High Art Tees At OtherCriteria.com

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     British Art, Damien Hirst, For The Love Of God, Michael Joo, Other Criteria, Skull, UK art, White Cube, art, art t-shirts, art tees, othercriteria.com

Founded in London in 2005 Other Criteria was conceived primarily as a publishing company by Damien Hirst, Hugh Allan and Frank Dunphy, with creative directorship from Jason Beard. They work directly with Damien Hirst and a number of established and emerging artists to make limited editions and multiples, clothing, jewellery, photographs, posters, prints and books. I was recently approached by OC to review their unique collection of art tees, and I have to say it’s my pleasure to, being an artist myself I can fully appreciate the direction this company has taken, crossing the boundaries between art, design, fashion, and in particular their decision to market themselves to a new breed of discerning consumer, bypassing the need for the gallery or dealer, and offering something of true artistic value to suit every budget.

OtherCriteria.com, their online presence for the vision of an eleven strong team of designers, production managers and assistants, is supported by the off-line exposure of their merchandise at their two London stores, 36 New Bond Street, and 14 Hinde Street, London. I personally feel that this review represents a validation of my own beliefs that the humble t-shirt has until very recently been a neglected medium in the world of the arts and that perhaps now at long last both artist and collector can truly engage in a whole new field of creative consumerism unseen in retail history. From the likes of Damien Hirst to Banksy, a more general public have at long last been able to engage on a deeper level with every echelon of the artistic community, conceptually and emotionally helping to support their practice, forming their own base of opinion and venturing forth where no consumer has ventured before.

My own experiences of the British arts education system have left me somewhat jaded, with tutors and galleries alike assuming that only the elite can appraise, criticise or even purchase art. This seemed an outdated premise even then, some 20 years ago, but at long last with the progressive attitude of companies such as Other Criteria, the urban art movement, the rise of the global Internet community, and a general awareness by all of the context both sociopolitical and historical that we find ourselves in today, we can expect this to be but the beginning of a far more self-aware consumer revolution. The art market is also shifting in a new direction, unaffected by the establishment’s world weary view of what should constitute creativity. Art for the people = power to the people. Mass consumption has led to many problems in our age, yet now at long last the individual seeks more than an aggregation of the familiar, they crave the unique, the fundamentally altered, a higher perspective of both their own existence and the world we live in.

The contemplative, inspirational and highly acute products of OC are one example of a progressive wave of entrepreneurs and creative collectives aiming to offer an alternative vision, one that suffices more than mere need or want, supplanting the desire for the object with a heightened sense of realism, a proposal for a new and deeper relationship between consumer and producer. In this context, at this time of political, social and economic turbulence, quality of life, quality of experience, and quality of the product are at the forefront of public expectation. Now is the time to consider Other Criteria, and of course in particular their own fine range of art tees. read more

Eastern Promise At Fabrikade

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Asian, Eastern, Fabrikade, Fabrikade.sg, Singapore, indie t-shirts, indie tees, showcase, t-shirt community

Fabrikade.sg is a Singapore based online clothing store that draws upon the collective talents of a network of designers from Singapore and further afield, formed by a web collective of Jonathan Kong and a few friends bouncing ideas back and forth over a coffee at Vivocity, their belief that their was a vast niche in the t-shirt market was confirmed by the escalating popularity and success of their truly international store. Drawing upon the creative talents of home grown and global artists, designers and indie labels has helped to quickly build up a solid and unique label showcasing some of the best in t-shirt design from around the world.

There’s a friendly atmosphere at Fabrikade, the site is slick and easy to use, there’s a useful blog and they’re bang on Twitter with plenty of regular updates offering everything from advice on design to interesting t-shirt links to keep you interested from the word go. The Fabrikade ethos is to share and share alike, by helping one another artists and fans can help build a mutually beneficial community worth being a part of – especially if you like great tees! Of course Fabrikade offer a lot more besides, they are after all a fashion label and so if you’re tempted you may want to scout around their other categories for some top quality designer jewellery, iPod sleeves, polos and soft toys. However as you will have surely guessed by now we’re sticking with the t-shirts here at Buy Tees! read more

No Pants Sale at Randr

admin    T-Shirt News     RANDR, Rise And Resist Apparel, designer tee sale, designer tees, t-shirt discounts, t-shirt sale, tee sale, www.randrtees.com

First off, to clear away any confusion us Brits might have about the nature of Rise And Resist Apparel’s No Pants Sale, don’t worry you won’t have to strip off your y-fronts in order to qualify for a bargain, it’s American pants we’re talking here, you know, trousers. Yes keep your boxers or knickers on (depending on gender and/or personal preference) and roll on over to www.randrtees.com for a wide range of top-notch designer t-shirts at rock bottom prices.

