Threadless Talk

Top 5 of September 25th - 29th, 2006

2006-09-30T16:15:00.000-07:00

With Halloween around the corner BasicShift get's the ball rolling with this absolutely lovable design. Best part about it is the fact that despite being a Halloween themed design it's suitable for wear the other 364 days out of the year. Featuring a young girl with unknown intentions and her ghastly captive I can't help but think back to my younger years when I thought it'd be awesome to catch something like that and keep it as a companion. Let's just hope she decides to take good care of him and not cast him off into the depths of the deep blue sea! Shirt is shown in 6 color options with all of them looking exceptionally good. BTW, to those of you nitpicking at this design, STFU. Seriously.

For those of you who don't know me well enough I'm a very big fan of fish. Goldfish and Koi are preferred, but deep down I'll always have a place for Neon Tetras in my heart as they were the first pets I was allowed to keep as a child. With that said this design is phenomenal; the detail in the fish is superb and actually having them spell out the word "NEON" is, in my opinion, quite clever. Sadly I believe this design will score relatively low as a good majority of the voters will not appreciate something like this. Regardless that does not take away from the fact that it's still pretty damn awesome and looks leagues better than the first Tetra inspired design.

As morbid as this design may be I think it's 100% bad ass and rings true to the murderous feelings one may have when finding their supposed significant other is cheating on them. I've been there myself and it certainly can bring out the worst in people. Layout for this design is brilliant with a color selection that is vibrant enough to draw ones attention while still managing to maintain the dark feel of the shirt. One of the best designs by finkenstein to date, and knowing that makes it kind of humorous in a way when you consider the fact that she's the one behind Cookie Loves Milk. If printed I'd like to see the graphic moved to the lower left hand side, I think it'd look better there. A must print on navy.

I'm no stranger to the submissions of Lupencia as almost everything she's ever submitted has gotten good scores from me, but her latest submission, Only in Dreams, it just takes the cake ladies and gentlemen. Only in Dreams is without doubt a submission that is print worthy material. Combining innocence, with gentle artwork, and exotic animals of fantasy it has a feel in theme almost akin to the amazing works of Amy Sol. Beautiful stuff all around. Comes in 4 color options (air, earth, fire, and water) with water being my personal favorite as it's the softer color option which I think is ideal.

Happy is a coin toss of a submission. The design and overall concept is great with it's well illustrated Japanese school girl in standard parochial school style uniform who is boldly presenting herself while next to the lively text. But there's a problem, the color selection and placement is terrible. Mind you I don't mind the loud neon pink that the girl is presented in (as a matter of fact I like it), that's fine, but the mustard yellow is TERRIBLE. Add it in with the lousy placement and honestly the shirt is worthy of a $0. The ideal would be to have the graphic moved to the lower left and placed on something more presentable like natural. The creator did give a reason for such awful decision making, but in the end it was nothing more than a piss poor "go against the grain!" spiel that has become the clichéd standard in this day and age. If he's happy with that then that's cool, more power to him, I just find it to be a shame as it's a great design going to waste.

Top 5 August 18th - 23rd, 2006

2006-09-24T02:58:00.000-07:00

This is simply one of the most stunning submissions I've seen since becoming a member of Threadless. Final War takes a plethora of extreme opposites and combines them to make one aesthetically breathtaking piece that is undoubtedly worthy of a print. It honestly puts most Threadless submissions to shame in terms of concept and execution. Sizing and placement is perfect and works with any of the colors suggested. If this doesn't win the SUBMARINES' contest I'll honestly be flabbergasted.

To those that know me in person it's common knowledge that I spend most of my free time roaming about in slumberland, as such the Sandman is no stranger to me and adam antium's latest latest submission just does everything right. Going with his new-found beloved artistic style he's really starting to be quite the crowd pleaser, and rightfully so! Submission looks fantastic on the denim or navy blue.

Alright, between this, A Modern Sandman, and Unusual Gentleman I think it's safe to say that Threadless should just have an adam antium appreciation week and print nothing but his subs. Looking like the hybrid of a fairy tale character born of a grimoire passage Of Life And Death has a slight morbid charm to it that certainly roots itself deeply into the cockles of my heart. Personally prefer the default color and think it'd look best placed on the lower right instead of being centered. Awesome stuff, keep up the good work adam!

Before anyone makes a judgement on this shirt they need to go HERE. Now after having a closer look at it one would have to be a bit daft not to appreciate something as subtly astounding as Kabuki Rider. Not relying on loud colors and gaudy presentation to draw attention, this shirt, while a bit odd ball, manages to capture to beauty of the artistic style of Eastern Asia and add a unique flair to it. Sadly things this kind of peculiar awesome get saved for 12 Month Club prints, hopefully this will not be the case in the near future. Let's just hope that if printed they'll be nice enough to print Glass and Ghost Children (which is one of my most favorite unprinted subs to date) alongside with it.

