Artifex Comes Back

Artifex released two new designs, one of which, is Wind Power.

On top of that, they have an Earth Day Sale until April 26. Within that period, shirts will be marked down 25%, and everything else 50%. Shipping is also free on orders over $40.

Monies: US$15

Synchronicty

Print Liberation is a design studio in Philadelphia. With regards to their glow-in-the-dark vampire teeth t-shirt, the Obama t-shirts and the Positive Tess, the ABE/JFK connection hoodie appeals to the conspiracy nut in me.

Monies: US$48

What I Got - Artifex

I know I'm behind on this so enough bellyaching! Let's get down to the reviews!

Artifex Shirts (not to be confused with Artifex Clothing) is all about ecology preservation. Formed by Tim and Chris Reagan, brothers, who want to change the world through their t-shirts. It might sound cheesy but when I wore the t-shirt around school, I got a myriad of responses from "that's cool" to "what's biodiesel?"

And that's how you start a dialogue.


Anyway, I got the package and inside...


... I got a t-shirt and two stickers.



This is one of Artifex's more interesting designs. Great color combination (it looks like it glows in the dark but it doesn't). It's simple and gets to the point, the word, "biodiesel" helps also.

I would like it better if the type was either all small fonts or large fonts. It just feels disjointed if I see a word with a capitalized first letter, which makes me expect it to end in a punctuation.


It's printed on econscious, a 100% organic cotton apparel. This is different from conventionally grown cotton which includes toxic contamination in the water and air. I'm not sure if it's knowing what I'm wearing is toxic-free but it does feel good on my skin.

If you purchase from Artifex, each shirt sold and the Reagan brothers will donate US$3 to Native Energy, which offsets CO2 emissions by building wind turbines.

Supersize Me

Kenyon Bajus, who co-created the now defunct Future Relic, still continues his quest in graphic satire. Taking the recognizable golden arches, he turns it on its head.

I hope to see pictorial accounts of some of you wearing this and order something from Mickey D's.

Monies: US$26 (includes shipping if in U.S.)

SOLD!

The Jaunty Scamp is all about the cause. So when Roman Apparel said that they are selling specially-designed t-shirts, where half of the proceeds go to support the SOLD Project education fund, I'm on board.

The SOLD project spreads awareness of the plague that is child prostitution.

Monies: US$32

What I Got - Retro Campaigns

Ever wish for the good old days where (most) politicians do not lie through their smiles? Those were simpler times when a handshake is a handshake and not the discreet palming of payola.

Retro Campaigns hook is political campaigns of yore. Sounds interesting but how does it look, you ask?


The package.


I immediately fell head over heels when I first set eyes on it. I got a George McGovern tee. Obviously, the t-shirt is supposed to look vintage and it does but it also felt vintage, especially with the printing.

Okay, you know sometimes, you get t-shirts with designs that popped. Literally. Because the printer applied too much ink to the tee. For Retro Campaigns, the printing is consummate. Just the right amount is used so when you run your fingers over the t-shirt, you won't know where the ink start or end.


It's a printing miracle!

The designs are not based on any based on actual campaigns. I'll let Christine Lusey from Retro Campaigns explain.

"For instance, Eugene McCarthy's unofficial 1968 campaign slogan during the New Hampshire Primary was 'Get clean for Gene,' but there was never a button (at last none I found) with that slogan or image based on that, so my designer and I made one up. Some others are based on actual buttons. McGovern and his supporters used buttons with rainbows, doves, the peace sign, etc., for example, so we made shirts incorporating those images. I like to think of it as 're-imagining past campaigns.'"

And besides the swell t-shirt, there were information about George McGovern attached to it.

It's a nice idea - to understand what we are wearing. I didn't know who McGovern was. I just like the design but after reading about him, I have a better appreciation of the guy and his ideals.

I like, nay, love Retro Campaigns. If the upcoming election were to go straight to hell in a hand basket, at least I still have my t-shirt that will remind me of what once was.

And hopefully, what will be in the future.


edit: thanks to my shoddy journalism, apparently designs were based on actual campaigns. Also, designs were based on existing buttons while other campaigns without art sources were invented based on imagery and slogans used by said campaigns.

