Life Is Short Tee

admin    T-Shirts     Dane Thompson, Diffrent Strokes, Flickr, art tees, celebrity tees, funny t shirts, limited edition t-shirts

I’ve just reviewed the work of Dane Thompson at my urban art blog and had to give his awesome t-shirt a plug, so where better than here? I grew up watching Diff’rent Strokes and the inimitable Gary Coleman who died in 2005 from pneumonia brought on by heart surgery. His life was a sad tale to tell, suffering a lifetime of autoimmune disease, his parents ripped him off as a child forcing him to sue, he spent time in prison and his career panned after his early success. Gary Coleman was a real fighter, his amazingly confident performance as Arnold Jackson, the youngest adopted son of the Drummond family saved an otherwise dull TV offering. I didn’t like Diff’rent Strokes as much as Fresh Prince, it was a little less patronising than The Cosby Show, but Gary’s character and his famous catchphrase “What ‘chu talkin’ about?” was a regular greeting at my school for a year or so. Life proceeded to dump on the guy after his short stint of fame (no pun intended) and for many it’s a lesson in how f*cked up the world of fame and celebrity really is.

Life Is Short Tee

This superb design is one of a wide selections of work from Dane’s DST to Infinity illustrated street art project, and it’s a damn fine drawing! I love this tee, I really do, it’s such a poingnant subject, and somehow it manages to celebrate a sweet nostalgia rather than merely delve into the pain and suffering of Gary Coleman. You can order yours for $28 in sizes S-L – email DST@Geloe46@mac.com to order yours today!

A Time To Retreat

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Retreat, art t-shirts, artist tees, limited edition t-shirts

British ethical Indie clothing company Retreat have a few arty tees up their proverbial sleeve, some I love, some not so much, it all depends on your taste – such is the nature of art. They’ve had a ton of exposure in the men’s magazines, including Front, Nuts and Juice. Not exactly my regular reads but there has to be a big market from that kind of high street exposure. Which is why I was surprised when they contacted me for a review, let’s hope it competes with all those highly paid journalists lol. Anyway I’ve picked out some tee treats, all of which are ultra-limited editions and water-based ink print, courtesy of Retreat so sit back and indulge.

Allegoria Tee

Absolutely gorgeous, this one colour oversized print shirt really does shine with elegance. A dead classy hand drawn design, the sort of thing a Shakespearian actor would wear under that cravat. Nice title too, let’s hope the follow up is phantasmagoria, now that’d be wild. Available for £20 in black (S-L) and white (S-XL). Limited to just 30 pieces!

Geometric Landscape Tee

Halfway to Escher and back, love the craziness in this one, it’s a reprint of an old Lorenz Stöer work. Really sharp shading and a weird, young pot head reads Faust vibe to this one. Trippy! Available for £20 in black (S-L) and white (S-XL). Limited to just 30 pieces!

Craft Work Tee

Reclaiming the title from early German electronica… nice! A seriously smart piece of branding, sure it’s a logo tee (of sorts), but what a beauty! Very classy yet again, I can imagine Retreat’s clientèle are rather swanky! Over sized discharge print limited to just 50 pieces! Available for £20 in black (S-L) and white (S-XL).

For more highly limited art shirts visit www.retreatstore.com.

Pink Cranium Tee

admin    T-Shirt News     LTD TEE, Skull, limited edition t-shirts

“Pink Cranium” T-Shirt & Art Print On Sale 6/28 – 7/4

One of Ltd. Tee’s highly talented interns came to them with this design and they thought it would look great on a shirt, they were right.  Iban Brizuela – a graphic designer from San Francisco – finds inspiration from people deported from reality. Dark and comical art with a twist of obscenity that you can trust.

As always this box set is available for one week only, exclusively at www.ltdtee.net from June 28h to July 4thth.  MSRP for this product is $26.99 and our shirts come in both men’s and women’s sizes. Use discount code “buy-tees” to get 15% off this shirt!  Discount is only valid until 7/4.