I'll admitt it, I have no idea what the hell Pending Peril is about, but you know what? That doesn't detract from the fact that it's an amazing submission and stole my heart. With seniors decked out in granny's drapes while nervously(?) awaiting their demise you can't help but believe that this design is made of win and more win. It's odd world designs like this that made me open my wallet to Threadless in the first place, print something like this andI'm sure they'll be able to scarf down a few more bucks out of my hands. This is, in my opinion, the best submission by Michael B. Myers to date!

Top 5 of August 11th-16th, 2006

2006-09-17T17:20:00.000-07:00

Due to a new found demanding schedule along with some other deciding factors I will no longer be do short write-ups on the new prints of week. Instead I'll solely be focusing on the Top 5 submissions of each week along with other minor things that may catch my interest. With that said, onto the top 5!

label's latest submission titled Riot captures the absurd nature of trashy tabloid's like the Weekly World News. As someone who tends to skim through said tabloids while standing in line at the local grocer, I quickly came to appreciate the subject matter of the design. Some of the news headers could be changed to something more amusing, such as "Rock Lobster Responsible for Sinking Titanic!" Regardless, I'd buy this design as is in a heart-beat. If printed, needs to be done in the black on black color selection featured.

Despite there being Bone Gramaphone I think hold song is original enough in concept to be worthy of a print. The small, fetal looking, skull record player letting out a melancholy melody looks strangely beautiful in it's own right. Some people aren't all to fond of the miniature arm graphic, but I say why not? It doesn't detract from the design any. If printed I'd like to see it printed on the army green featured as a secondary option in the submission display. Positioning on the side is perfect in my opinion.

Yes I'm aware of the fact that Original Sin was printed just a week ago, but that's besides the point. Eve is by far a better design and obviously portrays the same event without the Sunday school feel to it. People have complained about the fact that Eve is given more of an amazon build as opposed to the standard petite feminine look, but I think it suits her perfectly and she looks beautiful regardless. There's also been some whining over the fact that a nipple is present, but chances are the people complaining are in the 13-14 age bracket and uncomfortable with their own anatomy. The [well kept] human body is a beautiful thing, and isn't a mere sex object, grow up and expand your minds people! Looks great on white, but I'm sure other color options would work well if done with consideration.

I love this design but I hate the colors selected. I personally think it'd look best on natural with the graphic done in beige and shades of brown. Design in and of itself is amazing, as the hair flows to express possibly memories of love long lost. Extremely beautiful and intelligent, problem is, if printed in the wrong colors I honestly wouldn't buy it. Positioning, while fine as is, would look pretty good featured on the corner or as a wrap around.

Ah ramen noodle, the corner stone of almost every broke college students diet. Who can't help but love a good eat for cheap? Give me $5 dollars and I'll feed myself for a week off of Maruchan instant noodles. Anyways, doom for dinner is something I can't help but relate to as I've been in the position, more than once, where I felt as if I ate one more bowl of instant noodles I'd either kill myself or die from malnutrition. Fun stuff, and if printed I'll actually have a tee to emphasis the feeling!

Top 5 of August 4th-9th, 2006

2006-09-09T01:40:00.000-07:00

Some say simplicity is a virtue, and with submissions like that's hot being in existence you can't help but believe it to be true. By combining two simple images Jason Doring has managed to create something fantastic. As a plus it also reminds me of the song "Holland, 1945" by Neutral Milk Hotel. Would look best printed on light blue or possibly natural. Banana is no no.

It's not every day you come across a butterfly based design that doesn't reek of estrogen, and yet Tom Burns has managed to create one that does just that. Capturing the natural beauty of monarch butterfly wings and turning them into an abstract work of art worthy of a tee, without making it look like zoo gift store garb, is truly ingenious and something that I think everyone can appreciate. Top it all off, if printed, this shirt would help ease Threadless' lack of black tee prints.

For as long as I can remember I've always been a big fan of the vintage artwork featured on most playing cards; the Jacks, Queens, Kings, and Ace of Spades are all so beautiful. Sadly coming across a submission that manages to capture that beauty and translate it over into something worthy of wearing is hard to come by. This is where the cruelty shines as it manages to capture and magnify the old world feel with the potrayal of the queens while adding an additional bloody flair to it. Size, placement, and shirt color [natural] are perfect as is. For me this shirt is a must have and hopefully it won't get the Cave Idus Martios treatment, thus being made available to the masses.

