A T-Shirt Forum For A New Generation

As Liz from PopCultureTees.com – the creator of the brand new t-shirt forum TeeDesignTalk.com told me the other day – “one forum (no names mentioned :p) out there is definitely the big boy of the industry – but I’ve always considered them more of an industry forum than a designer forum. When I was working in the screen printing industry, they were my first stop for technical questions…. not so much for design questions. They are definitely grumpy! I think that with all the people who are participating in sites like emptees and threadless there’s a whole new set of people who are interested in t-shirts, but coming from an entirely different direction. They’re the people who are design cool stuff, not t-shirts for schools and churches.”

I couldn’t agree more with Liz and hopefully you are also in agreement, we need to step up the evolution in the world of t-shirts and reflect the massive developments in our industry, it’s true that since the emergence of sites like Threadless.com there has been a noticeable key change in the attitude and culture of both designers and consumers of the beloved tee.

The same could be said for many market sectors, something funky, something cool is happening to our little planet and we need to stand up and be counted, share ideas, co-operate in new ventures, and counteract the old man culture of business once and for all. There really is no call for technocrats and specialists when it comes to the popularity of t-shirt fashion, with literally millions of screen printers and clothing manufacturers out there to handle the complexities of producing tees why should the majority of us and the highest listings on major search engines be bogged down with the intricacies of a smidgeon of what constitutes this vibrant and dare I say it exciting community of creative people, harking from all walks of lives and cultures”? Should we simply shrug our shoulders and accept things as they are or shall we change the future of this industry for the good of all?

Unlike the present establishment, Liz welcomes your suggestions and ideas to help enable her and her team to produce a forum that we all can use and enjoy, potentially TDT can offer us all a vital resource for promotion and discussion of t-shirt designs, markets, ideas, and everything related to designing, creating and marketing this important sector of the fashion industry. Liz openly invites designers to promote their work in their ‘Pimp Your Tees’ section and offers reviews and experiences of all the ‘Print on Demand’ services available now.

I’ve just signed up myself and if you’d like to hook up my username is ‘buytees’, the forum uses a vBulletin script so you can be rest assured it’s a quick and painless process with no confirmation needed, once you enter your details you are ready to contribute, have your say, edit your profile and generally get stuck in. I’ve made a few posts myself, all the forum needs is more people, it’s hosted on a decent server, the posts move fast and the people seem friendly, what can I say?

There’s a very useful section on t-shirt design competitions which will help you discuss the best methods for success at sites like Emptees, DBH, Cameesa, Threadless and many others. Of course the forum is a little empty right now but I’m sure with your help it will be thriving very soon! I had a little trouble viewing my signature but I’m sure it’s only teething troubles. I’ve also hooked up with a few people I’ve reviewed before at the forum so you can be assured you’ll be mingling with the best of the best!

If you’d like to help contribute to the forum sign up now and have your say, you’ll be pleased to know that your posts will also be promoted at her very popular t-shirt reviews blog at PopCultureTees.com, which essentially means more bang for your buck (excuse the metaphor – it’s all free!).

Come and show your support for this mainstay of the t-shirt review blog sector, Liz is waiting for your contributions, however great or small, I’m sure you can help to make a difference and help prove that there is a new and more vibrant alternative for t-shirt designers and consumers alike! If we’re ever going to notch the t-shirt industry up a gear, this is the perfect time to start. Come and sign up today for free at the new TeeDesignTalk.com forums and have your say!