Tee Spotter Weekly – First Episode!
As some of you may or may not know, earlier this week was the launch of a huge project of mine. I’ve been wanting to change Tee Spotter into a show for quite some time now and I finally did it! The first episode is live right now and there will be a new one every Tuesday. Please take a look and tell me what you think! The current episode and all future episodes can be found on the official Tee Spotter YouTube Channel.
But instead of talking about the show itself like I have for pretty much the entire week, I want to share what it was like for me as a blogger to make such a huge change like this and what it will mean for the future of this site.
At first I was extremely intimidated by the idea because I didn’t know much about filming or editing or even getting in front of a camera. All I really knew is that I wanted to make this happen. So over the course of a few months I did tons of planning and finally I decided to just go for it. I got my co-host Alyssa to join forces with me and we created what turned out to be a pretty good first episode(we think?). Lots of improvements are in the works, both for producing and for the actual content.
We film everything on my Nexus 4 right now, which for what it is, works really well. The quality is great and the audio isn’t bad either. But it does make it difficult, not having the proper equipment like a tripod or an actual video camera is a huge road block right now. We have to wedge my phone in between two books in order to film. So our next step is to upgrade our filming/recording equipment. In addition to that, we are making some flashy graphics to add into the episodes so that things look more professional, there will be a beginning and ending slate instead as well as a slide in between segments.
As for the actual content, that is getting better too! We have tons of ideas for new segments and how to make them better. We have plans to arrange interviews with brand owners and we want to do lots of other cool stuff too, but in order to really make this show something you guys like, we need your opinions! What do you want to see? Tell us and we can make it happen!
So what does this mean for this website?
Originally I planned on upgrading this site first, and starting the show second. But it ended up happening the other way around. Basically what’s going to happen is Tee Spotter will still exist as a blog, but I will be rebuilding the site in the near future to better suit the new video format of the “posts”. I will still be writing articles, but they’ll be different. They’ll mostly be focusing on advice on running a clothing line, sort of like my how to choose a t-shirt blank post and the difference between screen printing and DTG one. These are the articles that have always gotten the most attention so I want to make those better, and more of them and leave the tee news for the show.
I hope you guys all enjoy the new format and please please please give me your feedback on the Tee Spotter Weekly show! If you want your brand featured in the show then please contact me through email and we’ll get you into an episode as soon as possible =)
We Are The Recipe Review
A little while back I did a post on We Are The Recipe and I promised a review in the future. Well, that review is here now and I hope you’re as excited as I am! This brand goes right into the “awesome packaging design” section with their custom printed pizza boxes, super original! The other extras inside included a custom printed napkin?..I think..and a few stickers. Right off the bat I’m loving what WATR are doing with their stuff, it’s so nice to see someone actually trying to be original. And you don’t need to spend an arm and a leg to do it either, all they did was use a pizza box instead of a regular box and it made a world of difference and fits with their brand perfectly.
The shirt itself is great too, printing is super soft and the design is cute as hell haha It has a printed neck label instead of scratchy tag so that’s good. I actually forgot to grab a picture of that so I apologize, but it was basically the same as any other you see with a logo, size, etc. As for what kind of tees they use, I think I recall their website saying that they use 100% ringspun cotton shirts, but I’m not sure what brand. But, they fit great and didn’t shrink in the wash so I give it an A++ in that department.
If you didn’t read my original post about WATR then you might not know this: They print all of their shirts in house, by hand, so what you’re getting has been crated from top to finish by the people who are selling it to you. I love that. There’s just something special about a brand who puts so much of themselves into every part of it.
If you head over to the We Are The Recipe store now, they have a 2 for £24 deal going on which I think is great. That makes it about $36 in US Dollars plus shipping. For two handcrafted, one of a kind tees, that’s awesome! Make sure you check out their new limited edition tees while you’re at it!
