Pinkyderm

Just a quickie note to state that today is the day of our choice of Teextile print of the week. Word 2 tha' Herd by biotwist is a fun and bold piece, swarming with elephants covering every last inch of the front, with a single pink specimen over the heart, standing apart from the tight-packed herd while being no less part of it. The pink on the silver actually is a rather nice color contrast, especially with the thick outlines, and while the particulars aren't groundbreaking, the boldness of the execution is nevertheless something quite special. My only qualm is not knowing if this will wrap around or simply stop past the front. Given a warning on another tee this week, I fear it may do the latter, which diminishes it a bit, yet not so much as to make it any less worth the wear.

It's been on sale since Monday, and will be for the rest of the week, but today is the day to grab a copy for $12 and save a little on a tee which certainly is worth far more.

Deuxtile

As some of you may have already noticed, Teextile is holding a reprint week of some of their older designs, before they started their current week-long sales structure. It's a great idea for the site: it allows their newer fans to get the shirts they featured when they had fewer followers, and it allows the designers to benefit from a week of extra profits, instead of the single day they had originally. We here at Singularitee are most excited about this because it gives you all an extra chance to snatch up Recycled Wax's "I Want to Dance, Too", a Contest Watch favorite from way back. It'll be available to pick up all week, but Tuesday (that's today, dig?) will be your chance to get it cheaper. It came out great the first time around, so don't miss it the second time.
After Tuesday? Grab it here.

BAHC Sale + Teextile Reminder

While I would like to remind you, of course, about today being the day to get my Teextile Pick-of-the-Week for $12, it is more exciting to announce that one of my fave small-scale storefronts, Bad As Hell Clothing, is having a one-day Summer Sale today. All shirts are just under $15 for 24 hours only. These guys sell some awesome stuff, so I can't recommend them enough. My favorite remains Edgar R. McHerly's "...Excuse Me" (shown left, a former Contest Watch item), but I can't see you going wrong with anything in their catalog, so give it a good browse. It'll be the best decision you make these next 24 hours.

All Over Week at Teextile

This week is "All Over Week" at Teextile, the first of what will be monthly "theme weeks" there. For the most part, it also seems to be "shadowy, live-traced, black and white week," as the diversity for me is really lacking. There's not a lot of personal style being evoked here. Which is why I was happy when I got the big picture on "Tall Trees," by Spacegirl. The textures break up the shadows and creates a lot of depth, which takes advantage of the full canvas, but the thing that really pulls me in is that fox/deer hybrid strolling across the tee. It's done in an almost calligraphic style, which makes me unable to stop looking at it. It's eye-catching, and the choice of shirt blank makes for a wonderful moodiness. If you want a new oversized print, this is the one to get this week... it'll be available all week at $15, but on Wednesday will be on sale for $12.

How Quickly Time Flies

I'd like to apologize, dear readers, for my extended absence this weekend. There are times when the real world gets in the way of blogging, and while I certainly missed you guys this week, some things are more important. That said, it feels like forever since I last chatted with you.

It is made to feel even longer considering that recent Contest Watch feature, Wotto's "Dark Side of Doodles," is up for sale at Teextile all week. It was quite a quick pick, so it serves to bolster the illusion of an even longer absence. It's also quite a worthy pick. It's distinctively Wotto, but also among his most fun and accessible tees... all the characters are charming and awesome, and the color scheme is classic and classy. I can't recommend enough that you pick one up. Today is the best day, as it's on sale for $12, but if you miss it, grab it at $15 any time for the rest of the week. Your chest will thank you for it.

ONE DAY ONLY (REMINDERS)

FOR ONE DAY ONLY:

~THE APPARITION OF THE GROUCHY GOD is on sale at Teefury for $9!

FOR ONE MORE DAY:
~BlakeB and RobbieLee at Teextile for $15!

YOU HAVE BEEN FOREWARNED

A Series of Fortunate Events

It has been a while since I last talked about Teextile. I guess technically, after the long weekend, it's been a while since I discussed anything, but Teextile has borne a definite lack of mention since my favorable tee review about a month ago (pro-tip: my second teex-tee, while not as wonderfully soft in its print as I Want To Dance, was still wonderfully done). But this week is different. Because this week is probably the best series they've put out since opening.
The highlight is BlakeB's monotone masterpiece Amongst the Trees, which is on sale now but will be featured Thursday for $12. The grammar nerd in me cannot help but remember a former English teacher going on a diatribe about the word "amongst," how it was an archaic form that died and never needed to be brought back by Mike Myers... but the title is never more important than the tee itself, and the tee itself is wonderful. I love the individual and differing patterns on the bevy of trees in the piece, which keeps the art from fully blurring into itself, but still creates a camouflage for the huge hominid making his way through them. While the piece could easily have made its way a bit higher up the chest, I still like how it climbs up from the bottom and leaves an ample skyline along the chest. Finally, there is a certain everyman charm to the execution... it is skillful, but imperfect, making it something anyone can relate to artistically. More than anything, though, it's conceptual, both with the sheer joy of pattern as well as the fantasy that the reason we don't see more bigfoot-esque critters is because they simply hide too well.

