Labor Day Sale at 1AEON T-Shirts

I found this guy at IndieRepublic.com - you can see his store at Etsy.com - the place for handmade fashion - make sure to check out all the handmade t-shirt designers there. However rather than a quick shout I’d thought you might like to know a little more about 1AEON - he’s a fascinating guy with a surreal taste for t-shirt design.

Gabe Molnar of 1AEON says his designs often come from his dreams. The fantastical imagery includes lions, dragons, skulls and owls (”since before all the owl hype,” as Gabe says). Working non-stop in his small kitchen in Brooklyn, this Hungarian-born artist is driven to be the best at whatever he does and to push the boundaries (perhaps due to a childhood under Communism?). Gabe’s creative passion and ambition constantly reconnects him to his humble beginnings. See the video below to learn more of Gabe’s life, artistic direction and ambitions for the future. Read more

Thriving Ink Sale Now On!

I haven’t got around to fully reviewing Austin, Texas based urban clothing label Thriving Ink, but this seems like the perfect opportunity, especially as they are currently holding a sale on all their tees. Buy one and get one free at TI - the coupon code is CUST2 and it expires August 31st. Plus they offer free shipping (I’m guessing USA and Canada) for all orders over $50.

ThrivingInk.com seems to me, more like a community than a t-shirt label, even if you don’t fancy buying a t-shirt right this minute there’s plenty more to do at their site. Check out the artists section or keep updated on all the events they attend and organise. Their community section features plenty of places to see their machinations on the net, and gives you a chance to hook up with the people behind the label. Hook up at Myspace.com or Facebook.com or check out their videos at YouTube.com or you can keep up-to-date on all their latest exploits at their blog - well I say that but actually it seems a little neglected :/ Read more

Zero Boutique End Of Summer T-Shirt Sale!

Here’s another quickie - Zero Boutique, recently reviewed by Buy Tees at (ZeroBoutique.com - From Zeroes to Heroes) are holding an end of summer sale!

All shirts have been marked down to only $14.80 for the following week, until midnight on September 2nd, 2008. Mention the code “BUYTEES” for an additional 10% refund, making the shirts only $13.32 each. This is a permanent code you can use any time, even after the sale is over. At these prices, many of these shirts won’t last long! Get yours here.

ZeroBoutique.com - From Zeroes to Heroes…

Zero Boutique needs a CSS redesign - drop the html frames, remove the delayed redirect to the blog, move the shop to the home page and you’re set to go. I do understand the desire for a minimalist layout, but the product images could be a tad larger, although I do appreciate the extra modelled photos, especially the cute babes (lol).

Since the original zero website was launched in 1998, they have worked with over 90 artists and in 2002 they launched a new site- ZeroBoutique.com. Over the years, Jason (the guy pushing the buttons and pulling the levers of ZBQ) has expanded the company’s assets from one old heat press for making shirts at home, to a 4 color printing station as well as a far wider range of gadgets and inks and a larger commercial space. All of their shirts are hand screen-printed with love and perseverance in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Zero Boutique promote a great deal of independent artists. you’ll find plenty of old favourites and instant classics here, my favourite being the now almost infamous Che Grovera. An absolutely hilarious spoof of Che Guevara, a highly popular revolutionary image that must have adorned most hippie/political student bedroom walls throughout the 1960s to the current day. I’m not too keen on the white outline, but then again that could be accountable to personal taste. Read more

The Art of the Stain at Dirty Laundry

Dirty Laundry: The Art of the Stain in Modern T-Shirt Design. Yes it’s true, I’m not pulling your leg! Shortly after my post on t-shirt staining, Mariko Merritt of the Hawaiian Nuuanu Gallery contacted me with the aim of plugging their latest exhibition, and for all intense purposes it features dirty t-shirts. They asked designers to stain t-shirts with a medium of their choice (grass, wine, lipstick, etc.) and then design custom artworks that use the stain as an integral design element. They’ve gathered an impressive group of artists to be in the show (Mike Perry, Damien Correll, Frank Chimero, Kris Chau, April Lee, Alan Konishi, Andrew DeGraff, Christopher David Ryan, Jason Laurits, Wyeth Hansen and Ryan Dunn, Kate Bingaman-Burt, Keetra Dean Dixon, Nikolay Saveliev, Nathaniel Russell, Roanne Adams, Rosemarie Fiore, Roland Adams, Steve Kibayu, Alan Konishi, Roland Adams, Simon Ruby, Topos Graphics, Travis Stearns & Tim Gough) and they are expecting a great collection of unique limited edition t-shirts. Read more

Free Your Mind at the Imaginary Foundation

ImaginaryFoundation.com’s concepts rock, a lot of them remind me of my own work at college. In the 90’s, at arts school, I was heavily influenced by the Dada movement, we didn’t just paint, make videos, installations, print etc., we also had to read (at least a few shelves of art history literature and a couple of boxes of art critique on the side). I was always into photo-montage, I started at school, at the time it was almost unheard of in South East England’s suburbia. Still, it grabbed me an ‘O’ and an ‘A’ level so I must’ve been doing something right. I have a suspicion they’re using sublimated (heat press) printing which can do wonders in the right hands, but in my heart of hearts I’d always prefer a screen printed tee (it’s merely the texture of the ink on a t-shirt that influences me). Asides that I’m rather bowled over by their incredible collection.