What I Got - Progresswear

First off, I gotta apologize for the delay in this review for Progresswear. It got buried with the rest of the other reviews and I have personal stuff to attend to... my bad. So, with that out of the way...



Here's the package I got.


And here's what I have. I assume the layer of paper surrounding the t-shirt is meant to heighten the anticipation and not remind me about my trip at the butcher.

As I unwrapped the paper and looked at the t-shirt, I noticed something peculiar about the t-shirt.


This is what I got (the image is unadulterated)...


... and this is what is advertised on the website.

There's something dodgy about the image quality, no?

I talked to Patrick King (founder and designer of Progresswear) about the lackadaisical printing and he agreed. The printer he sent his t-shirts to weren't doing such a good job. King won't be using them again. There were also issues with the apparel the designs were printed on.


Currently for online sale, Gildan is the choice for printing, whereas for retail, it's American Apparel. I don't know about you but the two brands differ in sizes. It would have been nice if there were information on the website about the kind of apparel being used or a sizing chart. King is planning to use AA for the online sale in the future.

But in spite of the printing mishap, I really like Progresswear line-up, which isn't a surprise because King, is also a painter. He knows what's visually arresting. Take a look at one of his type t-shirt. At first glance, it looks like words on a shirt but there's something about the font, the spacing in between, the color used -- it's carefully constructed to attract the eyeballs to the message. For me, he really nailed it with the image of Pat Robertson, it's just crap luck that he landed with a crap printer.

I recommend this line-up... but I also recommend e-mailing King if you have any doubts about your purchase.

Strike!

What do you do after you come home after a hard day's work and you just wanna put your fit up on the ottoman and watch a few quality programmings but all they have now are reruns and shite reality shows like, "So You Think You Have a Better Genitalia Piercing?"*

So, what's the hullabaloo about the writer's strike? It's about sticking it into the corporate fat cats, man. If they can stiffed the average working writer on digital residuals, they can rape a baby and get away with it. You don't want a baby rapist on the loose, do you?

With the strikes, this means production has shut down and people are outta a job but there are sites like The Writers Strike Swag to help the those workers in the entertainment industry affected.

The Writers Strikes Swag have the several items for sale like We Write. They Wrong. t-shirt (small sizes remaining) and Write Aid Concert t-shirt (large sizes remaining) but the one we wanna highlight is the official Writer's Strike t-shirt (oooh, uniforms) for the WGA West.

Buy it so you can look sexy in a picket line or for a show of support or to donate.

And besides, wouldn't you wanna wear something that Katherine Heigl has been in?


Monies: US$20

*coming soon on Fox.

Steal This Shirt

I hope against all hope that this (creepy?) t-shirt from Stolen Good(ie)s will be the official wear for Obama. Wouldn't it be neat if Obama wore the disembodied Obama head t-shirt?

*gasp* Wouldn't it be awesome if a decapitated Obama wore the disembodied Obama head t-shirt?

So many possibilities...

Is it just me or does this remind me of the Great Oz?

"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain! Instead gaze upon my non-threatening African-American eyes and listen to my plan to bring the troops home."

Monies: US$25

Also, [2 one 5] 's holiday sale and a free limited edition tee with at least US$35!

Dope Fish

This is the Bikes Not Bombs from District Cotton to promote a more environmental way of travel. You know what it says? "Be more environmentally conscious or a mutant fish made out of old bicycles will devour your car."

It'll never happen but it's a befitting image.

Monies: US$18

Par-Tay!!!

You got your donkey and your pachyderm respective of the dems and rep but ever wondered what kind of party animal a libertarian should get? Or a green party? Or even a whig?

More Party Animals have your animals for you! Harbor political aspirations and the gung-ho to form your own party? Right now they only have a gorilla, dog and a penguin or an orgy (is that a proper collective term) of animals, if you're so incline, for purchase but no worries, I'm sure this will pick up and we'll soon be seeing a pterodactyl soon.

Monies: US$20

What I Got - Bleeding Hearts Club

2008 is looming and it's time to get your politics on! The candidates are going about kissing babies and shaking hands to garner votes and there are your political-themed t-shirts making their rounds hoping to get their message across.

