What I Got - Spitefuls

You get a lot of themed t-shirts sites but nothing more interesting like Spitefuls. It's depressing as hell but strangely enjoyable.

Founder of Spitefuls, Marla Anyomi sent us a package.

A nice letter and a sealed t-shirt.

I've never had a t-shirt delivered to me in a ziplock bag. I guess, it's to keep the pessimism fresh.

I give it an "A" for novelty in packaging.

Don't get me wrong but I like this t-shirt. The colors really compliment each other and it really bring across the idea but I felt the three different fonts were disconcerting.


The back of the tee is a nice touch. The stylized shower leading from the base of the neck down the bottom of the spine.

There are many other t-shirts about playful pessimism with the exception of her latest tee that is the inspired by the Cebu Thriller dance sequence meme that was a hit last two months.

This site should be perfect for those who had just about enough of hopeless optimism.

All t-shirts are printed on AA.

Go Go Geisha

James dropped a line about his t-shirt site called Wunjo and there's something about this design that's so simple, so pretty.

You get 10% off your purchases if you type "WTEN" at checkout. Offer lasts up to December 31, 2007.

Monies: US$26

Lil' Shiva and Gang

We did this post about Sanjay Patel's Ghee Happy apparel, where he takes your Hindu gods and make them cute. At the time of that post, Patel only sold kid-sized apparel.

Now, over at the Super 7 store, there are new designs by Patel but... they are only sold in women and youth sizes! Where's the men? Why must Patel withhold his sweet, sweet t-shirts from the beefy frames of my brethren? Why?!

Monies: US$25

Cutters

A-OK Mart is easily becoming my favorite t-shirt site. First, they knives on t-shirts and that's badass cool. Second, for something this pretty and limited (only 100 for each design), it doesn't cost much.

So, it saddens me that I missed their Black Friday sale (buy one, get the other design free).

Monies: US$20

Blues Traveller

It's said that travel broadens the horizon but what if you're a lazy slug like myself? I mean, I know what the leaning tower of Pisa look like from the Travel Channel.

Then there are people with a wanderlust. "Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints," is the phrase they utter. And I reply (mostly out of earshot), "wankers." But that's just me being a fat turd.

T-shirt company, inVIAGGIO travels about and records their adventures on their t-shirt.

Better than a postcard, I say.

Monies: US$35-US$45

More Sale!

As the season for commercialism draws to a near, I bring you more sale to make the transaction of money or small woodland creatures much more easier.

Monsieur T has a 30% off sale on their stuff.


Our buddies at Fantastic Bonanza are having 33% off for their goods as well.


From the land that used to be populated by criminals, Torso have a coupon code - mammarylane - that will net you 20% off.

Black Friday

Sales for the season, kiddies.

SubUrban Riot wants to give you a free t-shirt to anyone who buys two or more t-shirts from them. They have new tees like The Hitcher.

Our buddies [2 one 5] have a 35% off off their clothing line.

Huzzah Goods have new t-shirts and hoodies added to their store. Also, this holiday season, any purchase made will come in a Super Mario-themed gift boxes. I'm not sure if said boxes will contain a mushroom or gold coins.

And don't forget to partake in our Mailbox Tees contest where you can win a three-month subscription!

What I Got - Mailbox Tees

(Disclaimer: A contest follows this review.)

Every time I open my mailbox, it's a surprise. Sometimes I get crap like "you-might-already-be-a-winner" or insurance ads. Then just to balance it out, I get nice things like that free Spin magazine or the love letter I've been waiting all my life. And then you get Mailbox Tees to tip the scale.

T-shirt subscription isn't a new idea. The Swedes started it but Mailbox Tee (founded by Karen Merzenich) makes t-shirt subscription cheaper and easily available.

Anyway, I received a package from Mailbox and this is what I got.


Three t-shirts and...

... this month's t-shirt.

The material are Alternative Apparel, the not-sleazier cousin of AA. Alternative Apparel are preshrunk, soft. I really like how it feels against my skin. Designs from Mailbox are done by several artists that Merzenich have selected. These are not your arbitrary artists. You have folks like Darwin Bell, who does Sign Language and Saul Zanolari and his other-worldly portraits.

Here's what I got.

Wallpaper Fish by Arin Hart Fishkin.

Mexico City by Karen Merzenich, herself.

Jack+Rabbit by Xenos Studios.

T-shirts are also limited.

This was on the back of the collar. This is a very clever way of showing it.

The t-shirt of the month is by Claudio Parentela and with every t-shirt of the month comes with a little card about the artist of said t-shirt.


Parentela is a wonderful artist, his work crosses many mediums but he's more well-known for his collages as you can see above. I dig the t-shirt but the end product looks... awkward, like a framed collage is printed on the t-shirt.


The design looks restrained. There could be more to be done with all the white space of the material.

A t-shirt subscription is a perfect idea for Christmas. Think about it. Instead of a magazines that is read once over and left in the corner and piled up to collect dust, you get to wear the gift.

Definite buy.

Contest!

In the spirit of the upcoming season, Merzenich has graciously decided to give some lucky so-and-so a three-month subscription.

All you have to do is give me any two names of the artists from Mailbox Tees that are not mentioned in this post. It's that simple.