Keepon Collective’s Brand Video & Positive Message
Brand videos are at least semi-popular these days, a lot of indie brands are starting to get their hands on some equipment and learning to experiment with new ways to get their message heard. Some of these videos turn out horrible at best, but there are definitely some that I just love and this one done by Keepon Collective is one of my all time favorites. Why? Because it’s not a commercial, it’s not about getting their logo in your face, it’s about sending their message and nothing more. Sure, their clothes are featured in the video because it would make no sense if they weren’t, but they aren’t at the core of the video. Take 2 minutes of your day and watch this, soak it all in:
Now just try and tell me that you didn’t feel something. Check out Keepon Collective here to see their full range of t-shirts, hoodies, long sleeves and hats.
Pink ‘N’ Chewy Review
Pink ‘n’ Chewy Logo T-Shirt
It’s been a little while since I wrote a review, so be easy on me! haha I recently acquired a shirt from an awesome brand called Pink ‘n’ Chewy, they have a lot of really funny, but also really dirty tees. But don’t worry, this post is totally safe for work and for the sake of the review I requested a neutral logo shirt so I don’t offend anyone. See how thoughtful I am? ADDED NOTE: I’m adding this on after reviewing this, though I think these shirts are “dirty”, you might not think the same, what I see as dirty others might view as “tongue in cheek” or whatever, don’t just take my word for it, check out the website for yourself! =)
Anyway, the shirt got here SUPER fast, which is odd because usually customs between the US & Canada is fairly slow. Once I cracked open the black mailer and tore through the clear poly bag I had my hands on a super soft vintage type feel tee. It’s not as fitted as some other tees that claim to be, but it is comfy and soft so who cares, right? I haven’t washed it yet to see how it holds up but I will update this post when I do. And if you’re wondering, I have no idea what blank it is, it’s possible that it’s Next Level since it’s a nice blend of polyester and cotton, but I really don’t know.
Pink ‘n’ Chewy Printed Tag
The print on this tee is lovely! They took what would have been a solid logo and printed it so that you can see the color the shirt through it which gave it a worn in look that looks more natural that one that is manipulated by the design rather than the printing method. The photo on the P’n’C website doesn’t do the printing job justice, it looks awesome! Maybe my picture can help you get a better idea.
Some plus factors: No tag! These shirts are topped off with a nice screen printed label complete with washing instructions for all of those people who can’t seem to take care of their t-shirts. As for the other small details, there is a little hem tag that features a smaller version of their logo, and on the back it reads “tastes so good” – I got a good chuckle out of that. What a great way to add some extra branding in there! I also got a few little stickers with the shirt which is always a good touch. And at just $28 a pop, you really cannot go wrong.
Pink ‘n’ Chewy Hem Tag
All in all there is nothing I can see that would ever keep me from purchasing a shirt from Pink ‘n’ Chewy, and that means there’s nothing that should stop you from it either! If you like funny shirts, and I mean ones that are actually funny not those corny ones you see online everywhere, but don’t mind it being dirty then you should check out the Pink ‘n’ Chewy website to see their full product line, there’s tons to choose from and they have both mens and womens sizes. But if you’re at work, don’t do it now, do it when you get home or on your phone or something haha
That’s it! Please tell me what you think in a comment or feel free to Tweet me, I like hearing from my readers!
Something Out Of Nothing – A Proper Brand Intro Video
Something Out Of Nothing Pocket Tee
When it comes to making videos that introduce your brand to people, it needs to be done right, and what I mean by that is it has to really get across the message you’re trying to send, it’s not a commercial(well it is, but it can’t seem like one), it’s an introduction to what people can expect from you and your brand. Today I want to show you what I think is a very well done intro video that gets the point across without being to “sales-y”, if that makes sense.
Something Out Of Nothing (S.O.O.N) is a brand based in the UK that is really really hands on, their all about creating something and creating it WELL. Their products are hand crafted all the way from the printing to the hang tags. If you don’t own a brand, then I can’t stress enough how much hard work that would all be to do. But the important part is that(and this is a quote from the video) “if you do what you love, you’ll never have to work another day in your life.”, and it’s so true. That’s my favorite part of their video. You can watch it really quick here:
S.O.O.N did an amazing job keeping this video short, sweet and to the point, but it still promotes their brand and even some of their products. I personally love what the brand is all about and the products seem to be top notch too. My personal favorite is their white on grey pocket tee, but they have a wide variety of hand dyed tye dye shirts as well as beanies that are all awesome. Well, I’m not much into tye dye, but I know that’s a “thing” now so I won’t judge 😉
Anyway, if you want to keep up to date with S.O.O.N then be sure to follow them on Twitter and Facebook and make sure you check out their website to see their full range of products, you won’t be disappointed!
