Kowtow Bows To No One!

Kowtow are shaking New Zealand’s fashion scene to its foundations. I never thought I’d put the words fashion and New Zealand together, but there’s always a first for everything! My partner Christina spent a good few years of her childhood over there when her father tried to seek his fortune as a landscape architect. It didn’t work out, mainly due to the abundance of other Brits who’d had the same idea at the same time, but what Chris bring back was the memory of a drab and rather conservative fashion sense which she spent her teenage years ripping apart as a goth, a hippy, a raver and so on and so on.

Luckily the current generation of NZ fashion addicts can rest easy, Kowtow.com has it all under control. They tick so many my style boxes, that it’s hard to fault anything about these guys. For a start their designs mix the absurdist theatrics and wordplay of the Surrealists with a highly acute sense of style, something reminiscent of both American underground comics of the 60’s and the early British punk movement of the 70’s. Stylish and funny, gritty and colourful, it’s been fun roaming their collection, there should be something there for all of you to enjoy. Read more

Glennz Does It Again!

Yet again Glennz aka Glenn Jones, one of Buy Tees favourite designers has done it again and come up trumps with his three latest t-shirts now available at Glennz.com - yet again the master of surrealism and wordplay has produced some of the finest designs out there - check these beauties out…

Ground Defenses

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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

Take The Last Exit to Nowhere!

This has to be one of the most original concepts for a t-shirt store I’ve come across so far. If you’re a movie buff like me you’ll find their collection absolutely hilarious. Last Exit to Nowhere offers a glimpse into a possible parallel reality where the silver screen has come to life and events, characters and places depicted in the movies sit side-by-side with the everyday.

There are plenty of places (such as tacky beach shops and theme parks) that will sell you a “…and all I got was this lousy” t-shirt, but imagine if you were forced into the nightmare world of say The Terminator or spent a night at The Overlook Hotel in The Shining. If you did survive your ordeal, you’re most likely going to want some proof to dispel the doubts of friends and family (and possibly a few psychiatrists at the local loony bin). 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

Lost in the world of Fast Joe

Fast Joe (a.k.a Carlos Arenas) of FastJoe.com requested a review recently, and to be honest I am still utterly confused, really, I think he should do the review because I’m damned if I know what to say. The thing is when you arrive at his site, the design, the strange background story (which seems utterly incomplete to me) and the t-shirts themselves (which almost feel like an afterthought), leave me feeling disorientated and perhaps even a little more out of touch and older than my years. Am I going senile here?

If I was Carlos I’d begin by creating an animated series, ’something for the kids’, a tangible product to hang his ideas on. I don’t like ‘anonymous art’, and I haven’t an avenue to enter his strange, retro, and pseudo-sci-fi influenced universe as promised from the word go. I saw the video, which is strange (to say the least). I loved it, but it didn’t tell me much, and afterwards it felt like a rather brief and frustrating teaser, I was hoping for some kind of explanation to what the hell is going on over there. Read more

Do You Twitter? Then Twellow!

I’ve mentioned the advantages of Twitter before, but just to make life easier I thought it’s worth mentioning a new directory site called Twellow. If you’re a member of Twitter you’ll already know the advantages of this free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users (also known as twits) to send updates (otherwise known as tweets) which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length. There are over 2.2 million members now and to make it easier, Twellow has taken the platform one stage further.

Essentially sign up at Twitter.com (if you haven’t already), then use your login details at Twellow to search for like-minded ‘twits’ be it for networking with fellow businesses in the fashion industry, or simply to meet and discuss ideas with fellow designers. If you’re more a fashionista than a designer then this is still the perfect place to find new and undiscovered designers to make that little extra impact and originality for your wardrobe.

Right now there are only a few of us on Twitter specifically in the t-shirt industry, but I think this format and simple networking model could be the making of many designers out there. It’s fast and friendly, and the ability to pass instant updates could be potentially enormous with the right following. Plus you’ll find that Twellow will speed up the process of others finding you, i.e more prominence for your twitter page on the net (remember to update your categories at Twellow to get full exposure). Read more

New Designs on Death at Dance Party Massacre

Dance Party Massacre was launched in Boston, MA in the fall of 2007. Created by Alex Dakoulas it came to be after many nights of dancing in kitchens, walks in the dark, and horror movies with friends. Here’s a rundown on a few of their t-shirt releases, and be warned, they’re a strange bunch who seem to be fixated with death and the dance floor. I’m not sure if this is the kind of thing I should be encouraging so don’t take it too seriously if you happen to be a dangerous nutter who loves clubbing, it just won’t stand up in court.

I like their dualistic fatalistic/optimistic approach to life, I’m guessing they’re aiming their wares at a younger crowd, they even include a few bandanas in their collection, although the designs themselves aren’t too hardcore (don’t expect graphic blood and guts on your chest), and the message is loud and clear every time. Read more

T-Shirt Featured at Zazzle.com Showcase!

Yes! I’ve actually managed to get a little recognition for one of my t-shirts woot! Here’s what they had to say about the design:-

‘Your product, American Pi, has been selected as one of Today’s Best on Zazzle! This means it will appear on the Zazzle homepage for the rest of today and it will also be added to the Todays Best Awards Showcase. Keep up the great work! Bask. Glow. The honor is yours to enjoy. -Zazzle’

The only problem is they seem to do that for just about anything out there, go and see what else they’ve awarded today (don’t laugh).

Ah well not bad for my first day on Zazzle and like they say, it’s the thought that counts, I suppose it makes up a little for my miserably low scoring for ‘Ballbearers’ at Threadless.com - don’t ask.

If you want to know more about Zazzle.com they’re featured in my latest ultimate list, this time I’m providing full reviews and stats on almost all the top t-shirt fulfilment sites, click here.

Technorati Tags: Zazzle, American, Math, PI

Glennz - aka Glenn Jones - A Bona-fide Genius of T-Shirt Design!

Glennz - The T-Shirt Design Genius.

Even if you don’t think you’ve heard of Glennz (Glenn Jones) the t-shirt designer, you have, and if you haven’t, this is planet Earth and the year is 2008. I doubt any person alive with a love of t-shirts hasn’t seen one of his works. I’m sure we could debate whether this is art or not for years to come, but, as far as fulfilling all the requirements of classic t-shirt design, Glennz has to be the man.

I know this review will come across as a total creepfest, but I really don’t care, Glennz has to be one of the few t-shirt artists that made me believe I could make it in this industry. His works are some of the most memorable I have ever seen, sure they aren’t grunge, they’re not eroded, they’re not filled with vector shields and gothic text, or experimental photo-montage techniques, but those are all fads and fashions that will pass and eventually return again.

The world of design like the world of art follows some very basic principles in order to maintain their essential position in our culture. They enable us to visualise that which cannot be understood, or has been misunderstood. They must create a new iconography for each generation, they must speak to both the mass and the individual. Yet beneath all the diatribe, each artist, each designer, has to have their own distinct vision and a wealth of skill and technique to achieve it. Read more

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