Send answers to keyser1812 [at] sbcglobal [dot] net with "Mailbox Tee Contest" under the subject header by this Sunday evening (11/25/07).

Bullet Bill

A father-and-son company from New York, Torreltorrel have Nintendo's blessings and licensing to bring to you these gobsmacking apparel like Bullet Bill (above).

These urban-styled Nintendo figures are limited to 1000 pieces and will be the perfect gift, if you can't afford that PS3 set.

Monies: US$50 - US$200

The Radiohead Creed

How much did you pay for the latest Radiohead's album? Did you pay according to how awesome the band is or didja scrooge out? It's a fascinating experiment. Giving the consumer a choice. Tasty Tees is back, going the Radiohead route and letting you have a say in how much you wanna pay.

They are accepting orders up till December the 1st, then they'll print and send the tees out to you just in time for the holidays.

The minimum is US$1.00 (for the shipping and handling). And I think the offer is only applicable for US citizens.

Correction: Minimum you have to pay is US$5 and it's only valid for residents in the US. now available for both local and international, as long as your price is greater than US$11 to cover shipping costs.

Monies: It's up to you.

What I Got - Stitch 2007

(Disclaimer: this is gonna be a huge post. So hold on to your britches.)

On the 11 November, I went to Stitch, Austin's convention of fashion and crafts. It's their fifth year and I love this year's lineup. I also think I've blown this month's food money on t-shirts.

Ah, well.

Stitch is a great place for fashion and indie crafts, which means Etsy (one of the biggest... maybe only online marketplace for buying and selling all things handmade) was present spreading the word.

There were a lot of fabulous outfits and accessories like these novelty soaps by Feto Soap.

The razor blade soaps were only for decorations though.

Then there are these awesome squid ties from Aorta...

... and hilarity from I Love Apple Juice (O. Henry would be so proud).

Carlo Rossi was one of the sponsors for Stitch and they had a place for making and putting your own designs on their free blank Gildan and Bella t-shirts.

And they also have their own t-shirts to give away.


The arts-and-crafts section was of course, near their wine booth. I guess it improved creativity. Especially with Carlo Rossi's free bottles, there were free-flowing artistic expression.

The Campbell-themed bottle is my favorite.

But this being a t-shirt blog, I gotta concentrate on the tees. We'll start with Partybots. They have a wide array of hand-drawn art from Karl Addison.

I got myself an Inner Robot tee...

... and a Terrorsaurs (the image is printed on the back)...

... and this is my favorite. I plan to wear this during Thanksgimme with the relatives. You can't really ascribed a genre to Addison's style. It's ecletic. Much like Viva Ortega.

We did a post on him about the Freudian tree. I got myself this tee.

It's different from the one he's selling on his online site...

... and I think the former looks better.

The next one isn't a t-shirt but I really like the designs by Kathie Sever's Ramonster line.
Cowboy shirts with badass customized stitching.

Next we have Loyalty and Blood.

Squid Ink Kollective. A narwhal on a scooter is a keeper.

The bizarre Let's Get Healthy.

I got this sweet Mexican-styled skull tee from Pop Vicious.

Rural Rooster is a local t-shirt store and this t-shirt immediately caught my eye.

The other designs were great but there's something about the line art of the parachute that made me want to fork over money for it.

Will Heron is another local artist who does t-shirt screen printing. Perfect for your little ones (and the ones you don't know about) and adults.

Came across Ape Gear's booth, where they sell not only t-shirts...

... but pillows and plushies and bagpacks. Way to widen your demographic.

This is Model Citizen Clothing and it's the bomb-diggity. The only problem? It only caters to the ladies. Bonnie Rue, who owns and design the line says she plans for a men's line in the near future. Also in the future? Men will be able to have babies of their own.

Margaret Helene designs these really beautiful drawings of hers and beautiful apparel but she also does wonderful screenprinted t-shirts.

I got this t-shirt from the Handmade Nation booth. They're doing a documentary on the rise of indie craft and they're trying to raise funds for that. What can I say? I'm a philanthropist.

Another local Austin artist is Kelly D Tees. I've seen her stuff sold in many a places.


Sheriff Peanut. They also sell hand-stitched bibs.


Supermaggie. They have nice designs, real clear and intricate lines and shading. I wanted to get a t-shirt but I needed gas to get home. Maybe next time.

Mustn't forget to get an official Stitch convention t-shirt! Because how else can you prove that you were there? Photographs? Memories? Feh!

We did a Masters of the Universe t-shirt in a previous post. When Burgers and Friends attended Stitch, they had already switched to a new Winter 'o7 / Spring '08 lineup. I managed to buy this from them.

I'm not sure what it means but I wanted something to piss off my cop friend. Coyote Alert was sharing the booth with Burgers and they have a nice lineup.

I have to apologize for the inappropriate moment of the photo. They were much happier and less awkward in eating before and after I shot them.

And finally, we have SEBEI.

David looks really happy to be in jolly old liberal Austin. He didn't have the 100% Sandwich tee but I did get this.

It seems somewhat disconcerting that David is drawing from the Western pop culture well, which felt different from his usual abstract Japanese-influenced line but I like it.

So that's it for the Stitch festival. It was a blast. I met great people, collected a lot of schwag and I can't wait for next year.

'Til next post!