The Pink Cranium box set includes:
• High quality, screen printed t-shirt
• 8” x 10” art print
• Custom screen printed box
• Custom neck label
• LTD Tee Sticker pack

Download Pink Cranium Wallpapers:
http://www.ltdtee.net/blog/wallpapers-pink-cranium-by-iban-brizuela.html

Artcotic T-Shirts

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     art shirts, artcotic, illustrated tees, limited edition, limited edition t-shirts

Artcotic.com offer a wide range of highly artistic limited edition tees created in collaboration with new and established art talent from around the world. Usually the t-shirt print runs are limited to 500 each and once they’re gone they’re gone. At Artcotic a far greater variety of styles on offer, there’s no particular “house style”, some are hand drawn, others superbly executed with a retro graphic aplomb, even a few montage pieces too. They work  very closely with their artists and interview every one of them, after all where would they be without them?

They’re usually open for submissions, but I think they must have their books full as they’ve closed the doors, at least for the immediate future. Still they do like to collaborate, helping the indie music industry on the side by giving out a few shouts to their fave bands and artists at their Turntable Archive – which is full of interviews and music clips to keep your brain occupied for a while. Whilst you’re they’re you really should check out their t-shirts though, after all that is what they make. Anyway as the store is loaded with Javascript I can’t link to their products directly,  so you’ll have to do a little hunting for yourself. Here are some cool picks from the store:

Artcotic Traditional T-Shirt

Designed by Shawn Conn from Rochester, NY, a part-time tattooist and talented artist who’s exhibited at several shows, as well as designing art for t-shirts, skateboards and more. I’m always a sucker for a good tattoo tee, and this one’s a beaut. ust $14.99 for men in all sizes.

Happy Pointer T-Shirt

A fine example of Trent Call‘s work. I love this guy’s art, his cartoon style illustrations are like taking an acid trip through the early age of animation, when Mickey Mouse was neither beautified nor a mascot for an evil corporation (as Bart from The Simpsons would say). You’re either a fan or not, I definitely am. Trent works from the Captain Caption Studios in Salt Lake City, he’s done illustrations for the likes of Newsweek and he even runs his own zine called Swinj. Get this limited edition tee for men/women in sizes S-XL for a piddlin’ $14.95.

Running Operative: Final Mission T-Shirt

This tee is by Derek M Ballard (aka the line tamer) currently resides in Gainesville, FL. He’s created art for Giant Robot, Wonkavision, SCREW, Escort, The Drama, Faesthetic, Circus Punks, SEIBEI, Eros/Fantagraphics, Tinymeat, Go Ape tees, Royal Flush and tons more. Top notch t-shirt by a top notch artist. A total Ninja Kama Sutra in glorious retro toon style. Get it for just $14.95 in S-XXL sizes.

Untitled T-Shirt

Here’s a rarity, it’s a t-shirt design by the rather famous artist Dalek (as opposed to the Dr. Who frenemy), what’s more it’s figurative! Well kinda – in a cartoon stylie. This guy creates an amazing array of technicolour abstract paintings, he’s probably one of my favourites in the genre, I’ve never seen him do anything like this, still it’s rather cool, and mad (as usual). Again on sale for a pittance at $14.95, especially when you think how well known the artist is and that the tee is limited to 500. Available in all sizes.

See the rest at www.artcotic.com.

Win An Oliver Hibert Ouroboros Box Set

admin    T-Shirt News     LTD TEE, Oliver Hibert, art shirts, box set, contest, limited edition t-shirts, limited editions, screen printed tees

This is the second box set I’ve written about in a week, and to be honest I think it’s a great leap forward. I’ve always upheld the notion that t-shirts are art, and involving more and more prominent artists for commissioned art and t-shirts is a great combo. If we love to wear it why wouldn’t we want it on our walls? LTD Tee have collaborated with the fabulous psychedelic artist Oliver Hibert for their latest offer, an outstanding box set entitled Ouroboros. Based on the mythical self-consuming creature that is Ouroboros or Uroborus, a fantastic vintage pop design that extends this Ancient Greek symbol into something trippier than ever before.

What’s really exciting about this release is that you can enter enter to win an Oliver Hibert ORIGINAL Sketch, and will receive a set of free LTD Tee stickers and t-shirts. Yes, you read right, to celebrate their launch LTD Tee is giving away a free box set which includes an original sketch by Oliver Hibert!  Everyone who enters to win the set will also receive free stickers by JThree Concepts, MCA / Evil Design and Oliver Hibert and will be entered into their weekly drawing for free t-shirts! Even better than that you can get a generous 10% off the full price by including the code “buy-tees” at the checkout!!!