Despite the fact that "dark" submissions rarely get printed over at Threadless I think Cavaleiro Negro would be the perfect exception to the norm. Featuring a dark knight atop his ghastly steed, the design reminds me much of the Skull Knight featured in Kentaro Miura's ongoing ultra-violence manga epic Berserk. Undoubtedly an awesome piece of fantasy art, the only thing that needs fixing is the text featured in the banner. As it is now it reads "Black Knight" and many agree (myself included) that the text would be better off in Latin thus giving it a more medieval feel. I've really got my fingers crossed for this one as I could use really use a break from the typical food with faces and random cute animal tees.

If there's one Threadless contributor I can relate to it's OlliRudi. From what I've seen, in both his subs and blog forum activity, we both share an off-color sense of humor and a passion for B-Grade horror films. With that said Olli manages to capture the entire B-movie genre with his recent sub The cat with the screaming eyeballs. Seriously it's got everything that makes a bad 70's B-move good: A ridiculous title, horrifyingly cheesy captions written in an eerie typeface, retro style horror film poster artwork, and a plethora of gaudy looking monsters. By the time the hellogoodbye competition is over I hope to celebrate by watching "Manos" The Hands of Fate while donning this kick-ass design.

Threadless Prints: September 4th, 2006

2006-09-04T11:40:00.000-07:00

Labor Day prints:

Finally! A new Threadless Type tee worth wearing! For those of you not in the know this shirt is parodying the (in)famous song "We Built This City" by the 80's rock group Starship. I know some have complained that the shirt isn't particularly funny, but you have to admit that it is rather clever. The reference may escape the minds of some of the younger Threadless shoppers, but it's definitely something worth while for those who are well versed in their music and enjoy older pop culture references. Nice pick Threadless, let's keep the ball rolling on this one!

Never say die my friends! Being a submission that is a little over 2 years old, SAPINS debunks the notion that if a sub isn't printed after 90 days that it'll never be printed. Just goes to show that there's still hope for your favorite unprinted sub still! Anyways, if you're not quite sure as to what SAPINS means, it's French for "Fir-Tree." The design is certainly something that was unexpected, and I honestly thought it was a Threadless Select due to the overall quality in material featured on it. Let's just hope Threadless has some more blasts from the past in store for us that are as equally unique.

Despite having never been a fan of pirates, nor do I really understand the recent fad of liking them, I love Pirate Infested Waters. While I still stand by my belief that the shirt would have looked better on natural, I do like the way it looks as is. Call me odd, but when I look at the shirt I automatically think of the Primus album Sailing the Seas of Cheese. Are the boats riding on waves of gouda maybe? I honestly don't know. This certainly is bound to grab the attention of many. Nice work blueiedben and congrats!

Maybe I'm just dense, but I really have a hard time understanding and appreciating prints like this. Is this supposed to be satirical attire? Or is this the ultimate in office casual? Don't mean to be a prick but, to me, it honestly looks like a hoaky shirt I'd find at a gift shop while visiting El Salvador. Ah well, the shirt is generally well received so streetwise obviously knew what he was doing and my hat is off to him. By the way, if you get a chance, be sure to check out this blog to see Threadless staffer Charlie rock this out design to it's fullest!

When I saw that Happy Creatures was printed I was actually surprised. Despite having scored high (by Threadless standards) I found it to be rather quiet as a submission and, while liking it, didn't really have much hope for it being printed at Thredless as it honestly looked like something that you'd see for sale over at ROBOT love. In the end Happy Creatures did make the print and for this I am happy as it certainly brings back memories of my childhood when the world was simple and I was blessed with good imaginary friends. Looks great on the heather grey.

During my younger years most of my time was spent obsessing over dinosaurs and how awesome they were, skip ahead to the present and here I am obsessing over an education in medicine instead of working my way up into the world of paleontology as my childhood self had once dreamed. Combine the passions of old with the passions of new, and you have a shirt that speaks volumes to me. I may be in my early twenties, but damnit, dinosaurs are still awesome and always will be. Threadless has been lacking in the dinosaur related prints department, but this more than makes up for it. Fantastic work Donniesaur, I love it!

REPRINTS:

Seeing a reprint of A Room With A View was honestly a bit of a surprise considering that it took quite a while for the mens sizes to sell out. Either way it's great to have a design as beautiful and as original as this back. Sadly in an instance like mine, it's a design that I absolutely adore, but just can't see myself wearing. It just doesn't suit me in that way, you know what I mean?

