Apres Mains Le Deluge

We're not always entirely happy when we see contest watch pieces go to print. Sometimes the piece has been altered since the original vote period, and sometimes that alteration is for the worse. Sometimes site limitations force a change. So it goes in the fickle world of tees.

So too it went for Fat Pigeon, creator of Like Water Through My Hands. While I give props where due to RIPT for picking a decidedly more feminine piece up at all, I really wish the piece had more of the nuances of color that the original showed, especially the pinks in the flowers. That said, of course, this is not a disaster, because the piece still does what it sets out to do, and does it beautifully. The hands still gleam like porcelain, fragile and pure. The water still cascades fluidly. There is still a sense of peace and calm to the design, and while I personally hope that it'll see print as originally intended in the future, if things go as shown here, the newer rendition could be just as successful. Just remember that, like water through your hands, this design will slip away in 24 hours, as all RIPT designs do, so be sure to bottle it up before you lose your chance.

Beep/Boop 1

I'm not a big fan of pop-culture without anything further added. It's like McDonalds... fast, cheap, and easy, yet incredibly profitable. That said, today I'm going to have to eat my words. Twice.

Well, not totally. I mean, Travis Gentry's "Dangerous Creature" is simply brilliant stylistically. It takes on the work of Durer spot-on, especially his fantastical woodcut of a rhinoceros. The choice is smart, because to those of Durer's time, the rhino would be no less fake than a koopa paratrooper, but the immediately recognizable style is enough... it takes our modern, marketed art, and turns it into something classic. The tee, however, will sadly not be around as long as Durer's woodcuts... RIPT'll only be selling this classy bit of 80s kitsch until midnight central tomorrow. Grab it before it's game is over.

Tee-Cember: Two For Tuesday

We're both shocked and pleased to announce that twice in a seven day span, we've had reason to talk up RIPT Apparel, the red-headed stepchild of the daily sites. They're a site that seems to keep struggling to find itself as well as find a regular, loyal fanbase, and really, we'd love to see what they could do if that fanbase grew for them. A small site is a double-edged sword... without large customer bases, the site finds it hard to get top names. Without top names, it finds it hard to bring in a customer base.

So really, partnering with shirt.woot cult favorite EdgarRMcHerly tonight could be the best of all possible worlds... Edgar is incredibly skilled and creative, and has a large-ish following, but is not near so well known as to have RIPT be a true risk for him. He'll have his fans follow him anyway, and they'll reap the benefit. It's really a solid piece, too; "I Dig Life" is a little creepy and a little charming, a little goofy and a little powerful, a little life and a little implied death. The colors are vibrant and fluid. The style is unique. The concept is brilliant in its own odd way. There's a lot to see in here, much more than at first glance, but even if all the life in the growing tree was gone, the character spitting that life forth at the bottom is just so wonderful to look at, spectral in a death-gives-way-to-life manner, yet proper in a way that cannot be less from-the-earth if he tried. I'm really looking forward to this one. If you're loving it too, pick one up, and support an artist who truly deserves it and a site that could use your support. And hey, if you like hats, consider RIPT's holiday bundles... a tee a month for six months, and a RIPT cap. Shipping included, the bundle costs $80 (lest you think this is far too pricey for $10 shirts, consider an extra $2.50 or so per tee for shipping, leaving you with a whole stack of prepaid tees and a swank hat for an extra fiver), but for those of you who might wish to be more frugal now, you can get the same for $65 without shipping. Maybe not an ideal personal purchase, but could be an excellent gift idea. Just make sure to warn your potential giftee if you go for the cheapie bundle.

By comparison, I almost feel guilty having to make Edgar share billing with another daily, this time from TeeInvaders. TeeInvaders seems to have some solid clout in getting great designers already, and seems to be going in a quite positive direction with its relaunch and rebranding. I've been very interested following them, which is why today's curation makes me so sad. It's not really The_JCW's fault... "The Incredible Flyingcontraptionofwaste" is an excellent illustration, and one that deserves its day in the sun... or at least on a tee. It's even an old Contest Watch fave, which is why we're mentioning it here. For us, though, while the piece was bold and detailed and eye-catching and simply wonderful as a blown-up, full-tee print, it loses a lot at its new, tiny, chest-print size. But, we would like to give you, the readers, the final say. We love our contest watch designs like children, so even when they screw up, we hope things go their way. If you're still digging the design at this size (and definitely check the site for a full view), give JCW some well-deserved love. Just remember, while each site has its own turnover time, you've only got until the counter reaches zero to get these guys... after that, they're lost to the sands of time.