We Are The Recipe – Tasty Urban Apparel
[Use The Code TEESPOTTER for 25% off of your purchase! Expires @ The end of February]
We Are The Recipe Limited Edition Tee
I have yet another UK brand for you all to feast your eyes upon(see what I did there?)! They’re called We Are The Recipe and they have something truly different than most brands these days that are selling streetwear/urban stuff. Specifically, I want to tell you about their new limited edition shirt, but first, here is a bit about the company:
We Are The Recipe was started when Aaron, the brand’s designer and owner started to combine is love of design and print with hip-hop, street wear and Japanese Cartoons. If you’re wondering where he gets his inspiration from, check out their Pinterest. In the end, what was built was what you see, super original, colorful and fun designs that set a path different from where other brands are heading. And if you ask me, that’s a very good thing, trends die, but originality never does.
As for the new limited edition tee, you get all of this for just £19.00: 1 Limited Edition Tee (individually numbered on inside neck), 1 Proof of Authenticity card (signed & dated), 1 Limited Edition Chopsticks (individually numbered), and a variety of We Are The Recipe postcards/stickers, all packaged in a WATR Pizza Box! How awesome is THAT?!
We Are The Recipe Limited Edition Tee Packaging
We aren’t talking about some cheap shirt either, these are 100% ringspun cotton jersey tees, which means they’re comfy, soft and will hold up well in the wash, provided you take good care of them. The inks used to produce these is waterbased, so the print won’t feel caked on and will never, ever crack no matter what you do to it. Like I said, this is one quality shirt! Oh yea, and you can get this shirt in both blue, or red, if the one shown isn’t your style.
I don’t wanna drop any spoilers, but I may be getting my hands on one of these soon to do a nice review on, you know how I do! So, if you’re still skeptical and aren’t sure about purchasing, just hang out for a little while and I’ll be able to put your fears to rest, as well as give you all the dirty details about We Are The Recipe‘s products! But until then, you’ll just have to use your best judgement, or take my professional word for it. =)
[Use The Code TEESPOTTER for 25% off of your purchase! Expires @ The end of February]
Mindless Tees Is Here To Blow Your Mind!
Mindless Tess – Mindblown
I’ve covered Mindless Tees before, but they recently came out with a new design and I’d like to cover it today. This new tee is way different than their other stuff, but I think it can definitely still appeal to the same crowd so if you liked their stuff before, I think you still will.
The artwork really reminds me of Quakerninja’s style, I’m not sure if this was done by him or not but it’s very possible. It’s a little complicated for my taste, and the text doesn’t seem to go with the design in my opinion, but I like it more than Mindless Tees older stuff. Oh yea, the design is titled Mind Blown, now the title of this post is way more relevant 😉
In addition to this new tee, MT has also released the same design as a sticker, as well as introduced two different combo packs that get you a tee and a hat or skateboard depending on which combo you choose.
You may also start to see some MT products on Dope Fruit in the near future, which I’m sure is very exciting news for them.
If you have any of Mindless Tees products, send them a picture to add to their new Photo Wall!
Greg Rivera Of Mishka Talks About Connecting With Customers
I found this great interview that Greg Rivera, one of the guys behind the grand Mishka, did with Grovo where he discusses the importance of connecting with your customers and how they came to learn this lesson. I won’t spend to much time here typing because all of the interesting stuff is in this video:
RANDOM UPDATE: I’ve been away for a few months, my camera is broken so I’ve been somewhat limited on what I could really blog about, I like to include original pictures in my posts and I wasn’t willing to give that up. But now I’m borrowing a friends camera for the time being so I can get back on track and get this blog going. However, I have made a new schedule, instead of having several new posts every week I’ve decided to start consistently posting one new post every Tuesday and Thursday morning.
Anyway, I’m glad to be back, and I hope you’re all looking forward to all of the upcoming reviews and articles!