Ouroboros T-Shirt

Even the custom screen-printed box is gorgeous

The Ourobros box set includes the following:

• High quality, screen printed t-shirt
• 8” x 10” art print
• Custom screen printed box
• Artist bio on both the box and neck label
• Sticker pack

It is available for men and women in all sizes at $24.99, which I have to admit looks like a major bargain to me considering all the work that has gone into it! You will have to hurry though, it’s first come first served as far as LTD Tee are concerned and the offer ends in just another 12 days.

LTD Tee is a brand new online pop art clothing company which pays a great deal of care and attention to its products. They feel very much as I do that t-shirts are a medium for artistic expression and inspiration and they have backed up their ideology by handpicking only the best in contemporary artists including future design releases by the likes of David Flores, Camilla D’Errico, MCA / Evil Design, JThree Concepts and MW. This is most certainly a label to keep an eye out for, exciting times are ahead.

The countdown is ticking, if you fancy owning an Oliver Hibert tee, print and sticker set rush on over to www.ltdtee.net today.

Time For Tee

admin    T-Shirt News     British t-shirts, Collect London, exclusive tees, freebies, limited edition t-shirts, t-shirt contest, win t-shirts, win tees

British T-shirt brand Collect London have teamed up with Casio G-shock watches in an cool collaboration for 2010 and you have a chance of winning a one of their exclusive sets of tees, watches and prints! Utilising the talent of two of Collect London’s designers Richard Fairhead and Louisa Todd, they have joined forces with Casio G-shock to release two super exclusive prints to be featured on a limited edition T-shirt and Watch set based upon their Spring/ Summer collection Folk Fantasy.

Each design comes in a set which includes 1 of only 10 watches, T-shirts and prints making these beauties highly collectable. Pursuing Collect London’s philosophy of timeless (ooh there’s a tie-in), graphic led pieces with a real attention to detail, each design has been limited to only 10 pieces with each one individually numbered and signed. Each set is all wrapped up in a nifty presentation box and usually priced at a whopping £250, will be available from Casio’s new East London store from June 24th. However they’ve kept one of these beauties back for one lucky Collect London subscriber.

All you need to do is sign up for their newsletter and you’re in with a chance of winning a set!

Speaks For Itself

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Itself, hereitself.com, limited edition t-shirts, limited edition tees, t-shirt community

Itself are a t-shirt community that deals with quality rather than quantity, they only offer limited edition shirts, alongside a range of tunics and long sleeve tees, and they don’t officially have too many designers on their books – although there are plenty who’d love to be! I’d say this was a step forward, however much you might want the public to provide quality control, there will be those, shall we say ‘less-than-average’ designers with an army of online buddies to help them make headway in the popularity stakes, even if it means that the more usual vote-based t-shirt communities end up stuck with a pile of unsold tees for the next sale. To counteract the ‘art Jock’ mentality, Itself don’t even mention the prospect of voting on their homepage. it’s a savvy angle marketing-wise, I’d always push the idea of exclusivity and quality over fashion democracy every time. Still once you take a peek inside the store you realise the mechanics of the brand is definitely geared to scouting out new high-calibre talent with 590 designs in the running, from a legion of potential contributors competing for a whopping $4000 prize and of course instant fame ;)

Now, I have to admit the earlier half of the collection isn’t anything to write home about, but every label has to start somewhere, they need to be established to some degree to attract the calibre of design they require for a discerning audience, and so I’m sure we can both forgive them a quick evolution from the generic in order to provide a platform for their top picks in t-shirt design. Which fortunately is exactly how it’s worked out for Itself. There are at least half a dozen cracking designs on offer now, by names you might not recognise, but I assure you once you see their work, you will remember them.

If you want to get involved you can submit your own designs here, sign up and vote keep up with their latest offerings at Facebook and follow them at Twitter, but even if you’re adverse to social networking at least sign up as a member and get the first word on any new tees and offers in the making. What’s more send in a photo of you wearing one of their tees and get a dollar back! Time for this brand to speak for itself in the medium of great t-shirt design… read more

Always Read The FinePrint!

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Chicago t-shirts, Chicago tees, Obama, The Fineprint, art, art shirts, art t-shirts, basketball, charity, fine print, limited edition t-shirts

…And Wear It Too. Don’t worry, I’m not about to start dishing out legal advice, The Fineprint are a Chicago-based design company featuring limited- edition apparel and original artwork. Offering a fine line between fashion and art, The FP offer a wider range of highly unique, generously proportioned designs for artistic lovers of limited edition tees. They offer a creative bridge for Chicago artists to reach a wider fan base of customers looking for something a little different for the wardrobe. Selling both apparel and art online they aim to showcase local talent in the Chicago area, providing an arts hub for customers worldwide, Fineprint aim to open the eyes of the art market to the hidden talents of the windy city. The Fineprint prints all of their tees and art in Chicago, using water-based, non-toxic inks that are safe for the consumer, the environment, and their employees.

