Adam Jackson Tees

admin    T-Shirt Designers     Adam Jackson, illustration, retro tees, vintage t-shirts

If you love beautifully drawn illustrated tees then do keep an eye out for Adam Isaac Jackson, an amazingly talented Seattle-based designer, brought up in Japan, with an incredible knack for retro/vintage pin-up designs, tattoo art and a generally moody style that has to be seen to be believed. If you love your t-shirts dark and sexy then this is the guy to look out for. You can read up on all his latest t-shirts at his blog at www.adamants.wordpress.com. Although you’ll have to be quick, almost all his designs sell out straight away, still you can always sign up for his newsfeed.

Medusa T-Shirt

This tee is “coming soon”, I can’t give you an exact date, but when it does you’d better be quick or you’ll lose out! It’s just $20 and gloriously designed, one of the slickest one-colour print tees I’ve ever seen… if you’re desperate for more info all I can recommend is that you hook up with them at their MySpace page or contact Diamonds and Demons via their contact form!

This one has almost sold out already, considering it’s the only t-shirt for sale so far I think you get my drift…

Death Becomes Her T-Shirt

Perhaps the most beautiful zombie tee ever made. Check out this pic for a better idea of what you’re missing.

Day of the Dead meets retro pin-up nostalgia, love it, and so does everyone else by the looks of it, there’s only a few left in XL size, so hurry! Get it here.

For those with a slighter build don’t worry, I’ve found Adam Isaac Jackson’s own little t-shirt store with a couple of tees on offer, including this beauty:

Land of The Free T-Shirt

The Land of the Free T-Shirt is gorgeous, on sale for $30 and available in all sizes, yes all of them, it’s even signed by the artist! Well worth a gander. Get it here.

This guy needs to get cracking, or at least a few labels he’s worked for before need to get their act together and re-release a few of his past designs like Deadly, which used to be for sale at Imperial Motion, (one of my personal faves). Wake up Adam, we want more, more, more!

Drawing Inspiration From Draw Ltd. Tees

admin    T-Shirt News     Draw Ltd., draw limited, graphic tees, hand drawn t-shirts, illustration

Draw Ltd. is a brand new label, site and offers their first collection of fine graphic t-shirts entitled “Between the Lines!” which features art by Byron Gray and Ricardo Sousa. The ethos behind DrawLimited.com is inspiring to say the least, their belief is that anyone can draw, and everyone should. I’d love to be in wholehearted agreement but I think there maybe a margin of error in that theory, still you can’t knock them for optimism. I am however completely on side with their statement that “There is such a vast group of talented and creative people out there that never get the exposure they deserve…”

I myself have set up several sites to help promote artists so I’m definitely on their wavelength. To be frank my opinion is that the more places artists can showcase their work the better. The Internet has done wonders for the arts community, and  what’s more t-shirts are a quick and simple medium for the most talented to get their work out there in the public domain. The success of various behemoths of the t-shirt industry such as Threadless and DBH have already proven how popular t-shirts are as an arts medium for artists and essential item for fashion lovers everywhere.

Lucia T-Shirt

This rather beautiful t-shirt design by New York based artist/illustrator Byron Gray who’s kindly donated this one to Draw. It’s a beautiful piece of illustration but the truth is that it was inspired by a rather gory tale his science teacher told him as a kid. Essentially a guy hits a deer with his car, the guy gets out to check if the deer is okay and it kicks him to death. Still that’s the natural order for you. The Lucia T-shirt is available for both men and women for $2o each in sizes S to XL. This tee like almost all at Draw Ltd. are also available with pins and Giclee prints for a little more.

Innervision T-Shirt

Again for men and women in all sizes for $20, Innervision is by Richard Sousa from Lisbon in Portugal, who is a mere 17 years old. It’s obviously this guy has a fantastic future in the arts ahead of him.

There are a heap more tees at the site but I don’t think they’re available for sale yet but take a sneak peek anyway!

You can see who else is on their books at the site in their Art Gallery. Look out for plenty more great talent and tees at Draw Ltd. in the future.

Art Shirts by ARDT

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     ARDT, ardentees, art shirts, graphic t-shirts, graphic tees, illustration

ARDT @ www.ardentees.com is the culmination of the vision and hard work of Curtis Liau, Benjamin Loy and Donovan Casey Mathews who aim to blur the line between art and t-shirts, which personally I’m all for. I’ve written quite a few posts heralding the change in public opinion towards t-shirts, both as a fashion item and art form, and it’s always nice to see new recruits to the cause. ARDT work with a large selection of talented artists to produce their highly particular style, right now there are a few available designs, buy I have an inkling with their army of talent waiting in the wings it won’t be long before they’ll producing a whole lot more.