Bleeding Hearts Club is no different but they do it in style.

I've received a package from them...

... and you know it's gonna be good if the sender writes his return address with a heart...

... I mean, doesn't that just make your day? And he even colored it, isn't that sweet?

The package that the contents came in was different. It was made of some sort of recycled material and when I tore it open it, it left behind a small mess, like I've just crushed drywall. A small inconvenience for saving the earth, I guess.

Here's what I got.

Peace Czar, for those of you who don't watch the news (or the Daily Show) is a reference to the White House wanting to appoint a czar to oversee the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's a simple design with with the weight of meaning behind it.


Look what's on the sleeve! Wearing a Bleeding Hearts Club... on your sleeve! Ha!

This was the other design that I was offered but I declined...

... I've a very sensitive black friend. Still, it's a great design though.

Now about the t-shirt. Bleeding Hearts Club have their wares printed at TS Designs. Designs were printed through the REHANCE process. What is REHANCE, you ask? Well, grasshopper, you know your run-of -the-mill t-shirt is printed with plastisol, which contains PVC that's harmful to the environment. REHANCE is eco-friendly, plus the printing won't crack or peel over time.

Not only can I see the difference. I can also feel the difference. The print looks solid but it doesn't feel raised beneath my fingers.

The t-shirts are also manufactured by TS Designs with organic cotton but the medium sizing was a tad big on me. I wear a medium AA, just to clarify.

I've seen political t-shirts but most of them are usually done without much depth in thought. For instance - "Stewart and Colbert for 2008." You've seen them. It's an interesting concept but it soon runs out of steam as other "Stewart and Colbert" tees start popping up. Now Bleeding Hearts Club lineup not only have interesting slogans but they managed to execute it pretty well. Their designs are like pieces of clever art (see Neopolitics and If You Disarm...).

Jon Kraus, the man behind Bleeding Hearts, toured colleges in the northeast, which is great a marketing move because not only do you reach out to wide demographic, you reach out to a demographic, who in the future, will transform this country.

Uh...

Make up your own damn jokes.

Good ole fashion fistin' from sehubabe. Also from sehubabe is a uterus... mixed with testes.

...

It'll make more sense when you actually see it.

Monies: 20 Euros or US$28

The Horrors

So, I'm taking in the sights at Haji Lane and I wandered into this quaint little store called MONO+MACHINE and they sell some pretty impressive stuff like their lineup, Propaganda Machine, which they claimed is, and I quote, "Made in mutha fuckin' Singapore."

What I like about them is that they don't mince words when it comes to "that $100 tee that you just spent your hard earn cash on juz becoz some stoopid rag told u it was cool to own one."

And on top of the message behind their t-shirt, I also dig the design.

Singaporeans or people visiting Singapore can visit 45a Haji Lane. The rest of you lot can e-mail MONO+MACHINE at this addy: red.star [at] pacific [dot] net [dot] sg

Monies: US$20 or SGD 29.90

PS: The Propaganda Machine site is down. Try their blog instead.

Eat It

I'll get this out of the way - I like meat. I also like my greens too but I also eat meat. I have no problem with vegetarians or vegans but I don't like those same group to strongarm me into adopting their way of consumption.

I also like a little irony in my life, like posting this t-shirt from an animal rights activist site.

Monies: US$40

We Now Return To Your Scheduled Programming... Somewhat

Okay so the blog interface isn't working as well as I hope but enough's enough. I'll try to work within the restrictions because my e-mail is swollen with t-shirt sites and I hope this will appease you guys. Let's get to it, shall we?


From Hong Kong, we have mashPotato with their interesting lineup. I like this t-shirt because it describes what I always feel whenever I surf other t-shirt sites.

Monies: US24.50


Ten Bills may have to change their name if their sale of US$7 per t-shirt continues. T-shirts like Everyone Wants a Peace (shown above) and Radio Flyers are selling out quickly.

Monies: US$7


The Ironic T-Shirt Corporation have lovely t-shirts at non-explotative prices like F the Media (N.W.A. should re-unite and make a rap with that title) but the Tom Cruise Freedom of Speech tee just grabs me by the short hairs and refuse to let go.

