New Hideout Tees

admin    T-Shirts     British tees, Hideout Apparel, Hideout Tees, graphic t-shirts, graphic tees

It’s been a while since we’ve posted about Hideout Apparel, they’ve a couple of new tees on offer, and they’ve done a great job of sprucing up the site. I have to admit I’m not keen on one of the tees, and regular readers will probably guess why in a moment… I’m not sure if I’ve made this suggestion before but I really think it’s time to get a separate domain name for the brand, or at least a subdomain, it’s easier to rank on Google, more fans find the tees, the brand gets greater recognition and so on and so on. Ah well we live and learn.

So here are the two newbies on the block:

Kraken Tee

There seems to be something of a resurgence for the Kraken, I’ve reviewed at least one other Kraken tee this month, and I’m sad to say this is the lesser of the two. It’s not so much the quality of illustration that’s at fault (although the lack of colour doesn’t help) it’s the damn rectangular print.

I feel like I’m turning into that crazy old man next door who spends all day shouting at his TV and occasionally hitting it with his walking stick. The problem with filling every part of print is that it reveals the limitations of the process. It just looks cheap. Sure it’s a big rectangle, but in a way that makes it worse, I don’t want to look at the edges of a print, I want to look at the design. Then there’s an enormous logo at the bottom which again I’d have preferred they’d left out.

I’m tempted to link to an example of how it should be done, but that’d probably be too cruel. Anyway I’m sure others will disagree, Hideout have a strong following after all. I just think, damn, what a waste of a concept. Could be so much better. Available for £20 in Asphalt and Heather.

Take Flight Tee

Phew… I am very glad to say I have exactly the opposite opinion on this one, beautifully drawn it looks like a frame from a French Zombie animated movie, very Quixotic in its own elusive fashion. The composition is great too (no rectangles in sight). For me it’s a far better tee than the first but I’m guessing it’s all down to the internal politics at Hideout, they’re friends and creative input is shared equally, even though I am convinced one has far more design talent than the others. Still… get the Take Flight Tee in Steel Blue and Asphalt (although confusingly some of the photos look as if they’ve been tinted red) for £20 each.

Ah well we live and learn.

Two New Tees From Hideout

admin    T-Shirt News     BMX, British Design, Enter The Tree House, Hideout, Hideout Tees, skater, sports t-shirts

Hideout T-Shirts have just released two new designs, you may recognise the name from our previous review at http://buy-tees.net/2009/03/freestyling-with-hideout-tees. They’re a British label famed amongst the BMX community for both their unique style and extensive sponsorship of the sport. They even make their own BMX videos!

Anyway the two new designs by Tash Walkerdine and Jon Moon, two of the three designers in the partnership. Both tees are available for £12 each and are already proving to be strong sellers in the line. Due to their rather snazzy Flash site I can’t link directly to their products, but you should have fun perusing through their deck of ‘t-shirt cards’ nonetheless ;) read more

Freestyling With Hideout Tees

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     BMX, BMX tees, EnterTheTreehouse.com, Hideout T-Shirts, Hideout Tees, sport t-shirts, sports tees

EnterTheTreehouse.com have just produced their first three t-shirt designs under the label “Hideout” and assure me they have another three on the way very soon. What’s unique about this small but mighty collaboration of Leicestershire based graduate designers (Robert Palmer, Jonathan Moon and Tash Walkerdine) is their total passion for BMX. They are currently aiming to promote their screen-printed t-shirts by sponsoring BMXers, Rob who is the most fanatical about the sport is actually a BMXer himself and as a film maker has decided to push his BMX videos through Hideout. Their latest BMX video is out next week. The video stars amongst others; Robbo who is in the Mutiny BMX team – MutinyBikes.com and Frog from the Deluxe BMX team – DeluxeBMX.com. They plan on producing a new video every 6 months, and have already received some great feedback on the trailer. What’s more many BMX teams are already clambering for sponsorship so all is on the up and up as far as the Hideout label is concerned!

They do just about everything under the sun under the banner of “graphic”, including music videos, corporate videos, design, stop motion animation video being very close to their hearts, they’re what I’d describe as modern day urban surrealists working for a buck to pay the rent. These are the kind of people that would’ve been printing flyers and calling for a revolution back a century or so. But now, in their present incarnations we can expect their art to do the talking for them, and it doesn’t just talk, it shouts, no it sings, loud and strong, visually lifting them above the usual diatribe of commercial design and into a quirky and unique realm unseen by the likes of Leicestershire in a very long time, if ever. They’ve already had a few brief brushes with fame, their recent video for Kyte‘s, “Boundaries” (the song that appeared on The Sopranos‘ final episode advert in the USA) got them a showing on MTV2 in 2008.

But enough of their glorious diversifications in the world of commercial arts, let’s get down to the nitty gritty and show you their first three offerings in the majestic form of the arts medium more commonly known as “t-shirts” on offer at their incredible store! read more