention of creating a t-shirt business. He just wanted to learn a new skill. Each summer he decided to learn something new - so he taught himself to screen print and designed t-shirts just to wear himself. Screen printing is hard work, so Jeremy started to look for a printer and that is when he found Spreadshirt and he was happy with the selection and print quality that we offer. Then he needed to make some money so he turned on the shop feature of Spreadshirt and that is how it all started.

Amorphia Today
What started as 1 t-shirt shop has grown into 3 successful shops. After success with Amorphia Apparel, Jeremy decided to set up a shop dedicated to science - thus WearScience was born. He also has a shop called Teach the Controversy. Jeremy wanted to try out a shop that was focused on one theme rather than an assortment of t-shirt designs. So far, so good as the science designs have been very popular.

Jeremy’s Favorite T-shirt
“I can’t really choose, but perhaps today I think Ill have to go with Roach Celebration

So you must have been a Scientist?
Nope. He just liked the science idea. The science design came together and “it just worked.” A lot of other people have liked the science idea too.

How long does it take to design a t-shirt?
Jeremy says the idea percolates for a while, once he has a grasp on the design he estimates it takes about an hour and half to create the vector and another hour and half to add it to the website.

Advice for Spreadshirt Users
Jeremy suggested that if you want to sell t-shirts you should stick to shirts you would wear. Jeremy recommend that you avoid designing for trends and what you think is popular. His advice is to design things that you would like to wear and then find those niche groups that would also like your shirts. When he was getting started he would post his shirts on MySpace to groups that he thought would appreciate the designs. Jeremy credits Spreadshirt’s flexibility for helping him start his business. On the advantages of print-on-demand - “Spreadshirt gives you the freedom to experiment” and “There is no real cost to just trying things out.” Jeremy commented that Spreadshirt allows you to “learn as you go” rather than having to know all the rules ahead of time which has made it easy for him to get into the t-shirt business. As for pricing - Jeremy says he likes to keep prices as low as he can rationalize and that $15 seems like a fair price for a t-shirt.

Famous T-shirts Sightings
Jeremy has sent his t-shirts to the author Harlan Ellison and he created a design at the request of a band to wear at the SXSW music festival. Marta from Gnooze is wearing an Amorphia Apparel t-shirt in this video.

intructables-book-contest

Intructables Book Contest

Vote for your favorite Instructables for the first ever Instructables book. Spreadshirt has been a big fan of Instructables, ever since I first discovered the site over a year ago. In the past year they have continued to become an awesome how-to community, and they now have an Instructables t-shirt shop powered by Spreadshirt - with some mighty good looking shirts. They have a contest happening now - vote for your favorite instructables, the top 50 vote getters will be mentioned in the book. Click here to start voting. Check out this page for some of the other cool contests they have running - I think the Horny Toad Invent-a-Sport contest is going to be a good one.

Here are 3 of my favorite instructables that I just voted for:

 

Here are some other related and not so related blog posts that I am reading today. Enjoy!

Zemanta Pixie

shop-partner-spotlight-ustreamtv

Shop Partner Spotlight: UStream.TV

Just wanted to show off another shop that is powered by Spreadshirt!

Ustream is the leading internet broadcasting platform. Ustream’s proprietary technology powers an easy-to-use, web-based interface, allowing anyone with a camera, computer and Internet connection to broadcast live to the world. Integrated with a host of interactive tools including chatrooms, co-host, and shout meter, Ustream’s platform delivers real-time, social experiences on the web. Since its beta launch in March 2007, Ustream has grown to 360,000 registered users broadcasting 8,000 - 10,000 live shows a day. Ustream.TV is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and is privately held. For more information, please visit: www.ustream.tv.

Check out the Ustream.tv shop here!!!

wear-your-walls

Wear Your Walls

Okan Arabacioglu is an illustrator from Baltimore, MD.  He has a great blog - Blog-Kan about his work where I learned about his shop - Shop-Kan.  I really like this t-shirt, this fancy wall paper pattern has become quite popular and I really like how it looks on the t-shirt.

inspired-by-tatoos-united-on-the-spreadshirt-forums

Inspired by Tatoos, United on the Spreadshirt forums

Well the forum has not yet resulted in any actual marriages, but it has created a great partnership for these 2 designers.  Jay from VanTribe.com met Vic from Tat2Ts.com on the Spreadshirt forums and they have partnered together to create some great designs for their shops.  Both Jay and Vic have a unique style and a love for tatoo inspired art.  Check out the designs they have created for each others shops.