They generously provide full profile pages with links for each and everyone of their artists and actively encourage interaction with their visitors who are free to comment on any t-shirt at the store. The site is superbly laid out, simple, clean and subtly slick, it’s obvious that Ardentees have really thought through what they’re doing. In general I like the t-shirts on offer although I have to say if I was running the show one of the first designers I’d feature is the German artist Pearpicker who has produced this superb illustration of a tattooed sailor.

Who knows, maybe this one is already on the cards? In the meantime here’s a few tees that are for sale right now!

Is This Truly Wonderland T-Shirt

The Is This Truly Wonderland T-Shirt by German designer Hansomoto and it offers a venerable bounty of flamboyant hand and vector illustration work (I’m guessing it’s a blend due to the style). I like the central motif, a letter “A” that’s reminiscent of a lot of antique embroidery panels, which I assume stands for the name “Alice” as in “Alice in Wonderland”? Again, I am guessing here. Still it’s a lovely decorative design, highly detailed and expressive in style. Get this unisex tee in white for $35 in sizes XS-L. As with all ARDT’s shirts, this tee has been screen-printed on 100% cotton, would be nice to see them shift to organic in the future. Still one thing at a time.

CMYK Inside T-Shirt

I’m always keen on CMYK tees, essentially the building blocks of all printing, just four colours (cyan, magenta, yellow and key which is black) and halftone shading can create infinite colours. As for CMYK Inside, it’s a nice t-shirt with an appeal for the more expressionist of tastes, but in all honesty it doesn’t either make the most of or even celebrate the wonders of CMYK. I’d like to have seen something far more complex, I’m surprised that the artist hadn’t incorporated halftones which would bring this design to life, and conceptual fruition to boot. Get this unisex tee in white for $35 in sizes XS-L.

“A” T-Shirt

Uniquely combining typography and the human form, I particularly like the “A” T-Shirt by British freelance designer Jack Crossing. It reminds me a little of 60′s fashion photography, especially in the Swinging Sixties of London with models like Twiggy, The Shrimp, designers like Mary Quant, and a deep respect for the power of composition. I’m not sure if I like the slight introduction of colour in this piece though, would be nice to see it in solid or halftone black and white. Get this unisex tee in black for $35 in sizes XS-L.

Check out their art shirt collection at www.ardentees.com or hook up with them at Facebook.

A Trip Back in Time – Maiden Voyage Clothing

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Maiden Voyage Clothing, graphic tees, illustration, maritime shirts, vintage t-shirts, vintage tees

I bumped into these guys on Twitter and was immediately besotted with their site. Normally I don’t approve of website music but I have to admit it adds to the oldie-worldie atmosphere at Maiden Voyage Clothing although if the Laurel and Hardy in Egypt old-time jazz tune is starting to grate then you’ll find an on/off switch bottom right of the screen. There are only four designs on offer right now, but I’m guessing that they haven’t been going long, and besides they are rather cool so give them a break. BTW I can’t provide links to each tee, it’s a Flash site however they are in the process of redesigning the website in a more traditional and link friendly fashion.

MVC definitely want evoke a times past, a culture of tall ships and tall stories. Everything from the music, the store design and the tees themselves seem more akin to the turn of the 20th Century than the 21st. They’ve really put a lot of thought into the whole set up, and I’d imagine if they packed the store with more top-notch t-shirts they’d build themselves a rather respectable following. The name was inspired by the excitement and endeavours of a slice of history where every trip was a big adventure, be it via Zeppelin, ship or propeller driven plane, most likely you’d be one of if not the first to visit your destination in that fashion.

A slice of history where fantasy and reality merged quite frequently, still following a tradition for, let’s shall we say exaggerating, be it the splendour of lost cities, the size of unknown creatures or a race of giants, the abundance of gold and other precious finds. At this, perhaps in hindsight one of the most exciting times in history suffered from a Chinese whisper syndrome, exaggeration was infection, the world of mass-communication hadn’t quite arrived yet and many adventurers did have a habit of fibbing.  MVC want to recapture that spirit of mystery and excitement for the undiscovered, something we on this overcrowded world sadly lack these days. Roll on the space age I say.

Bears in Tandem T-Shirt

The Bears in Tandem tee is probably my favourite, available for $28 in sizes XS to M. I love the use of all-over printing and the illustration itself is rather gorgeous. Fur is a tricky texture to draw in monotone. Nice sepia effect too.