There are two other pieces worthy of note, of course, as well... first being Smoking's long awaited Whale of a Bath Time, a sub that revels in watercolors. It's today's feature, for the next few hours, and one that has been well scored and revised at Threadless a number of times to much excitement and no eventual print. Fans should remember to pick one up this week while they can. But then, there's also robbielee's Trash, which has also made its way around the contest circuits over the last year. It's a fun take on recycling that makes you feel a bit guilty for your cast-out landfill fodder. Prime stuff for the environmental minded, or just fans of a good humor tee. It'll be featured Friday, but as all Teextile shirts, it'll be up all week. With a piece from the popular Olechka and an actually intriguing DBH-style print from argie rounding out the week, it's easy to see what would keep someone like me excited about this series. And no, it's not just my as-late blind devotion to white blanks. I have more depth to me than that!

If you plan on purchasing, btw, feel free to let them know AdderXYU sent ya'... it's always appreciated.

Print Review: Teextile

We hope you all went over to Teextile yesterday to get the awesome "Trampoline" (shown above), but if you missed it, all is not lost: it'll still be available for the weekend at $15. Of course, many of you might be wondering if the premium is worth it. Thankfully, Teextile was kind enough to send a sample my way, and these, my friends, are my findings:

Blank: Most of the big players in the shirt game use American Apparel blanks, and Teextile is no exception. It means you know you're getting a quality product from the get-go. If you've been reading this blog, you're probably used to AA's blanks, and fashion-fit tees in general. If not, I'm still glad to have you, but be warned... AAs often shrink, and probably have a different cut than you're used to. Most people recommend a size up, but personally, I'd do a little research and then trust your gut (no pun intended).

Print: They sent me a copy of "I Want to Dance, Too," by RecycledWax, which couldn't have worked out better. I have to say, I was incredibly impressed with these guys in the print department. The printer they're working with was able to handle the more complex watercolor look of the piece with relative ease, leading to a print that really captures the charm of the original submission. What I was really impressed by, however, was the SOFTNESS. It hardly feels like there's ink at all... just soft, soft shirt. And there's nothing wrong with that.

Shipping Info: I've been hearing reports around the webs of people feeling the shipping was a bit slow... I didn't notice, personally, but as I think back, it was my experience also. Still, for $2 shipped (and free shipping for any design you voted for in scoring), I'm personally pretty forgiving if my tee takes the scenic route, especially since Teextile prints to order (meaning shipping time includes the tee getting printed, as well). One thing to consider: I got my order in one of those mailers with the clear plastic window, sort of like DBH and Teefury do. If you're ordering a gift, or live in a sketchier neighborhood than most, you'll probably want to take that into account.

Overall, I'm definitely recommending Teextile. They've been getting some really diverse designs, and unlike some other new contest sites, they're finally hitting a stride with new submissions. It is, of course, to be expected that a new company may come with a couple changes early on: that's true for sure of Teextile's print schedule, but I'm liking what I'm seeing, and trusting that with enough support, they'll only be changing for the better.

Speaking of changing for the better, if there's anything you guys want to see in future print segments, let me know. It probably won't be a regular segment, but there will likely be more (I have Shirtfight lined up for next week already). Of course, if you're a company that would like to put yourself out there, consider this a formal invitation... I'm always happy to have a reason to chat up some of the smaller and newer acts. If interested, contact me at 5songsinc@gmail.com and we'll work something out.

What the 'dillo, yo?

What does this week have that other weeks do not? Lots of armadillos! To start, we'd love to give you a heads up on recent Contest Watch design "Trampoline," by jillustration, which is just covered in armadillos. It'll be on sale at Teextile Friday (when we'll chat more about it), but if you want to grab it early for $15, snag it at this link any time this week.

Today, though, and for one day only, you can snag Burrowish, by the wondertastic Torakamikaze, at Teefury. Originally submitted into DBH's contest, Burrowish is a great shirt that should have made it there, but is at least being granted a brief life at TF. It's got absolutely lovely detail, a pleasant dark earth-tone palette, and features an armadillo genie... that alone should totally worth the $11 price of admission. It's also a former contest watch design, and while we definitely prefer to see such designs find a permanent home somewhere, SingulariTee loves Teefury anyway, even if Wotto has been trying to bankrupt us with his last three picks. Give 'em some serious love today... Tora deserves it.

Update 25 and Contest Winners Announced!

We're pretty excited about update #25, and not just because it came from a more underdog site. The big winner is Tolagunestro's "Extraterrestrial," a great piece from a great artist, brought to us by new weekly shirt purveyor Teextile. More on them this weekend. The colors on the shirt are great, and I love the spacey, alien, robotic feel to the illustration. It's sure to go great in my wardrobe with his Scifiction (and for those of you who are interested in a bit of a different angle, he did a quite lovely piece for shirt.woot the other day). It's up for sale all week, but if you can wait until Friday you'll be rewarded with a discount.