Temptation has yet again come my way. Much like Flowers in the Attic and Communist Party, Pandamonium is one of those shirts that get reprinted again and again. Oddly enough I really don't mind seeing this shirt reprinted, but that may be due to me having yet to purchase one for myself. And that's where the internal struggle resides. To those of you out there who own this shirt, after purchasing it did you come to like it more? Have anything to say about the design itself now that you've seen it person and worn it? Leave me a comment and tell me more about the shirt, give me a good reason as to why I should buy it and leave your STP link. If I decide to purchase Pandamonium I'll use it, promise!

Despite looking like something you buy at a zoo gift shop I still think I Like Trees Too is a good design. Colors used are fitting and who can't help but love giraffes? Chances of something like this being reprinted again may be rather slim, so grab it up while you still can!

And that's it folks! Happy shopping!

Top 5 Submissions of August 28th - September 2nd, 2006

2006-09-02T21:08:00.000-07:00

Despite the fact that I have yet to purchase one of her printed designs (they always sell out before I can snag 'em), Sonmi is one of my most favorite Threadless contributors. Blessed with an art talent that is so versatile and mind-bendingly unique she always manages to keep things fresh and interesting. Her latest submission, Masquerade, is a perfect example of this. Combining martini bar happenings with story book flair one can't help but be intrigued. As with any other design featuring text, the topic up for discussion concerning this submission is whether or not the text should stay or go. I personally think the text is perfect as is. No need for a resize and definitely no need for removal. Lose the text and it will most certainly reduce it's level of appeal. With submissions like this it's only a matter of time before she gets printed again and eventually releases a Threadless Select print. Can't wait!

With there being an overabundance of toilet humor in every day life its easy for the mind to wander off into the realm of coprohagia when looking at Gringz latest design. Just goes to show that the imagination of young people today is rather limited, if not a bit debauched. Anyways, this design is all kinds of fantastic. The angling of the character featured is unique, the subject matter is refreshingly off-beat, excellent shadowing, and awesome color selection. It's submissions like greedy greedy cloud eater that actually make me put money aside in advance with the intentions of purchasing it if it were ever to be printed. I know there are quite a few people out there saying "change the clouds to white," but honestly to hell with 'em, haven't they ever seen a rain cloud before? If this ever sees a print I really hope everything stays the way it is.

Paying homage to Belgian surrealist René Magritte, adam antium's latest submission is simply mind blowing. Part of a themed collaboration group which draws inspiration from well known works of art and artists, Unusual Gentleman practically takes everything Magritte was known for and wraps it up into one amazing package that I'm sure even Magritte would be impressed by. This just may be the submission that get's adam antium the print he's long well deserved. Keep up the great work!

Being the creator of one of my most favorite Threadless shirts, eskimokiss' works are always of interest to me. Inspired by Aubrey Beardsley's piece The Black Cape and his heavy use of phalluses, 2 Men, 2 Birds, & A Black Cape is truly a phenomenal submission. Aesthetically pleasing in every way, I really couldn't ask for more. I'll admitt that the design is a bit risqué by Threadless standards, but I think it's well worth the gamble to print as it's far from tasteless. Can't vouch for everyone else, but this is probably the only shirt featuring multiple penises that I'd wear out in public and not feel uncomfortable.

The Suncatcher 2.0 is by far one of the best works by Blexxemen to date. I knew once he stopped making subs of registered sex offender Brian Peppers the quality of his submissions would improve! The artwork featured has an old world woodblock print look to it, and being a lover of the literary piece that is Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, it is only natural that this would appeal to me. Size, placement, colors used, everything about this is perfect. If this submission doesn't see the printing presses in the near future, be it standard or 12 month club, I'll cry. This submission is currently lacking a bit in the votes department compared to other submissions, so get voting people!

Threadless Prints: August 28th, 2006

2006-08-29T21:24:00.000-07:00

Sorry I'm so far behind. Being a resident of Florida and all, I kind of had to put all personal interests aside these past couple of days and deal with tropical storm Ernesto. I've spent these past several days putting up shutters on multiple homes, cleaning yards of debry, and naturally, taking down shutters. Word to the wise, if you ever plan on moving to Florida, DON'T. Hurricane season here is the worst.

But I digress, onto the prints!

NEW PRINTS:

Out of all the Threadless Select prints to be put up for sale Good Blood, Bad Hands is my personal favorite to date. The artwork is beautiful and the underlying meaning is ambiguous. What are the black hands exactly? One's hidden/carnal desires? The dark thoughts that creep into one's mind? Whatever it may be I highly doubt it's a mere reference to AHS. In my opinion this is hands down the best design Moss has created so far. As an interesting sidenote, all the faces portrayed are of actual people.