RANDR are a young fresh fashion label based in Tulsa, Oklahoma with a thriving community base and make a point of supporting their favourite musicians, artists and good causes in the local area as well as further afield. The RANDR ’scene’ is a vibrant, colourful and exciting one offering a vision of things to come with loosely formed co-operatives of all creative genres can band together to make a statement, make a living and even make change for the future more possible than ever before. If you’d like to keep up to date with all the exciting events, background information on their artists and new products as they are released then either sign up to their mailing list or subscribe to their blog feed.

Let’s get down to brass tacks, besides the great quality designer tees we’re all worried about money these days and RANDR are well aware of this and so they’ve slashed their prices by a whopping 55% – to be honest that kind of discount is almost unheard of in the market so if you’re a savvy consumer I’d recommend you get your skates on and take a well deserved splurge at Rise And Resist Apparel before they sell out! read more

Fontastic T-Shirts at Type Tees?

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     T-shirt Hell, Threadless, funny t shirts, funny tees, joke tees, jokes, slogan shirts, slogan t-shirts, slogan tees, text t-shirts, type tees, typetees.com, typographic t-shirts

Threadless.com have spread their wings, expanded their empire, and generally made their next play for dominion over the t-shirt market with their latest venture TypeTees.com (along side The Select Series and Threadless Kids – yes yes I will get around to them one day). I have to admit I’ve been holding back on this review, the fact is I’ve had some crummy experiences in the past with Threadless, it’s quite a brutal place if you’re thinking of submitting a design, I’ve seen some rather similar ones to my own scrape through when mine have hardly made it past the first stage.

What’s more a lot of their best artists have naturally come to the conclusion that if their work is making enough sales to support the staff and directors of a multi-million dollar operation why not set out on their own? Plenty have, plenty more have been ‘poached’ by the competition and literally treated like artistic royalty, sure they’re not exactly riding around in limos (yet) but those with the business savvy to make the grade have managed to get a far fairer slice of the pie when it comes to profits.

The fact is that for most of us humble designers it’s more a case of who you know (and how many) rather than what you do. It’s become a numbers game and that’s no surprise considering the size of the operation. If you have an army of friends and fans on Twitter or Facebook you might just make the grade – I mean – you’ll still need to create something stunning but a legion bigging you up will always start a wave of positivity given the right conditions. Timing, markets, originality, it all comes into play… but this isn’t another griping review of Threadless, it’s a feature on Type Tees, and seeing as the ballpark is wide open on this one, if you have a flair for one-liners you might just be in with a chance at this still relatively early stage of the game. You don’t need to be a typgraphic expert, you don’t need to be able to draw, you just need to make wise cracks until the sun goes down and all will be well with you and the world of Type Tees!

So, the other reason I’ve been slow off the mark is that text t-shirts aren’t really my favourite things in the world, perhaps it’s trauma brought on by a branding burn out, at school and college so many kids wore Nike and Adidas that if an alien had landed and walked in the canteen they’d have assumed all our parents had very little imagination and called us all by the same names. But these aren’t sports brands, these are, for the main part, jokes. There’s the other problem, once you know it you don’t usually want to hear the same joke twice – unless you didn’t get it the first time – but hey some people like to make strangers laugh, so who am I to get in the way of a few anonymous chuckles? No one, just a miserable git with a graphic t-shirt fetish that’s all.