Tat2Ts design for VanTribe:

VanTribe’s design for Tat2Ts:

More info: VanTribe Blog and check out their social network - Van Tribe City

reasons-to-love-volvo-love

Reasons to Love “Volvo Love”

Jana (she is the CEO of Spreadshirt) sent me a link to this shop and I am in love. Volvo Love is filled with great t-shirts for Volvo lovers. Here are just a few of the reasons to love this shop:

  • Enthusiasts are Passionate People - This is a great enthusiast shop - some of the most successful Spreadshirt shops are ones where people can buy merchandise about something they are passionate about. I just had my Saab towed away to the junk yard yesterday. It was my second Saab and I loved that car a lot - I don’t even like cars but I did love the Saab brand. I loved how passionate people were about their Saabs. When I lived in Ithaca, NY there was one place to get a Saab serviced - Pellegrino Saab - Nick and Rose are passionate about Saabs and the people who drive them (see rave review here). The Pellegrino’s were a great help and if I could buy a Pellegrino Saab t-shirt, I would order one right now. When you are working on building your shop - think about t-shirts that express things you are passionate about.  Check out a Saab Spreadshirt Shop here.
  • Text It To Me - I am not talking about text messaging. The shirts in this shop are mostly text on a shirt. Text on a shirt is super easy to set up a Spreadshirt and looks great. You don’t have to have a complex t-shirt to have a good looking t-shirt. Also check out the text placement - same text but putting it in a different place on the shirt can create 2 different looks.

  • Variety is the Spice of the Shop - Volvo Love does a great job of offering an assortment of products beyond t-shirts. Items like totes and hats make it easy for people to send a gift with out having to worry about sizes.
batter-up

Batter Up!

Photo: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

It is a beautiful sunny day here in Pittsburgh, PA. I am so excited about the NCAA Basketball games because I received an email this am reminding me that Kansas is on my bracket. I was so distracted by basketball that I almost forgot that today is opening day for the Pittsburgh Pirates. It is literally the perfect day for baseball - 68 degrees and sunny.

I was searching the blogs to see if anyone has posted any pictures from the game yet and I found an opening day t-shirt from Spreadshirt! Pittsburgh sports blog Sportsocracy created a t-shirt just for opening day.

i-bike-toronto-bike-friday-free-coffee-in-toronto-puck-and-the-real-world

I Bike Toronto, Bike Friday, Free Coffee in Toronto, Puck and The Real World

Well it is starting to feel a little like spring here in Western, PA. I am getting excited for outside activities and I have seen more people out on their bikes. Biking Toronto has a nice little Spreadshirt shop and they are friends with Spreadshirt on Facebook (you should be friends with us too!) - so I was happy to get their update about Bike Friday. I think they have a great pro-bike, pro-Toronoto shirts - a cool variation of the I heart NY shirt.

Bike Friday is held the last friday of every month to promote bike riding as a safe and environmentally friendly transportation alternative. These types of bike rides are held all over the world, often called Critical Mass. You can check out this page to see if there is a ride in your city.

I am sure this next sentence will make you laugh or possibly cringe.I can’t resist adding a dash of 90’s culture to this blog every once in a while. I think I first learned about Critical Mass from watching the Real World San Francisco - I know the show covered the infamous Puck on a few bike rides.

Another cool thing I learned from the Biking Toronto page is that there is that biking can get you free coffee on Bike Friday. The cafe Alternative Grounds gives out free coffee if you wear your helmet. I think this is a neat idea to promote biking.

I would love to see some other pro-bike t-shirts from other cities - please share! Has anyone created a t-shirt for Critical Mass? I would also be interested to know if you love or hate the Real World

new-chuck-norris-designs

New Chuck Norris Designs

In case you didn’t know, one of the many t-shirt shops on the web that is powered by Spreadshirt is ChuckNorrisFacts.com. Yes, all of those awesome t-shirts with great facts about Chuck Norris are made right here at Spreadshirt. We have been working with Mr. Norris and we have just added some new designs to the shop.

Big Foot
chuckfoot.jpg
High Kick
chuckkick.jpg

Chose one of the Chuck Norris shirts from the shop or create your own custom Chuck Norris shirt here.

The most festive use of fire ever

I really had to share this one, I know everyone is loving the holiday video posts. This one comes with instructions. I thought I was clicking on a YouTube video of a fire place, but this is so much more and it features music from Flight of the Conchords (check out their t-shirts at Spreadshirt shop partner WhatTheFolk.net.

You can make your own Rubens Tube Yule Log - all of the instructions are available here.




What is this all about...

What is Spreadshirt.com? Spreadshirt is an online shop for custom apparel. Design your own shirts (or other clothing items) and order online. You item is custom made and shipped to you in just a few days. Spreadshirt also allows anyone to create a free shop to see their designs online.

What is on this blog? product announcements, fine t-shirt design, great things geek, social media, shop partner tips and funny stuff.

Subscribe to the Spreadshirt Blog Subscribe to the Blog.Spreadshirt.com Feed

Blog Updates by Email: Click this nifty little link and sign up. You will get an email every day with whats new on the blog. Subscribe to blog.spreadshirt.com by Email

Categories

Archives

Spreadshirt UK Blog

Check out whats happening on the UK Spreadshirt Blog...

Connect to Spreadshirt

Be our friend on the web! Facebook - MySpace - Twitter - Flickr - YouTube Add to Technorati Favorites

FeedBurner feed
by e-mail

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

MyBlogLog

View My Profile View My Profile View My Profile View My Profile