I honestly don't know why Threadless insists on printing them, but we have a new Type tee and naturally it's a flop. Akin to something you'd find in a Tennessee gas station/gift store, For Sale by Parents is just lacking in every department. It's not all that clever and the humor reduces the tee to the level of "one time wear gag gift." Seriously, there's only two justifiable reasons for buying this shirt:
1.) As a gag gift for friend/family member.
2.) If you're a dead-beat parent blatantly running a child prostitution ring.
Definitely not worth the $12-$14 dollars. I know they're hard to come by, but if Threadless really wants the Type Tee's to take off, they're going to have to start picking slogans that are outside the norm in terms of creativity.

Combining simple design with well crafted writings, Poet-Trees makes for an overall complex design thats appeal relies heavily on personal satisfaction. I highly doubt anyone outside of the owner of this shirt itself is ever bound to read the entire poem, but all is not put to waste as the poem itself is placed within the naturally pleasing form of two well colored trees. Pleasently simple from afar, but a sit down worthy read up close.

I'll be honest with you, I love stingerstyler, but I consider this to be one of his weakest works. The artwork featured is mediocre at best and the scenario portrayed is terribly overplayed. This is one, of the few, instances where I feel a person is justified in saying that Threadless has a tendency to print clichéd articles. With prints like this you can't help but wonder what goes on in the mind of the peculiar beast that is the Threadless print selection process.

Made of Money is one of those pieces were I think it's amazing in concept and execution, but doesn't make for a good shirt. To me the design looks like something that is best suited on the cover of The New Yorker, but that's just my opinion. Congrats to Ste7en for the print, you've had it a long time coming!

Now here's where I'm left scratching my head, stingerstyler had a design called Evolution which features similiar machinery and is a superior design and yet they, Threadless, opt to print Big Fish Wins and this. Why? No offense to Sandra Duval, but this design, while cute, just strikes me as being rather bland.

I know many people complain that Panda bears are a bit overplayed in terms of submissions, but Fake Pandas Have More Fun is the crème de la crème of Panda inspired designs. It's innovation like this that initially attracted me to Threadless and is what keeps me coming back wanting more. The only thing I regret about this print is the fact that they didn't print it in child sizes, as this would make a perfect gift for a few young girls I know. Oh well. If you ever get a chance I suggest you take the time to check out Roberto Galvez's website as he has some fantastic works on display over there.

REPRINTS:

Communist Party, while reprinted ad naseum, is a brilliant design by Tom Burns that is sure to go above and beyond the expectations of it's owner. I own this shirt and let me tell you it is an attention getter; political spiels, money offers, offended complaints, friendly introductions: I've heard 'em all due to this shirt. If you have any intentions of buying Communist Party just be prepared to explain the shirt as best as you can and to be willing to name the individuals featured, as someone, most likely from the Cold War era, is bound to ask you. It's definitely a great conversation piece.

Another week another Glenn Jones shirt up for grabs. An amusing pop culture reference that is a favorite of many. This is the shirt that initially got a friend of mine interested in Threadless. Get a good shirt referring to Star Trek or Battlestar Galactica and we're set for Sci-fi cons!

Top 5 Submissions of August 21st-26th, 2006

2006-08-26T12:28:00.000-07:00

REST BITE is a fantastic Threadless submission that I fear may have been ruined by public opinion. As shown above, the design was originally supposed to be printed on red, many, however, thought that red on red was a bad idea (they've obviously never seen Piece of Meat) and because of that it was resubmitted as an inferior design. In my humble opinion if this shirt were to ever be printed the only color it'd look good one would be red, any other color is a no go. Great work Sku Style, but next time don't be so eager to bend to the will of voters.

Don't ask me why, but for some reason or another this submission reminds me of the Beatles' song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, yeah I don't quite get it either. Anyways, I love this abstract design with it's vivid colors and assorted imagery. Many were complaining about the blank banner within the design, but the artist clearly stated that the banner was left blank for a reason: if there was a word on the banner the imagery surrounding the banner would automatically become the word featured. Well put! Spiral Town is definitely something that is well worth the print and $15.

that way is what I love to see in a shirt: simplicity and good color selection. Printed on white or natural, this shirt would be astounding. The greens selected give the forest it's vegetative color, but are a bit offish in terms of hue giving the surroundings a slight fantasty feel. Contrast that with the silhouette of the cute, and yet creepy, bear and you have something that is peculiarly fantastic.

I know some people are growing weary of the constant printing of off beat animals and characters, but electrostorm is something that manages to stand tall amongst the other, mediocre, designs of it's kind. I'm not a fan of brown, but I'd happily add this to my wardrobe if printed. The design is rather obscure and yet everything seems to have a correlational value to it. Characters are well designed and don't look like something someone scribbled out while sitting in detention. Some have complained that the batteries and houses seem out of place, but I think they flow well with the overall design and do not need to be the focus of redesign. Leave everything the way it is and you have a winner in my book.