Moving briskly along here’s the low down if you have a joke burning in the back of your mind and you fancy making a few spare bucks. A very healthy $500 in fact, not bad if you’re a pub bore with a few hundred corny jibes you can knock out – one of them is bound to grab some attention. Okay that’s unfair but when I think of all the worst t-shirts I’ve ever seen they’re nine out of ten times a dodgy joke like “I’m With Stupid”, the only idea I’ve ever had for a slogan tee was way back when fashion casualties were wearing big bold lettered print tees with the words “Rave On” in the UK – we are going way back here. I was s**tfaced with a mate at an illegal rave in South London when two of them walked through the door with red faces, soaking in sweat, necking vodka and cokes at the bar like it was free – anyway I made a joke that the tees should have said “Brave On’. Cruel I know, but I doubt they’d have preferred my alternative anyway.

So to cut a long story short – let’s see if we can have a larf at Type Tees :p read more

Freebie Tee From Cottonmouth And T-Shirt Day!

admin    T-Shirt News     contest, cottonmouth, cottonmouth.nl, free t-shirt, t-shirt day, t-shirtday.com

If you fancy winning a t-shirt from Cottonmouth.nl the fabulous Dutch t-shirt label we reviewed recently then simply count the M&M’s and post your name, address, email and the correct answer to info@cottonmouth.nl – click the pic to see a close up! Now before you jump in you might want to have a think about it, not all of the candy looks like M&M’s, if I’m wrong just ignore me but I’m guessing that if it doesn’t say M&M it’s probably not :/

It’s enough to give you the munchies! This contest (amongst other events) is to mark the countdown to International T-Shirt Day being held on 21st June 2009 – which is being held in honour of the versatility of this specific apparel, and to give t-shirt fans a chance to express their love of the tee. The tradition of T-Shirt Day began in 2008 with a collection of events which took place on the first day of summer.

There are all sorts of ways to contribute to the celebration and you’re best off hooking up with them via Facebook for their open runways at Berlin and Boston and following the tweets on Twitter. Also check out last year’s events at Flickr! If you fancy starting up your own event then sign up here to reserve you place in t-shirt history!!!

Sounds, Sights And Tees With Spunky At Glastonbury

admin    T-Shirt News     Glastonbury, Glastonbury Festival, Spunky.co.uk, T-Shirts, funny tees, hippies, hippy, spunky, submit t-shirt design

One of, if not the biggest music festivals in the world, Glastonbury, is just around the corner and Spunky T-Shirts are preparing for their biggest bash ever at the hallowed grounds of Worthy Farm. What’s more Spunky are pulling out all the stops to make this year’s annual event bigger, better, louder and brighter than ever before. They’ve bought some new lighting for the party, replaced some of their speakers and got all their fave DJ’s lined up – with regulars Eddie Fett, Kidross and Danny Bionyc plus special guests including Mr Craig.

But the fun doesn’t stop there, oh no! Spunky are making a shout out for artists to paint some walls for us at Glastonbury, so if you’ve got a ticket and some skills, get in touch through their contact form. They’ll even supply the paint! But lest you forget, Spunky are famous for one thing and that’s great t-shirts! Hey, I know I’ve mentioned it a 100 times before but what the heck, I just received Spunky’s latest newsletter and was chuffed to see that my t-shirt design ‘Old School‘ is still selling well after what seems like a year on their prestigious label! You can get it for £24.95, if you fancy designing a tee for Spunky then check out this link, you get £150 and plenty of free promotions for your art. read more

Have A Whale Of A Time At Finroo

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Finroo, Finroo.com, art collective, crowd sourcing, t-shirt art, t-shirt artists, t-shirt contest

Before you start on me – yes it’s another crowd sourcing t-shirt contest site – this time the web design is absolutely top notch, they offer truly limited edition tees, there’s at least one very very highly talented artist on their books and Finroo’s attention to detail is unparalleled. All of their t-shirts are made from softer than soft bamboo which is a delight to wear as well as great for the environment – machine washable, all natural and a hypo-allergenic, absorbent, and fast drying. The tees are sold at an average market price of $34.95, I was recently approached for a review by an independent label that also sold bamboo tees and couldn’t afford to offer them less than $49 and so Finroo’s figures seem impressive. What’s more they donate $1 from every t-shirt sold to charity so you can literally feel the good karma effervescing from this company.