One Fourty Review
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More and more brands are starting to do their own custom stuff, and the peeps over at One Fourty are doing just that. Today I have a review for you that covers their custom pocket tank tops. These pocket tees/tanks were all the rage this summer season and will probably continue to be through out the winter(at least the tees). One Forty built there’s from the hems up with their own fabric, fit, and style. Lets see!
The packaging was awesome, the tank came in a box printed with their logo on one side, and on the other side the box was sealed shut with a wax seal also featuring their logo. Definitely new and different there. I also got a sticker and a rubber bracelet =) There isn’t enough room in this post to fit all of the pictures, so please click here to see this great packaging.
Like I said, the tank top is custom so the fabric isn’t what you’d normally expect from an indie clothing line, it’s soft, slightly stretchy and I believe it is baby ribbed. The pocket is made out of a different material that’s less soft and isn’t stretchy, but it’s the pocket, it doesn’t touch you so who cares haha There are also two of the same tag located at the hem, and on the back of the tank. I think this is overkill with the logos, but that’s just my opinion. Oh! They also have a custom printed neck label, but I should mention that it’s missing a lot of the info that’s legally required to be there, such as the material of the shirt, and the country of origin. Chances are no indie brand will get nabbed for this, but if you ever wanted to go wholesale and sell your stuff to retail stores, they’re going to require this info to be on the shirts so that they don’t get in trouble. Overall, this shit is super comfy! Unfortunately it just got really cold here so I won’t be able to enjoy it very much =(
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The guys behind One Fourty are super passionate about keeping this brand 100% British made, everything is made right in London. They take great pride in their products, and they should! It takes a lot of hard work to build a brand, and even more so when you have to do extra research in order to produce your own custom clothes. They seem to have fun doing it though, which is what makes One Fourty so awesome, you can actually get that fun feeling through their website, clothing, packaging and overall branding.
If you’re looking for a different indie experience than you’re used to, head over to the One Fourty website and place an order. I promise, you’ll be surprised at the difference =)
Jerz Apparel Review
Review time! Today I have a fresh logo tee from the New Jersey apparel company called Jerz Apparel. Now, usually I’m not that impressed when a new brand comes out and all they have is a bunch of logo tees/tanks/whatever, but there are exceptions to this. In this case, Jerz is really creating an identity for itself, with these logo shirts it’s laying a sound foundation of what you can expect from here on out and that’s a good thing. You should be able to look at any clothing companies website and tell what they are about, or what kind of style they’re going for. Jerz has hit that nail right on the head. I just so happen to have one of their tees right here, so I’m going to review it for you. =)
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The shirt came in a regular bubble mailer and wrapped in it’s own clear poly bag, pretty standard so I can’t complain, it keeps the shirt dry and clean. In with the shirt was a bunch of stickers and business cards with all different designs, pretty cool! Moo.com does this if you’re interested, you can get a different design on every single card if you want!
The shirt is just as solid as the rest, nice color, soft, fits fairly well. I think it might be a Gildan shirt but I’m not too sure, it says it’s made in Nicaragua, if anyone knows what shirts are made there, let me know! If it is a Gildan shirt, it’s one of the better ones I’ve ever owned. The print is pretty rough, but since the design doesn’t cover a whole lot of the shirt it’s not too much of a bother. This shirt also comes with a custom printed neck tag and a nice looking hem tag. This small detail might not actually matter, but I like it when the hem tag is more of a rectangle like with this shirt rather than a square, that way it doesn’t reach over the actual hem. I don’t know, I just think it looks better that way haha. NOTE: I’ve been informed that the shirt is actually a Next Level tee!
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I like the message that Jerz is trying to send, they’re trying to show the diversity and richness of the New Jersey culture, and make everyone realize that it’s really not like what you see on TV. Example – Jersey Shore. I always admire brands who are trying to open peoples eyes, as I believe it’s one of the hardest goals to accomplish. If you’re in need of some new simple logo tees to sport this fall season, grab one or two from Jerz Apparel and represent something different!
PS- I think they have an end of summer sale going on right now where all of their tank tops are 30% off, plus every order over $40 gets free shipping with the code JERZ2012
Tee Spotter 