Tee-cember: Ten Clouds a-Killing

Much like yesterday, today's post is in honor of a relative upstart company I've wanted to get around to for a while now. This one is Cameesa, and it is to contests what 7up is to cola. While most contests rely on votes to determine what goes to print, Cameesa believes in "crowdfunding." It is what it sounds like: you put down $20 on a design you like, and when it is "fully funded" (that's $1000 to you and I) you get it shipped to you free. It's a concept that means intriguing things: any design that can gain 50 supporters can be printed, meaning not only can popular submissions score prints just by having 50 devoted fans, but not so great designs can print just by having 50 devoted fans. It's an incredibly unique business model, and one that will be interesting to look at a year from now, when the catalog shapes up.

Of course, it does mean that if you like a shirt up for support, you may have $20 sitting in limbo for quite a while before you finally get that tee you've desired, which certainly has made me iffy on biting on the "support" end. Cameesa long ago tried sweetening the pot by cutting supporters in on the profits... it's no huge margin, but even a couple extra dimes every time someone buys a shirt you support can add up. Just recently, however, they released a new idea: that $20 you put down can support as many designs as you want now. Support one or ten shirts on the same $20, and you'll get the first one that prints, meaning that you don't have to have $100 floating around with no product to show for it. My hope is that this will put more confidence into supporting less likely prints, turning them into more likely prints. My personal recommendation? Monsieur Pimpant's Coq Music, featuring the hippest chicken around. I've been tempted to support it for a while, and knowing I can stretch that support further is making the temptation greater.

But enough about what you can support, and more about what you can buy now. Among the fully supported designs up for sale is The_JCW's "The Day of Bad Rain." It's got a great, creepy feel to it, yet maintains a bit of humor. I'm admittedly a bit of a cephalopod addict... it's one of the few memes I'm susceptible more often than not, largely because octopi and squid are fascinating, especially from a mobility standpoint. It stands to reason that the flow of all those arms would draw the eye in artistically as well, and once again this piece does just that for me. More than that, in this piece, the eyes draw me in... some angry, some inquisitive, all standing out, especially those against the dark shirt background. What I don't really focus on is the guy at the bottom, being rained on and otherwise besieged by the monsterous cloud, nor do I focus on the instruments of doom bearing down on him. These bits certainly help complete the piece, and add to it, but I'm more in love with the motion and the lines. The rest is but a cherry on the sundae.