We Blog Indie T-Shirts
Normally soaps don’t make me feel hungry… but the exquisite soaps from Savor certainly do! When I first saw these, I just knew I had to write about them, even though they’re not t-shirts. They would make such fantastic gifts! Picture time:
Link: [Savor Soaps]
Expensiveness: $4-5
Timber!, a wonderful Etsy shop, has added some new designs since last we blogged about them. One of my favorites is this t-shirt, titled Giants:
I should point out that if such a movie were to be made, this t-shirt proves that it would basically have to be titled TIMBER!. At the very least, the word should be featured prominently in the tagline. Another requirement would be to somehow incorporate a pun on “wood”/”would”. You get the idea.
When t-shirts reference recent films, it seems that the movies in question are overwhelmingly frat pack flicks or Judd Apatow comedies. Which is okay, I suppose… but how many McLovin shirts does the world really need?
That’s why this glorious t-shirt from 24/7 Magnum’s Etsy store is oh-so-refreshing:
And hey, here’s a design from 24/7 Magnum that’s based on yet another critical darling from last year! Clearly this t-shirt vendor has good taste in films.
But why-oh-why must the prints be heat transfers?! Alas and alack! I understand that heat transfers are a ton easier for small shops—still, I hope for the day that these designs get proper screen-printings.
Link: [I Drink Your Milkshake from 24/7 Magnum]
Expensiveness: $18.99
Here are two things you might not know about me: first, that I’ve been a bit of a classics/Latin nerd (I’ve been in 8 years of Latin classes!). The second is that I love the Aeneid. There, I said it. So when I happen upon a t-shirt depicting a scene from the Aeneid, I just can’t help myself.
If you’re unfamiliar, this detailed handprinted t-shirt design features, well… Laocoön and his sons. They’re getting devoured by two snakes while Laocoön tries to fend them off! Pretty gruesome, isn’t it? The print is actually of a sculpture that has a pretty interesting history of its own. If you like the design, you should check out James Anthony Apparel’s Etsy page for more styles and colors!
I’ll leave you with my own translation of the Laocoön passage, in which I try to emulate the meter of elegiac couplets and the onomatopoeia and ’surprise endings’ of the original Latin (what did I tell you about me being a nerd?):
Laocoön, selected as priest to Neptune by fortune,
was sacrificing, huge on dour altars, a bull.
Behold, however, twins from Tenedos through the sea tranquil,
(Recalling, I shudder) snakes winding with enormous coils;
they lean over the sea and stretch equal to shore,
whose stomachs tower between the waves and whose crests
bloody surmount the waves and the rest of their tails across the sea
behind them traverse; huge backs they wind with their folds.
There was the splash of the frothing sea; by now they have reached land.
Their burning eyes they suffused, possessing ichor and fire.
Hissing with sibilant tongues in their mouths they were licking.
Seeing them, we, bloodless, flee. They, with a certain driving,
Laocoön they assail, but first the small frames of his
two sons the serpents, after engirdling each
envelops and, biting the wretched boys, consume their joints.
Behind that, coming with help, Laocoön, brandishing spears
the snakes seize and bind him in their enormous coils; now
twice ringing his waist, twice ‘round his neck, lamellose
backs lying they overtop him with heads and lofty shoulders.
That man at once stretches out hands of his to rend their knots,
his fillets by now drenchèd with gore and black venom.
Forthwith trembling cries up to the heavens he lifts,
same as are bellowed when flees from the altar a wounded
bull, who shakes off from his neck axes uncertainly fixed.
But, to the highest temple the twin serpents, with gliding,
they slip away and seek the walls of savage Athen’.
Under the feet of the goddess and curve of her shield are they shrouded.–Aeneid, II.201-227, my translation
If you want to read my theoretical background for the translation (or my analysis of Virgil’s use of Epicureanism in the Aeneid, which I suggest more highly!), let me know and I can email it to you!
Link: [Laocoön and His Sons from James Anthony Apparel]
Espensiveness: $22
And are you lady-shaped? If so, then I’ve got something for you! (I can’t say/think of ‘I’ve got something for you’ without being reminded of this old ad for a Chicagoland car insurance agency.)
What better way to show your love for Etsy than with a hand-screened and decorated t-shirt? Of course it’s sold via Etsy itself, the foremost online community for buying and selling anything and everything online, and connecting with others who enjoy handmade.
This t-shirt has lots of little details that make it stand out, like three Swarovski crystals (if you can’t find all three, here’s a hint: look for flowers!) and appliquéd leaves that look like they’re about ready to fall from the tree. Visit the site for more pictures, including some super-close detail shots!
Link: [Etsy Love tree t-shirt from Serendepity]
Expensiveness: $24
P.S. We featured Serendipity before as the anti-designer, but none of those t-shirts seem to be available any longer!
You know, as much as I love being a student and making t-shirts, my real dream is to someday become…
Actually, no, that’s not true. As much as I respect the noble art of lumberjacking, it’s not for me. I’m simply not hardy enough for the tree-felling lifestyle. And if there’s one thing a lumberjack needs to be, it’s hardy.
In spite of my own failings, I still nurture a healthy respect and appreciation for the hard work of lumberjacks everywhere. As I’m always looking for novel ways to express my admiration, you can imagine how excited I was to hear about Timber at Etsy!
Opinions differ, however, and maybe you disagree with me on this point. That’s okay! Just make sure to take a look at the rest of Timber’s offerings before you come to any hasty conclusions.
Since IndieWeek lasts an internet week, maybe today still counts!
Most t-shirts are screenprinted, some are printed with what is essentially a giant inkjet printer. But few are printed using woodcuts! I’ve never seen it before now myself.
But judging from the t-shirts printed by Tugboat Printshop, it looks like a pretty good method! They currently have three t-shirt designs available, of which these are two:
The only thing I don’t like about their t-shirts is that they have a relatively large (though creatively incorporated) print of ‘Tugboat Printshop’ on the backs of all of their shirts. Hopefully their future designs will lack these back prints, because what they handprint on the front of these tees is quite lovely!
Link: [Tugboat Printshop]
Expensiveness: $24
You can’t get much indier than Etsy for IndieWeek!
UPDATE: I forgot to mention that they have a video tutorial for printing t-shirts with woodcuts! Click the link or watch it here:
Continue reading ‘Woodcut Printed T-Shirts’
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