compete-tee-tion

Thanks to some server hiccups early last week, Threadless decided to extend their Spring Sale until Wednesday. There's also a sweet coupon for the occasion: code spring08 will knock $5 off an order of $50 or more for the first 5000 people who use it.



Current by Dan Rule is a great take on infinity, using the easily recognizable symbol to form a river that flows into itself. The gorgeous hand-drawn style conveys the speed of the river well, and the inclusion of both human and natural elements mirrors the sense of interdependence that the symbol implies. The canoes are an especially nice touch, and they make me imagine riding that river for an afternoon of endless fun. While I love the design, though, the placement is incredibly awkward for ladies- a little smaller and a little higher up, and I doubt there would be so many complaints.



Staring Into Space by HORT is this week's Select, using some puff ink and a custom shirt color. Honestly, I'm not a huge fan- while I like the idea of puff ink, the shapes over astronaut faces is more weird than attractive or interesting to me. I'd call it a cool visual experiment, but not one that I would personally want to wear.

King of Clubs by Ron Lewis recasts the king from a deck of playing cards as a boom box-toting hipster, complete with oversized sunglasses and a sweatband. I like the element of repetition and the use of halftones and patterning here, as they suit the subject matter very well. This is the kind of pun-based shirt I love to see Threadless run, because the art stands on its own even without the crutch of humor.



HOT DANG! by Andrew Bargeron (r.o.b.o.t.i.c.octopus) is like a movie poster adapted to a shirt, broadcasting the awesomeness of a little flick starring a motley crew of monstrous misfits. Heavy on neons, weaponry and fur, the shirt has several unique characters and part of the fun is imagining how they interact. The most appealing of the bunch is the one who gets center billing, a kind of blue bigfoot who dresses like Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future.



My Broderie Tyrannosaurus by Cheok Siew Yen (BubuSam) is the token cute shirt of the week, but it's a good one. The mixture of the cute and the terrifying is traditionally a pretty successful gambit, and it works- the use of so many different patterns is another nice element, and it kept my eyes moving around the scene. My only quibble here is with Threadless's printing- I think that given the subject matter, some stitching (or even puff ink) effects would have boosted the design to an even higher level.

Let It Grow by Florence (florever) is the Discogs Love Threadless winner. I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed in this choice because I've seen the guitar/tree thing done many times before (and there was a lot of originality in the entries for this contest overall). But independent of concept, the art itself is very nice. It's a well-drawn illustration, and the use of a colored gradient does a lot to set it apart from other concepts like this in the marketplace.



Reprinted this week: We Can Fix It by Budi Satria Kwan (letter) and Sublimi'mAwesomeinal, a Type Tee with a slogan by mcgowen007.

Also debuting this week is Threadless Tee-V, a weekly video that shows goings-on at Threadless headquarters. In the future, it may also include giveaways and promos. This week's installment is Episode One: Spring Cleaning.

Labels: discogs, loves threadless, sale, threadless