Tee-Cember: From a Remington SL3

We're happy to announce a tee-riffic deal for you lit nerd sorts: for one night only, RIPT Apparel will be selling "Uh-Oh Spaghettios," better known to you and I as "Inspired by Still Life With Woodpecker," a former contest watch highlight. Fans of Tom Robbins' book will understand the title easily, and will enjoy searching through the Still Life for all sorts of items which allude to the story on which it is based, but what I like even more about this is that the layperson who is -not- a fan of the book can still appreciate the wonderful art put into the still life itself. It's a classy tee no matter how you slice it, and throughout these 50 states and in Mexico, there's no tee that's ever been wanted like this one wants to be wanted by you.

Matching Towels

Since longtime readers, collaborators, and all around friends-of-the-blog JadenKale and MJ are both involved in tonight's offering from RIPT Apparel, I feel I'd be remiss to not mention that the former's first curation and the latter's second print will be appearing at the site this evening.
The tee is Rock Lobster, which I like for the simple bold colors and of course topic matter (longtime readers know I have a soft spot for crustaceans and palettes like this). This particular piece is especially charming to me for the unique style, simplicity, and the lobster's transparency, which adds an intriguing effect. Definitely worth checking out if you've got a soft spot for cheesy jokes or sea life.

Overall, I'd like to note that even in its infancy, this whole "curator" thing at RIPT seems to be boosting their overall quality immediately. I am all for this, and I look forward to getting acquainted with each curator's personal style and preferences. Jaden has personally been dropping some tantalizingly vague hints my way, but besides this, I think we'll finally see RIPT come into its own as quality increases. Or at least that's my hope. We could have one more depository for Star Wars rips and traced photos. But hope... it doth spring eternal, and the early days gives me much to hope for.

Don't forget, you can't stop the rock, but the lobster gets boiled at midnight Central tomorrow.

I'm a Little Glowing Friend

While we originally spoke of today's shirt as being up for voting at Teextile, it is up for sale tonight for $10 at RIPT apparel. The switch-up is fine by me; RIPT seems to need more exposure, and with Teextile on the cusp of switching blanks, neither site really has the quality advantage, so why not save a couple bucks? In general though, I definitely recommend checking RIPT regularly... no site can elevate themselves without a solid customer base, and the more people who tune in, and the more people who buy, the more solid artists will consider submitting solid pieces.

Anyway, today's solid piece is Tobias Fonseca's "Binary Song," which I love for the sheer oddity of it. I don't -truly- get it at all, but it's so striking, and the concept is so tied together, that it doesn't matter. All the links are there: the monitor displaying the singing bird, the hands "playing" the keyboard, the music coming out as zeroes and one-esque notes... there is a solid concept shown, even if it's not clear what it is, and I think that its solidity is what makes this so inherently wearable to me. It could mean something different to each wearer, and it's damn cool when that happens.

This'll be on sale for one night only (about 23.5 hours as of now), so you should definitely pick it up nownownow. These sites revert rights back to the artists after their sale period, but there's never a guarantee you'll find them anywhere again. And if you want more Tobias, hey, will you look at that, he was Friday's tee over at Teextile this week, with a haunting design that is one of the site's best in months. Both tees are lost to oblivion with the tolling of midnight Central tomorrow, so don't dawdle!

Bull Shirt: Today Only

The new trend in tee sites seems to be the quick-n-dirty One Day Only site. TeeFury seems to be the pioneer here, but the basics are always the same: the site prints your shirt for a limited time, pays you based on what you sell, and then you get the rights back when the print run is done. It's the ultimate in impulse buying: often you literally have 24 hours before the shirt of your dreams is gone forever.

In case you need something else to get frantic over every midnight, I present to you RIPT Apparel. RIPT just started yesterday, so you really haven't missed much, but you definitely shouldn't miss this one: it's a rare print by Dave Perillo, known also as Montygog. The piece is A Bull by the Horns, and it is chock full of the fun, retro style the designer is known for. The bull is the obvious focus, being the "punch line," but there's plenty to see in the stripe of characters... each car almost has personality, and there are some fun sight-gags added in if you let yourself peruse. The throwback cartooning, however, is what you're really paying for with a Montygog piece, and he doesn't disappoint here... the colors, shapes, and humor all give a nostalgic feel, even for those of us who weren't born when the nostalgia was freshest. Personally, I can't help but remember the old Wacky Races cartoons just looking at it. How dastardly of the designer!

RIPT tees are only $10, and this one's only up until Midnight Central tomorrow, so if you're digging it, you hep cat, now is the time to grab it, and support a new site, a unique designer, and your wardrobe's right to some unique, individual tees.