The FP offer a strong commitment to their local community, and have hooked up with DonorsChoose.org in order to support public school teachers requiring funding for independent projects. The Fineprint have already provided funding for a project that will give young men and women from the Hyde Park Academy High School access to “the Art of Airbrushing”. They aim to fund many more projects for the future with your support.

Artistically The FP’s aspirations are just as lofty with a strong collection of cultural and political tees and prints that reflect Chicago, America and global ideologies in equal measure. Ranging from urban culture to city scapes, the famous and infamous, our relationship with nature and both historical and contemporary art and literature, The Fineprint offer a unique yet eclectic broad brush of ideologies rarely seen as subject matter for the humble tee. Their handmade product range are of a high quality, all hand printed and highly desirable for those seeking alternatives to the mainstream fashion scene. read more

T-Shirt Caviar at Finroo

admin    T-Shirt News     Finroo, Finroo.com, limited edition t-shirts, limited edition tees

We all want to savour the finer things in life, no matter what you love, there’s always someone somewhere selling a better quality, rarefied alternative that you’d give your right arm (or preferably cash if you can afford it;) for the chance of owning a piece of that exclusivity. The same rule applies to the creative t-shirt industry, there are limited editions and then there are black label tees at Finroo.com. One of our favourite t-shirt community sites out there has just upped the ante (again) and have released a range of highly limited edition tees for their connoisseur fans.

Everyone has experienced t-shirt envy at some point or other in their lives, many more of us have experienced exactly the opposite, and that’s over the saturation of our favourite designs. If you hate spotting your t-shirt on passers by, if you can’t stand the fact that many labels out there hit their margins by selling your most treasured t-shirts to all and sundry, if you’d like your wardrobe to be as unique as possible without going mad on haute couture items, then here’s what Finroo can offer you.

Purple Label

Limited edition of 200

Gold Label

Limited edition of 100

Platinum Label

Limited edition of 50

And the ultra exclusive

Black Label

limited edition of 25!

Now, expect the prices to rise depending on the label, the black label tees are a whopping $94.99 each which is steep I agree, but remember, only 25 people in the world will proudly wear your favourite design. So essentially you pay for the exclusivity, if you don’t care how many dopes are wearing your favourite design then I’d try K-Mart, if you do then here are some of my favourites on offer right now, although I can’t guarantee half of these won’t be sold out by tomorrow! read more

Plastic Fantastic Kitsch-Nitsch

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     designer tees, kitsch-nitsch, limited edition t-shirts, limited edition tees, one-off t-shirt, unique t-shirts, www.kitsch-nitsch.com

We all want to be individual, and there is plenty of limited edition gear available out there in the world of fashion, but what about one-offs? Ever bought a one-off, one of a kind, limited edition of one t-shirt? Would you like to? Well now you have a chance to be the proud owner of a truly, totally and completely unique t-shirt from Kitsch-Nitsch. Solely managed by the graphic design duo Aka Neon & MNCHRM from their base in Slovenia (guessing by the shipping rates), these guys thrive at illustration, decoration, product design and scenography. However they specialise in a wide range of cut-out vinyl sets, that can be applied to walls, cars, or as they begun to experiment with recently, ready made products such as bags or clothes.

The Kitsch-Nitsch ideology sees design as “temporary and not timeless, revolution is the only way to make a change and constant reinvention and searching for the latest craze are the only things worth living for.” Kitsch-Nitsch offers uniquely limited edition tees designed on computers and made by hand. If you’re into your t-shirts but want something that no one else is wearing in the world, this might be your best bet! They offer world-wide shipping at ‚Ǩ5 for Slovenia, ‚Ǩ10 for Europe and ‚Ǩ20 for the rest of the planet. The site looks like a promo for a new indie band that music journos slaver after each year to make up their column inches for cynical new wave indie aficionados that have heard it all before. Great layout, stunning photos, mad designs, insane concept, it might just work out big time for these two renegades of the fashion world. Take a look at what’s still available to buy right now… read more