Fishtachio T-Shirt

Here’s a lovely piece of surrealism in the form of the imaginatively titled Fishtacio. The fish leaping through the loops of the tash and the subtle lines marking out the reflection really add to the design. Available for guys in sizes XS to XL for $28.

Flagship T-Shirt

Aptly enough the Flagship tee features an impressively drawn clipper ship in both white (XS to XXL) and blue (XS to XL), both available for $28. A very slick piece of old fashioned etching style illustration. A really smart incorporation of the brand too.

You can visit Maiden Voyage Clothing’s store at www.MaidenClothingCompany.com or keep up with them at Twitter.

Is It A Bird, A Plane? No It’s Flying Mouse

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Chow Hon Lam, Flying Mouse, FlyingMouse365, Threadless, graphic design, graphic tees, illustration

Flying Mouse aka Chow Hon Lam from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is gaining a god-like status in the world of t-shirt design, he’s won tons of contests at Threadless and even if you don’t recognise the name you will surely recognise the work. In fact I have mentioned his work before here, but in all honesty Chow deserves far far more exposure, and it seems that others agree. There’s a great interview with Lam at Threadless which reveals a little of the machinations of this great mind, but I know what you all want, and that’s some eye candy so I promise I’ll get straight to the tees.

One last thing though, in case you haven’t come across his own store yet do check out www.FlyingMouse365.com where you can really get a taste of exactly how prolific the guy is. Every t-shirt at the store is available for just seven days, right now there are seven tees on sale, think about it, he must knock out a design everyday! That is for lack of a better word, incredible. These are not simple illustrations either, he has an amazing graphic style, with the humour of Glennz and the lush line and composition of any winner at sites like Design By Humans. Ok, here’s what’s on offer this week… read more

Rise And Resist The Winter Months

admin    T-Shirt News     Bible, Masons, RANDR, Rise And Resist Apparel, illustration, masonic, randr tees, winter season tees

I have a miserable cold right now, we’ve taken in a stray cat from the snow who’s causing umpteen problems and the heating keeps going on the blink. So I was relieved to learn that not everything wintry is bad, for instance Rise and Resist have just brought out their latest seasonal collection and a dead classy collection it is too. They seem to have employed the help of a medieval monk this time around, a lot of the designs remind me of ancient illuminated texts and Gothic splendour is abound.

I have to admit it was rather a surprise to see this key change, still originality and freshness is the lifeblood of any successful brand, so there’s no room for nostalgia (unless you want to check out their sale which still has a few of their old favourites) and move on and upwards to something, darker, moodier and slightly more disturbing, much like the British weather at the moment.

Step in to the dark and lofty chambers of Randr…
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New Glenn On The Block – Aled Lewis

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Aled Lewis, Glennz, Threadless, funny t shirts, funny tees, illustration, woot

You’re probably all aware of Glennz tees, run by Glenn Jones, a highly talented and humorous Australian illustrator who has for the main part cornered his area of the market with a wide variety of pithy pun-based t-shirts illustrating much of the ridiculous in society and the media. However you might not have heard of Aled Lewis, who for all intensive purposes is as about as close to an apprentice if not challenger for the place as king of comic tees.

Their styles are interchangeable, both Aled Lewis and Glennz being masters of graphic design, sticking to the old adage that ‘less is more’ both manage to convey t-shirt designs packed with humour and artistic reference without cluttering their work with excessive details and effects. Pure as purest vectors can be. The only real difference I can spot is that Alex has a decidedly more British sense of humour, featuring such British icons as The Tardis from Doctor Who, medieval humour and old school punk rock in the form of a male chicken.

Aled doesn’t have his own store as such however you’ll be relieved to know that all his works are available as winning designs (sometimes in collaboration with others) at Threadless and Shirt.Woot. Let’s take a look at some of Aled’s funniest creations and see exactly why this guy may become the new t-shirt king of comedy!
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Fall ’09 at Beautiful Decay

admin    T-Shirt News     Aya Kato, Fall 09, SickSystems, beautiful decay, designer t-shirts, graffiti, illustration, latest tees

I’ve just had an email from Beautiful/Decay, and yet again they’re offering a whole new batch of beautiful tees for your delectation, including some superb designs from the likes of Russian graffiti crew The SickSystems, a lovely typography shirt by Jessica Hische, and three new offerings from the inimitable Aya Kato – Japanese master of the illustrated line plus Ben Tegel, Official Classic and Colin Strandberg. BD have certainly been busy (as usual) snapping up the best of the best to feature in their latest collection, so without further a due, let’s get cracking on and check these beauties out:- read more