I'll be the first to admitt that I'm not overly fond of classicoke's works concerning Satanism and the like, regardless the man has tremendous skill and his beliefs are his own prerogative, thus they shouldn't come into play when scoring his designs. That being said I think Authorisation To Cut is possibly one of the great shirt designs ever to be inspired by feudal Japan. Remembering the days in which a Samurai had the permission to end the lives of lower class individuals on a whim, this design is the perfect mixture of clean cut graphics and gritty calligraphy. Give classicoke's description on the submission page a read and the appeal to this shirt will become resoundingly clear.

Threadless Prints: August 21st, 2006

2006-08-22T23:58:00.000-07:00

Whenever I look at Mob Musicians I can't help but think of the 1930's and 1940's, a time frame where mobsters ran the big cities and late night jazz clubs were a popular social spot. Like many of Glenn Jones prints it is sure to be well recepted by the Threadless community. I know there were quite a few who were upset that Glenn's Rock Me Amadeus submission was never printed, so let's hope this more than makes up for it. With this being his 8th print (not counting his Select Tee) one can't help but wonder what he plans on cooking up for us next?

One can't help but wonder why Goodbye My Hopes and Dreams... was never printed during the Back 2 School sale from last week. I feel confident in saying that it would have been a sure fire sell out if it had been, but for now it'll have to deal with being outshined by the other noteworthy releases of this week. Regardless, the design itself is very charming with it's plethora of multi-colored, spirit like, characters; all of which are ascending to regions unknown. To add to the quirkiness each little character has it's own unique facial expression, with some having [shared] patterns of their body. Sure to be a sell out in the near future!

Hahaha! I love Sticks of Shame as it reminds me of an incident where a friend and I went to a fancy suishi restaurant and my friend was unable to use the chopsticks despite the fact he's a rather big japanophile. The waitress on more than one occasion offered to bring him a fork, but he adamantly refused and opted to go home hungry and red faced instead. He has since then learned to eat with chop sticks proficiently, but I still intend on buying him this shirt as a birthday gift soon and remind him of his night of shame. The perfect gift for any gaijin that has attempted to eat with chop sticks and failed miserably.

Mapple vs apy is another one of those prints that would have been a sure fire sell out if it had just been printed a week prior. What's also interesting is the fact that Threadless decided to print the children's version in green, which in all honesty, looks much better than the original gold version. Despite these minor gripes Mapple vs apy is still a fantastic design and is selling relatively well. One thing I appreciate about the shirt is the fact that it's a collaboration piece where Mapple drew the characters riding on the balloons and apy drew the hungry hunters bellow. Hopefully we'll see more collaborations pieces like this from them and other artist as time goes by.

What happens when you combine Studio 54 with Area 51? You get Malik DELLIDJ's UFOnky Gulf Breeze Sightings. I personally consider this to be one of the best prints of this week even if silhouette pieces are a bit over played at Threadless. The design is fresh, original, and very colorful. Whether you're out partying the night away at your local hot spot, or just rocking it at home in your shirt and boxers, this shirt is sure to help you get your groove on.

For reference sake there were no Threadless select, type tee, or reprints this week.

Top 5 Submissions of August 14th-19th, 2006.

2006-08-20T10:41:00.000-07:00

The Treat of Vienna, 1738 is a submissions which recreates the signing of the Treat of Vienna using a bust of Plato, a prosthetic arm, a Maoi statue, a sticky hand, and finally, a lawn gnome. A truly hysterical piece which is sure to be appreciated by fellow history buffs. As the creator of We are Made of Carbon, pseudonymjones certainly has a way of keeping things refreshingly unique.

A truly beautiful submission by nutkitty, this piece is a toned down version of a magnificent work which can be found on her website. As it is, the design does need to be resized as it's rather large, but besides that I find this to be a fantastic submissions that is well worth the $5.

First and foremost I'd like to drill it through people's heads that this design is not meant to be printed with the gradients. The gradients are there to show that the design is meant to be printed with a silver/metallic ink (which Threadless can do) . That being said I think this design brilliantly pays homage to the long lost mystical practice of Alchemy. The symbology, while not as profound as anything you'd find on the Ripley Scrolls, suits the shirt very well and get's the point across. Top it all off it sure beats any Full Metal Alchemist shirt that stocks retail stores across the U.S.!

As someone who appreciates urban art I find Street Prophecy to be worthy of a $5. It goes beyond the typical urban art submissions and just doesn't merely slap a tag onto a AA shirt and call it a submission. Instead it features both the art and the artist, which to me adds an extra bit of depth to the submission (Is there a correlation of the artist's wearing of a gasmask and the imagery in her art?). The content of the actual painting itself is well put together with a robot standing atop a mushroom cloud preparing to assault a city. While the submission probably won't get the score I think it well deserves I honestly hope this see's a print in the near future.