One can write (in erasable marker) the many of things that Cruise might say like "I'm a poo-poo head!" or "My penis looks like Xenu or the result of an undiscovered VD." So many possibilities...

Monies: US$17

I'm from a little island called Singapore and not many people know about it but we're well-known for our non-existence; public caning; outlawing chewing gum; the Merlion and of course, Annabel Chong. Yup, despite our achievements, we're known for producing a pornstar but not just any pornstar, one who held the world record for biggest gangbang in 1995.

And to answer your question, the tally was 251.


Anyway, Singaporean t-shirt company, Local Brand sells this t-shirt, I guess, as a source of national pride.

Local Brand t-shirts are printed on... er, America Apparel. There's a joke somewhere in that sentence.

Monies:S$30 or US$19-something something.

One of my favorite artist, Jim Mahfood has a store that you can buy to show your appreciation for the man's art like the Lil' Cat Girl tee, the fine ladies can rock in.

If that doesn't float your boat. Here's a picture of a satisfied customer in said t-shirt, telling what you can do to yourself.


Monies: US$25 (includes shipping within the US)


Anybody here still read Archie? Is Archie still a fickle-minded bastard who still has spoilt Veronica lodge on his booty call list? around? Go for Betty, you freckled-face bastard! I swear his indecision makes me think he's a closeted homosexual.

Speaking of which, remember Jughead Jones, the gluttonous woman-hater? Phantom Flyer has a new design on this old school character.

Monies: US$12

That's it for today. I'll leave you with an article on the history of the ironic t-shirt. You wear the stuff, now learn about it. Read it through and read it well. Pop quiz on a Friday.

Maybe.

Love is Love is Love

Barak Hardley, who did this Threadless design, now armed with a singular vision, wants let you know about love. True love. The sort of love that is unconditional. The sort of place where you get free hugs.

The designs have Christian undertones to it without being to preachy. We like the Dove t-shirt and we would wear that sucker with pride because we like to spread the word.

What can I say? We're suckers for love.

All the News that's Fit to Print

How does this happen? An e-mail from Sweden comes my way, I click the link (fingers crossed that its not another penis enlarger site) and arrived at T-Post.

I thought to myself, wow this is interesting: T-shirt designs based on news stories sent out every 6 weeks but you see, dear readers... silly old me thought this was something that had transpired only recently but lo and be-friggin-hold, I click on gallery and found out they have already sent out around 20 t-shirts!

Why didn't I pick up on this? Where was the news about it back then?

Monies: 26 Euros or US$32 per t-shirt. Shipping costs are included.

PS: The e-mail I received didn't have a message in the body. Just a PDF and photo attachment. According to their website, the latest t-shirt isn't shown and I can only speculate that the above image sent to me is the latest T-post.

Gee, I wonder what story does that design be about? Hmmm.

It's Like "An Inconvenient Truth"... But On a T-Shirt

Kristy Zenk from Planet Truth wants to promote her environmental wares. These are not your run-of-the-mill "Save the Trees" t-shirts. According to Zenk, all her t-shirts are made from organic cotton that's pesticide-free and everything, from the manufacturing of the tees to the printing and selling of it are done in Australia. It costs a pretty penny but portion of the sales goes to charity.

These are t-shirts of stark truth. RECYCLE, DAMN YOU!!!

My favorite is the Debt Culture top for the ladies. It's a take on the public's need for consumption... but wait! Is it ironic, that this tee costs forty-five in dead presidents? I leave it to you, dear consumers, to figure it out.

Monies: US$46

Dream On

My psychology professor, an aging white hippie, once remarked to me that he celebrates each MLK day by listening to the "I Have A Dream" speech. He would play the speech, all seventeen minutes of it, and he could hear each timbre, each rise and fall of his words, and feel the jostle of the crowd, a hint of electricity on his skin. Each time he hears that speech, he walks away, his beliefs reaffirmed that as long as millions dream the same dream, the world can make it a reality.

There are many t-shirts of the Civil Rights activist but I lean towards this Dream Big tee from political site, Ban T-Shirts because of its style. Dream Big is printed on Agent Apparel.

Monies: US$15.95