The greatest coup in the t-shirt world is hidden away at IF’s site, if you read their ‘about page‘ you’ll find the briefest mention of their mysterious “Director”, a 70 something über intellectual, supposedly the son of the founder of the Dadaist movement. Now without a name it’s quite tricky working out exactly who they mean, there’s still some debate about that. Checking it up at the UK’s Online Tate Gallery Archive and I quote “The founder of Dada was a writer, Hugo Ball. In 1916 he started a satirical night-club in Zürich, the Cabaret Voltaire, and a magazine which, wrote Ball, ‘will bear the name ‘Dada’. Dada, Dada, Dada, Dada.’ This was the first of many Dada publications. Dada became an international movement and eventually formed the basis of Surrealism in Paris after the war.” He did also create the Dada Manifesto. So I’m guessing it’s Mr. Ball they’re referring to. Read more

Full Bleed Ahead With Rob Dobi

I knew it wouldn’t be long before I’d have to bring your attention to Rob Dobi and his Connecticut-based designer t-shirt label Full Bleed. Last year Rob focused a lot more on band tees and commissions, however now he has his own label up and running, although I’d ignore the home page - it says ‘Summer collection ‘08 Coming Soon’, and to be honest I think we’re already there, although you couldn’t tell by the British weather :/

I love the simplicity of Rob’s t-shirts, almost every one of his designs offers a pithy pun and a surrealist sidelong glance at the world, something I’m sure Threadless would dress down, (I know that from bitter experience), however I’m giving this guy full marks for a great collection of unique and individualistic tees. I suppose I do lean towards his kind of style whenever I’m scouring the net for originality and purpose in the world of t-shirts, Rob has it by the bucketful. I’d love to create a collection as cohesive as this, I do come up good ideas (honest), but stylistically I dart about depending on the topic. That isn’t the way to create a long lasting collection (as does Glennz for instance), Dobi has an immediately recognisable ouevre and he capitalises on it. I don’t, I chop and change, I feel that different subjects deserve different treatments, though Glennz’s ideas and angle on the world are immediately recognisable, Dobi is more subtle, producing ideas from a slightly askew view of the world. I’d say that Dobi must be one of the best at what he does, a subtle design with an even more subtle message. Read more

Das Monk T-shirts. Das ist sehr gut!

Das Monk was born of the union of t-shirt love by two t-shirt fanatics Marc Hendrick and Anna Lunoe almost a year ago. They are currently in the midst of selling out their second collection of tees right now. They plan to showcase a new and limited edition collection of t-shirts every 3 months and offer a unique homespun style informed as much by the Arts and Crafts movement as by the modern life and modern street culture of Europe and beyond.

The two members of Das Monk came up with their label’s name one starry night, as Marc and Anna ran through all the possibilities they found themselves favouring the word ‘Monk’ because it’s short and succinct and represents a figure of deep contemplation using simple means to communicate something more. The German word ‘Das’ (meaning ‘the’) was added by Marc who is of German descent. Read more

The Best of the Best: Outstanding T-Shirts (Designed by Humans)

I need to purge all that negativity from my last post and focus on some of the greatest t-shirts available on the net right now. I could just vegetate in front of the TV, or argue with the neighbour about controlling his wayward dog and teenage son, or spend the remainder of my weekend inputting data at my new t-shirt printers directory. Sounds like another awful weekend, I’m sure one day I’ll be able to afford such luxuries, however until then I’ll turn to one of my favourite obsessions, great t-shirt design, and thought you’d like to see a selection of tees that have caught my eye from this legendary t-shirt label. Read more

Epidemic T-Shirt by Linty Tees

I love doodles, I’m not a great doodler myself, I suppose I like to refine the image and boil it down to its bare necessities, to be honest I don’t boil as much as I should with my iconography, but I do with the succinctness of the idea. It seems that the more t-shirts I find, the more I feel I have my own unique style and approach to t-shirt artwork. Most of my designs have some form of message or play on words, a simple subtext if you like, it is probably a habit I picked up at art college, but I’m glad I did. Read more

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