I'll be honest, I think a good deal of the hellogoodbye submissions are complete garbage. But what can you expect from a competition where the theme is a breeding ground for mediocrity? Regardless, there stands one diamond in the rough and that is HOLY CRAP! This shirt is amazing, as it shows the absolute distress of a tattered young couple who are trying their damned hardest to make it out alive as their city is being demolished by aliens, zombies, vampires and a dinosaur. The artwork is top notch and is put together to make a very dramatic piece. Works great on both dark and light colors.

Catching Up: Threadless Prints of August 16th, 2006.

2006-08-18T19:21:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday the third and final set of prints/reprints for the sale were released and are as follows:

NEW PRINTS:

Prepare for Fight is the latest Select Tee by artist UPSO. Despite having a similiar flare to the, now retired, print Upso, the shirt in and of itself is completely unique and strangely beautiful. Oddly enough this print also happens to be the cheapest Select Tee print to date, selling for $15 a pop, due to the fact that it was printed with an experimental print method which resulted in imperfections (Read more HERE). I personally think the imperfections add an extra quirk to the shirt, as from the looks of it, no two prints are exactly alike. Now for those of you who are a bit uneasy about buying a factory second but are interested in buying this design have no worries! It's already been announced that Prepare for Fight will be reprinted on black with no imperfections, just keep in mind that they'll be sold at the default Select Tee price ($25).

Rittle Rattle Crittle Crattle Boom Boom BOOM! I absolutely adore Funkalicious! The design itself is rather offbeat and for some reason reminds me of the 80's educational Tv show 3-2-1 Contact. The print looks relatively large and is colored in such a way that the boom box rocking astornaut seems like he's jumping straight out at you. In my opinion this was THE must have shirt of the sale and sadly I was unable to secure my order in time to obtain one. Ah well, with the hope of reprints there's always a chance that groovin' space man will head my way in the near future.

The concept and execution behind the design Water Tower is excellent, sadly I don't think it makes for a good shirt. To me it looks like something that is best suited as a myspace background or even a computer wallpaper. My reasoning for this is simple: it's lacking the vibrance one often expects from a shirt design. The colors are dark and moody, which is fine, but when combined with the all that open space that is on the shirt it comes together to make something that is rather boring in appearance.

REPRINTS:

For those of you not in the know, 99 Luftballons is inspired by a hit song of the same name (performed by Nena) that came out in 1983. The actual song is, believe it or not, an anti-war song that concerned the Cold War and the tensions shared between America and the Soviet Union at that time in history. With that in mind I'm not all too sure if Ross Zeitz created this shirt as a silent protest against the current issues concerning America and the Middle East or he just really loves balloons. Regardless, 99 Luftballons is a charming piece of apparel that is real easy on the eyes and is something that can be appreciated by almost everyone.

The Threadless cash cow is back yet again! I've seen this terrible design get reprinted so many times that I'm almost tempted to put a bullet in my own head as well. Holding a special place in the hearts and closets of emos, goths, and death punks everywhere this shirt is truly tasteless. Seriously what is the appeal of this shirt? Whatever. Anyways, if you don't grab one this time around I'm sure you'll be able to do so come the next $10 sale and the one after that so don't fret, Flowers in the Attic is like a bad case of herpes that just won't go away.

While I prefer Ctrl + Z on red, it's nice to have it back. I know the image was simply a vectorized image jacked from google, but hey if no one is crying fowl then no harm done right? Like Flowers in the Attic this shirt tends to go relatively fast so if you haven't had a chance to pick one up for yourself, or that special terrible driver in your life, then now is the time to do so.

Well that covers everything for this week! Stay tuned when I updated with my Top 5 submissions of the week!

Catching Up: Threadless Prints of August 15th, 2006.

2006-08-17T03:17:00.000-07:00

As I haven't been home these past couple of days I was unable to comment on Threadless' special sale related releases for Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Regardless of that fact I do intend to cover them before Saturday.

Tuesday 8/15/06

NEW PRINTS:

I'll be honest with you, Some College Somewhere really fails to impress me. I understand that the current sale going on over at Threadless is "Back 2 School" related but when taking that into consideration, why was this design selected for print? Knowing that the intended selling point of this shirt is its supposed humor, I honestly wonder how many people actually find this that funny? I don't have any official demographics, and I'm usually not one to make hasty generalizations, but I have a feeling that the majority that this shirt appeals to are those still in highschool and NEETs. There's nothing wrong with that, but if Threadless wanted to print something school related why not print something better?