Finroo are very much aware of the secret to their success, their artists, and they duly provide full and profiles for everyone of them. Their creations are featured in a variety of amusing categories including Endangered Species (which I suppose are sold up), Newly Evolved, Biggest Fish and Freshly Caught. There’s also a currently empty (but I doubt will be for long) Hall of Fame which is reserved for their all-time best-sellers, and a friendly blog to keep up with all the latest goings on at Finroo. It’s big, it’s bright, it doesn’t bite, Finroo has a killer set-up here and I can see them catching on, especially with the artistic vision of their numero uno right now John Fitzpatrick who has a marvellous comic art style and is incredibly prolific to boot. I promise not to make this a John Fitzpatrick review but in all honesty this guy has set the benchmark so high I don’t know when he’ll find himself creatively nipped at the toes as it were. If I was running Finroo I’d make the guy a partner – lol, that should stir things up. Anyway Finroo have given John the accolade of being the first Spotlight Artist and the interview is definitely worth checking out. Let’s dive in to Finroo and see what’s down there… read more

tFuse – Fusing Talent And Recognition

admin    T-Shirt News     Threadless, artists, t-shirt art, t-shirt competition, t-shirt contest, t-shirt videos, tFuse, tFuse.com, videos

Want to be famous? Want to be famous for making t-shirts? Good. tFuse is a community that uses t-shirts and video to promote all types of artists. Following in the vein of many t-shirt crowd sourcing sites out there, this company offers a little something extra in the way of video exposure to ensure their artists get as much exposure as possible. After a hefty 7 month beta tFuse are ready to bombard the unsuspecting public with your greatest offerings. What’s particularly interesting about tFuse and the people behind it is their focus on creative and artistic talent, they’re not just following the traditional route of dipping into the usual pool of t-shirt talents out there, they’re giving a worldwide shout to all artists from every background, using the medium of the t-shirt as a primary tool for publicity and exposure for the unsung heroes of the artistic community.

I’ve argued this before and will again (I’m sure), essentially there are slow routes and quick routes for making a name in the arts world, take graffiti for instance, many names in this modern urban genre have made it big through public recognition, word-of-mouth, one fan telling another and so on. Not stuffy old galleries in the back streets of trendy city ghettos, but every street in every town in every city of the world. Another way an artist can boost their profile in the public arena is to print t-shirts, the more people who wear them the better known their work will become. This is exactly the philosophy of tFuse and then some. Combining t-shirt art with video promotion is probably one of the fastest ways any artist can reach the public immediately and in quantifiable numbers.

Yes I think the logo needs work, I’d have thought within 7 months something more imaginative could’ve been sourced, but hey they have enough artists on their books, what about asking them to create one, I’m sure they could offer a good incentive? Talking of incentives, they offers lots of ways to earn money and t-shirts in their referral program, so if you aren’t to au fait with creativity you can still join in and make a few bucks, or rather FuseBucks.

If a friend likes your t-shirt they’ll ask where you bought it, they’ll check the source and most likely won’t want to but exactly the same design (unless you’re actually twins a la ‘The Shining‘ – those doppelg√§nger types out there really freak me out). So back to the point, they buy another design, they wear it, now two of your works are on ‘public display’ somewhere in the world and so the ripple effect has begun. I’ve never believed in network marketing or pyramid schemes, but I do believe in the power of fashion to spread the message as fast as possible. So many large charity movements like Live Aid have used t-shirts to viral effect, so why not artists? Now don’t get me wrong, their use of videos isn’t as cut and thrust as your usual corporate dross out there, it’s all creative no matter the format, you won’t get far making a video of you telling the world to “buy my tees – they are great”. No, this is all about personality, brand identity, a unique reality that the public will either lap up or won’t. Just the way comedians conjure up a scenario, or writers and directors set the stage, the public want to be enticed, enveloped, engulfed in the minds of their favourite bands, artists, and celebrities in general. The only difference is you won’t have a big PR firm doing it all for you, you have to do it yourself, which is really the name of the game these days.