The Temperature’s Rising At Hotlife

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Frankie Says, MikeC, band tees, emptees, funny t shirts, hotlife, illustration, livingthehotlife.com, punk, skater, skater tees, t-shirt design

Recently MikeC of www.LivingTheHotlife.com contacted me and demanded to send me a couple of sample tees, as you might or might know I am one of the few t-shirt reviewers who doesn’t require freebies, but he was pretty insistent, he wanted to make sure I knew first hand exactly how high the quality of his products stands up, and I’m telling you, it’s up there with the best. It’s not just the100% organic fair trade tees he prints on, which are incredibly soft by the way, but the designs themselves are incredibly well drawn and fantastically ‘clean’. Mike is obviously an old hand at illustration, I took a peek at his biography on his rather hilarious FAQ page and found a few gems to help warm you to this relatively underground label:-

So HOTLIFE is designed exclusively by MCHC Art/Designs? Absolutely, 100% hand drawn by MikeC himself.That way you know you’ve got an 100% original design. Lots of “designers” like to take clip art and add a photo shop filter and pass it off as a design…we would rather make something thats unique and rad.

I’m pretty sure 90% of my wardrobe is made up of designs by MCHC already, what bands and such has he worked with? Thousands of bands, too many to mention, but Thinkfast! Records, Victory Records, Acacia Strain, A Day to Remember, Hawthorne Heights, Madball, All Shall Perish, Mychildren Mybride, Between the Buried and Me, Salt The Wound, Bishop, Emmure, Catch 22, & Kill Your Idols, just to name a few.

Now that’s a lot of bands! Hotlife have a strong connection with the music scene, if you fancy upping the stakes and making your own band’s image a little more hardcore then you can commission Mike’s talent as a t-shirt designer via his Myspace page. He even helps promote the bands he works with by graciously featuring their latest gigs at Hotlife’s news page.

It’s difficult to categorize Mike’s style, his illustrative style is strong, very strong, and even though there are reminders for me of punk and thrash, biker and tattoo imagery, there are two distinct qualities to his work that makes it rise above the competition. Firstly, as mentioned earlier, his drawing technique is fabulously clean, he actually draws everything by hand as you can tell, his line is fluid and flowing, the compositions spot on, I’m sure this guy must have been doodling throughout every spare minute of his life. Apart from the trained eye and hand co-ordination, there’s the humour, his sense of fun is infectious, one of the first tees to jump out at me was his interpretation of Frankenstein’s Monster in Frankie Says Relax. Which for me is hilarious, as was the original band that came up with that tune, although the latter wasn’t entirely intentional.

I’ll start by reviewing the tees Mike sent me, I’d have got my cute GF to pose but she’s up to her neck in work today, so I’m afraid you get the ugly guy instead of the babe. Still the designs should more than compensate!

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The Return of Das Monk

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Das Monk, Gong, Kerouac, MGMT, Morrisey, TV on the Radio, designer tees, hawkwind, hippie tees, illustrated shirts, illustration, trippy t-shirts

It’s been a while since we’ve featured the Das Monk t-shirt label and seeing as they’ve just released a brand new collection this seems the most opportune moment. As always Das Monk’s founder and designer Marc Hendrick has pulled out all the stops in order to wow his loyal following and the t-shirt buying public at large. Over recent years Das Monk has expanded into an international fashion label, now being stocked in 20 major stores across the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Experimentation is always at the forefront of the label’s raison d’√™tre, and in more recent times collaboration has too been the name of the game.

The latest symbiosis of talent and style comes from the infusion of Designer Marc Hendrick’s collaboration with international artists Zach Johnsen (US), Tim Laing (UK), Evan Meister (US), and Keenan Marshall Keller (US) for the unique designs in this latest collection. Hendrick’s unique choices in approach and style for the Das monk label have given rise to a cult following over recent years with cult music industry names like MGMT, TV on the Radio, Lupe Fiasco, A-Trak, Van She and Justice all backing the brand’s indomitable rising power in the field of tees.

Combining new designs with old favourites the latest collection is themed as a ‘Midnight in the Mojave’ depicting a story of bad trips, drifters, and desert dreaming in the void of the desert landscape and urban drop-out mythology. Continuing its post-modern take on 21st century psychedelia, tinged with the down-to-earth pain and hardship of a life on the rocks, infusing the bizarre, the irreverence and foresight of yet another lost generation. Let’s take a look behind the monastery walls and see what’s hanging on the line this season:-

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