As a fan of Ben Edlund's The Tick I too am aware of the fact that the quote on Stop Destroying Our Planet. It's Where I Keep... is a bit all too familiar. Despite that I think it still retains it's charm with it's direct, albeit tackily honest, message and is supported greatly by the typeface that was selected (Folk). As with any type tee you either love it or hate it, and in an instance like this I'd honestly say I'd wear it if given to me.

Ugh, I know quite a few people actually enjoy this shirt, but I honestly see Myopia Utopia as a waste of a print. Why? Because I personally believe eye chart t-shirts have been done to death and have long lost their appeal. Top it all off, the message on the shirt itself isn't exactly what I'd call "profound" and certainly wasn't ingenious enough to warrant Threadless to contribute to the revival of an awful clothing fad. The only thing I do like about this shirt is the actual name, as I find it to be rather clever, outside of that I still see this as 0 level work. If you like it then more power to you, I just fail to see the appeal.

While I personally would have preferred Dan Sheffield's 8:07 to be printed, Smooth Criminal isn't all that bad. The design is a bit simplistic in nature, but is one that is bound to catch more than one person's attention in passing. The color [Natural] selection of the shirt itself is nice as it provides a contrasting background for the loud neon green handcuffs to draw one's focus. Sadly I see this shirt being a sleeper hit in terms of sales as it seems to hold appeal for only a select few.

A is for Jerks was a bit of a surprise for me as it's more childish than usual in terms of standard prints. It makes a perfect kids tee, and due to the fact that it's now sold out, apparently makes a desirable girly tee. More likely than not, however, I see this shirt suffering the same fate as Ruido in terms of sales in the guy's department. I do like the work of Jess Fink and hope that some of her more original works get printed in the near future.

REPRINT:

Radios is a Threadless oldie, but goody. Paying homage to the days of cassette tapes and boom boxes that ran off of 6 D batteries for a max of an hour, this brings back fond memories for those of us from the 80's and early 90's while still appealing to the iGeneration of today. I personally prefer it as a hoody, but still think it's a mighty fine shirt that is well worth making space in your closet for.

Stay tuned I'll be covering Wednesday's prints later on today!

Threadless Prints: August 14th, 2006

2006-08-15T04:05:00.000-07:00

Kick starting their week long back to school sale Threadless printed the following 4 new designs along with 2 reprints:

NEW PRINTS:

Psychedelic Peacock, is the second printed submission by Simon Massey and the winner of the Threadless <3's Threadless contest. Unlike his previous print, Rock out with Your Cock Out, Massey's latest piece focuses on rich details and colors, paying homage to the Art Nouveau style which celebrated the beauty of natural flowing forms and vivid detail. Having a small flock of wild Indian Peafowls residing not too far from where I live I am quite familiar with their awe inspiring beauty, and I must say that Massey has captured it perfectly. Flawlessly blending the natural looking blue body into the artistic rendition of the peacocks train of tale feathers makes this shirt aesthetically breath taking. For me, and many others, this is a must have.

M For Monkey is the first submission and print by artist Heiko. Using a style best suited for cartoons or the sunday funnies, M For Monkey manages to please both the inner child (Mr. Monkey loves candy!) and the wearer's more "mature" sense of humor (Mr. Monkey loves heroin!) with it's varied portrayals of our primate friends. If you ask me, I think every closet needs something comical like this.

Fossil Fuel is the second shirt recently put to print by Threadless that makes a humorous observation of the current dilemma that is oil consumption. The shirt speaks an ironic message showing that as we strive to live in a more environmentally friendly world, the businesses and vehicles will go the way of their power source; the way of the dinosaur. Fossil Fuel is a well thought out and executed design that is perfect for those of you who support the search for safe power alternatives.

Travis Pitts is a machine. With several printed designs under his belt he never fails to please with his uniquely fresh designs. Late night, inner city, rock bar wall's are a chaotic mesh of advertisement and open expression. Never in my life would I have imagined that you could capture the spirit of something like that on a t-shirt, but Travis manages to do just that with Urban Camouflage. Riddled with a wide variety of references, this shirt is truly a worth while purchase as you're always bound to find something new when looking at it. Keep up the amazing work Travis! You're truly one of the Threadless elite!

REPRINTS:

The classic Threadless pop culture parody The Fast Super is back once again! I've always appreciated this print as it manages to successfully parody both a historical piece of art and a religiously significant event while remaining tasteful (Ho!). Grab it while it's still good to go.

Are You In...or Out? has that Sin City-esque style of noir feel to it. Glorifying babes, blood, and bullets it's definitely a worth while purchase for those who have an appreciation for the genre. Snatch it while it's still a steal for $10!