The site is still a little bare right now, but that can work to your advantage, the less competition there is the more chance you have of becoming established before tFuse really takes off. Just imagine combining the power of Youtube with Threadless and you’re half way there. All it takes is a little imagination and a lot of hard work and perseverance. Are you up to the challenge? Do you want to be the next t-shirt idol? Then take a look at what you’re up against right now… read more

Tie Dyed And Gone To T-Shirt Heaven?

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     music rock tees, music t-shirts, music tees, rock band t-shirts, rock music t-shirts, rock shirts, rock tees, rock-band-t-shirts.com

Okay the site needs a little work I admit it, but Rock Band T-Shirts do something quite rare considering how mechanised and automated the world is these days, they airbrush and hand paint every one of their √ºber psychedelic tees, and if you’re one for trippy prints, then www.rock-band-t-shirts.com should definitely be on your journey of self teescovery

Yes, yes, there are some problems with the site design, the navigation bar is floating and some of the title tags are showing up html codes like <br> but ignore it if you can, the dudes behind this label have their sights set on greater things and I’m sure they’ll get a nerd in to spruce it all up in the end, The reason I’m not laying into RBT ’s site design (as I normally would) is because they’re obviously first and foremostly artists, t-shirt artists, creative types who just want to do what they do which is simply this:-

Immortalise guitar and rock heroes in the medium of the t-shirt.

You can’t ask fairer than that can you? They take the trouble where it counts, offering the best of the best in rock legend T-shirts from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s & 90’s. inspired by rock music heroes like John Lennon, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin & Reggae legend Bob Marley. If you’ve had it up to here (imagine my hand above my head) with rock legends (can’t understand why though) there are other categories to choose from – Biker Tees and Science Fiction / Fantasy Tees, so you can still get your mad and trippy coloured mayhem no matter what you’re tastes. RBT obviously are a lot more level-headed than may appear on first impression, for example they are meticulous in their production process. Always conscious to maintain uniform colour balance and pattern consistency whilst still ensuring that each tie dyed tee is totally unique. A tricky balance some may say.

Right – enough of the banter – let’s take a trip to the tie dyed land of Rock Band T-Shirts… read more

Prestigious Tees – An Esteemed Reputation

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     This Is Prestigious, art, art shirts, ethical clothing, illustrated tees, sweatshop free, this is prestigious t-shirts, thisisprestigious.org

The name says it all ThisIsPrestigious.org focus on the heights of perfection whether it be their fine art tees, their dedication to the environment and fair trade, their production process, or their gracious attitude to customer service, be under no illusion that this label means business in a new and forward thinking manner that matches up to expectations of their name. In the t-shirt industry, as with all commercial sectors, and to some degree in life, reputation is everything. If someone makes a promise they cannot keep there are those who are willing to forgive, but for the majority their reputation is tarnished by a lack of providence, no matter the reason or excuse. This Is Prestigious are well aware of the fact that to be a success in this cut-throat market one must make a lasting first impression, and continue to do so whatever trials and tribulations may cross their path.

TIP offer a refreshingly open and welcoming way of doing business, providing a straightforward store in a straightforward manner, holding their heads high in everything they do, in order to satisfy both their own personal needs as creative people and in offering an incomparable service that they themselves would expect to receive no matter what the sector. William Matte, Jr. along with a hand-picked group of select artists aim to raise the expectations of almost every aspect of the t-shirt market, carefully designing and producing products they know both they and their customers will be proud of, dealing with those who buy their tees as people rather than numbers, and making sure that their impact on the ecology is kept to an absolute minimum whilst in their own small way bringing attention to the plight of those less fortunate and the exploitative working conditions in many countries today.

Their t-shirts equate to an expressive collection of vibrant colour and sumptuous illustration that one would normally expect from the fine arts market, stretching the boundaries of what is considered the norm in urban fashion design and forever heading onwards to a broader horizon of historical and abstract influences in their exploration of perfect design. Their choice of colours, tones and hues reflect a love and longing for the glorious diorama of the American landscape, from the sun-kissed beaches to the busy metropoli to the Shamanic desert skyscapes beyond. Never obvious in their interpretations TIP have managed to walk a fine line between pure art and pure design. invoking more emotional than intellectual response in their loyal following and beyond.

This Is Prestigious – an apt description for a label with the highest of artistic and business sensibilities. read more