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

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

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

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

Despair.com T-Shirts - The Party’s Over - Let’s Get Down…

The world is on a downer, it’s true. The world economy is breathing its last breath, all vital resources are running out, our post-war capitalist dreams are turning into one great big nightmare, we haven’t got long to play before the whole of society will have to take stock and cut-back and get real. In the meantime there are a few bright sparks out there spreading the word of misery, accounting the disappointments we all share and feeding them back into the loop. Some of them can be found at Despair.com

I only discovered this site two days ago, if you have a blindly chipper outlook on life Despair isn’t for you. If you always prefer to talk up a situation, if you enjoy spinning positivity for the common good, don’t choose despair. Their t-shirts don’t offer a pessimistic outlook on life, but they are realists, Despair’s focus is precise and brutal, down-to-earth and matter-of-fact, yet always tinged with that bitter-sweet humour that only the wonders of irony can provide.

You won’t find anything pretty at their site, this isn’t a visual parade of fantasy and craft, this is all about functionalism and delivering the message. Demotivation is not such a bad thing after all, it can help you slow down and take stock of reality as it is and not as the media portrays it, or your greatest wishes command it, or what you’d simply like to hear. Just plain old ugly truth. 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

Phew! Finally Selling T-Shirts at SpreadShirt.net

It’s finally happened, two new t-shirts are now finally available at SpreadShirt.net - I have to thank everyone from SpreadShirt EU for their help and support, it was tricky back there for a while, but now you can expect to see plenty more designs in flock and flex print over the next few weeks. I’ll also be redesigning the store so you can see all the designs first before choosing your distributor.
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Crooked Monkey - Let the girls ‘tees’ the boys!

CrookedMonkey.com was originally conceived by two high school buddies based in Maryland. Within a few years they secured their first department store contract and since have expanded to over 550 retails outlets across the globe, some of their most famous retailers including Urban Outfitters, Nordstrom, Lord and Taylor, Kitson, ShopIntuition.com and Fred Segal. Now that is what I call a success story! Read more

Fantastic Bonanza - Fantastic T-Shirts!

There’s a limited (let’s call it exclusive :)) but highly desirable t shirt collection at FantasticBonanza.com that will blow your socks off. I came across the site by chance so I’m sure they’ll appreciate some more visitors, well worth a visit if you’re looking for something a little different (actually completely different!). Read more

Zombie T-Shirts - for people with brainsssss…

Do you love zombies? I mean in a purely platonic fashion of course! Ever since I first saw Dawn of the Dead (The original George A. Romero production - not that awful remake), I was hooked in, it just seemed more feasible at the time, what with all the talk of genetics on the horizon, biological warfare, what have you. What didn’t make sense was a rather fay gentleman biting ladies on the neck with fangs that his dentist must surely have noticed, even if no one else ever did. Read more

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