Xenotees.com is run by a rather talented lady (Noelle) harking from Philadelphia who designs and prints t-shirts that truly reflect her weirdly wonderful wry look on life. As a matter of interest I looked up the meaning of “Xeno” and came up with this at Wikipedia:- Xeno- is a prefix based on the Greek word “Xenos”, meaning stranger. In biology, it is often used to designate species-difference, such as xenotransplantation (transplantation between organisms of different species).
Although Noelle uses etsy.com to promote her wares we’re making an exception to the norm and focusing on this designer’s eclectic range, it would be nice to see her set up her own fully independent store in the future, I am sure it would be worth the hassle, especially as it would mean a lot more people finding out about and of course buying her tees, but for now let’s take a dip into the world of handmade tees at her store at Xenotees.com
Xenotees offer some of the cutest weird tees (or should that be the weirdest cute tees?) I’ve seen in a while, focusing on such diverse subjects as cutlery, collective names for animals, giant saw blades and genetics you’re certainly in for a weird ride. Should you want to buy and sell Xenotees products wholesale check out her profile at Trunkt.com. If you’re already a fan you might want to post a pic of yourself wearing one of her inimitable designs at Flickr or keep up to date with all the latest Xenotees news and secret sales (yes you heard right) at xenotees.blogspot.com or follow her on Twitter.
For every t-shirt sold Xenotees donates $1 to the charity Flat Iron Wildcats of Philadelphia (www.flatironwildcats.com). They have a huge stray cat population in Philadelphia & Xenotees are dedicated to making sure that there are less unhappy animals in this world. T-shirts designed & printed by Xenotees for Flat Iron Wildcats are available at : http://www.flatironwildcats.com/help.htm
Do check out the Xenotees $15 sale which ends tomorrow (Sunday 10th) here!
Let’s take a look at the weird and wonderful world of Xenotees…
XX Chromosomes Tee
The XX Chromosomes tee features a detailed close-up of an actual pair of chromosomes. You can buy the tee in small to XL sizes in black, green and cranberry (2XL) – available as a sleeveless tee too. Obviously this tee is for women, XX chromosomes being female as opposed to XY for men. I have to admit I know little about genetics, what I do know mainly comes from scare stories of the tabloid media, sci-fi films (which always paint a dark view on the subject) and the occassional news story about sheep cloning. I am sure that scientists will continue to meddle with human DNA, sometimes for good, sometimes not, but this still makes a particularly iconic subject for a t-shirt design. Would be nice to see some XY ones on offer! You can buy this tee for $20 here – but there’s only 1 in stock!
Giant Fork Tee (Sunshine Summer)
Here’s another oddity of the t-shirt world, it must be the first giant cutlery tee I’ve come across so far. I once knew a guy called Mark Harrowsmith at art college who used to paint enormous silhouettes of all sorts of everyday items including spanners, hammers, scissors, pliers, but I don’t think even he managed to get around to the silverware 😉 A simple bold design that offers an immediate impact, you can buy the Giant Fork tee for $20 in gold (Sunshine Summer), asphalt (men’s), cranberry (men’s), and a couple of variations including the Good Luck Fork tee in eggplant and green grass and tank (white).
French Pet Lobster Tee
As you’d expect another highly surreal tee from Xenotees, this time it’s the French Pet Lobster, I wouldn’t want to try and take this for a walk on a leash, still you can buy a virtual if rather bizarre pet for yourself in a handy t-shirt form. I can’t quite read the text on the tee but I am assuming it’s in French and rather witty, another powerful image printed on a whole range of tees including a heather blue track shirt, dijon organic tee (men’s version available), and in slate for men. Available at $22.
Here’s a couple from the current $15 sale!