Now, with the print of this shirt comes important business: announcing the winner of our Contest Watch Contest! The entries were stuck into a magical chili-pepper cup, shaken vigorously, and the lucky winner was April P. A frequent reader of the blog, April is also responsible for one of our updates, Spirit of the Stag. While she came up just short of guessing on the nose with Self Serve/Surf, we think she'll be looking awesome in her brand new copy of Timberland, the shirt she's selected as her prize. We just ordered a copy of that one ourselves, and we're quite excited about it as well.

Sadly, no one won the spot-on prize... in fact, of all the entries I got via my blog as well as mailed directly to me, only one entrant guessed a design submit elsewhere than Threadless. A normal person might take this as a sign to save some cash, but I decided to spread the wealth and select three winners for a booby prize. Congrats, therefore, to Bo M., Larry, and Justin C.! We're sorry your awesome guesses didn't win you a chance to select a tee from our diverse and awesome set of updates, but just so you don't go naked, we will be selecting some even more diverse shirts for you! Each of you will receive a hand-selected tee chosen from the finest array of thrift and vintage purveyors and shipped over for you to sport proudly or gift to an enemy! We'll even launder it with care, so it'll be ready to rock as soon as you open your envelope! We hope you are as excited for this as we are. Because we're pretty chuffed about it, to be honest. All prizes will be shipped out by late April. Excitement!

For the rest of you, I've compiled the first 25 in one handy-dandy area for you. We encourage you to support whichever pieces you like... many of these designers rely on sales to garner residuals as well as make them more appealing to print again. And we want that. There will be a permanent link on our sidebar, but for now, find our complete list through this link. Thanks for a great contest... here's hoping we'll see you here for #100!

Weekend of Big Changes: Teextile

Also updating starting tomorrow is newcomer Teextile. Formerly one shirt a day, one day only, their wares will now be available all week. It's still a little unsure still how they will do it: right now, it looks like they will have them all available all week for $15, with each having a specific "featured" day for $12. It is also possible, however, that the shirts may go on sale on their featured day, and then sell for the next week after. Either way is good news for you: extra time to buy is always welcome. Keep your eyes peeled at Teextile for the specifics.

We also hear they will be bringing back selected shirts previously for sale, which will be pretty awesome if you've missed one. However, for the inaugural week of the new layout, we're backing "Is That You?" by Attila. The detail is solid, the idea cute, the colors moody, and the lighting really turns the whole thing on. It'll be on sale Tuesday, but if you want it sooner, try snagging it Monday to see which method the site has sided with. Either way, you'll definitely have the rest of the week if you do stall on grabbing it in time.

I WANT TO DANCE TOO: MOVED TO TODAY!!!

Sorry for the late reminder/update! Teextile switched it up on us last minute, printing RecycledWax's "I Want To Dance Too" today instead of tomorrow as scheduled. If you loved this, grab it now now now... it's gone at midnight. Sorry I couldn't alert y'all earlier... I'd just now checked the site, presuming I knew what was printing. I hope no one misses out, and hope for Teextile's sake that these sort of mix-ups are kept to a minimum.

Happy Birthmonth: Teextile is born!

Big Exciting Stuff this month, as it should be. March is a lot of things: my birth-month, for one. This year, though, I'm sharing the month with two exciting new Tee competitions. I have some personal features planned, and hopefully some themed content, but most importantly we want to get the new blood up and running with some promotion. For you designer types, it's worth checking them out and hitting up their respective FAQs.

Teextile is the first to start up, having released its first shirt today at midnight (Eastern Standard Time, for you checkers). They're kind enough to provide us a ticker so we can figure out print time for our own personal locations... stand-up blokes, them. Their first shirt is one I'm mixed on... Good Old Times by Fatmouse. The pros: it shows off their size capabilities, for starters, and it makes a very wearable brand tee... the pixelized feel and old-school gaming homage isn't something I'm gonna rush out and buy, but it would certainly be something that could find an audience willing to wear it. The coolest part is the color-selection: you could feasibly have Teextile print the one-color piece in any shade you preferred, making it totally custom. My biggest question mark, though, is this: I'm unsure who wants to sport a brand they don't even know if they love yet. Thankfully for Teextile, there seems to be plenty of reason for those few to want to keep on wearing it... I just feel it's going to be a slight financial disappointment, and a larger disappointment to future fans who will wish they'd taken that leap of faith.

Thankfully for the sales of shirt #1, Teextile has also released their entire week's lineup, and the lineup seems way strong enough for the brand to gain immediate fans. I think this is an excellent idea for the new company... instead of relying on people to check every day, it gives artists enough time to promote their upcoming shirt, fans the ability to plan to budget in their favorites, and the uninitiated will get to preview what's coming up and get excited, instead of perhaps missing out on a shirt for want of checking daily... seriously, who can remember all those crazy daily sites? I'm guessing we'll be seeing these previews post every weekend, as Teextile doesn't plan to sell anything those days.

What I'm most excited for is RecycledWax's "I Want To Dance Too," a longtime Contest Watch favorite and officially update #19. It will be printing Friday, giving you plenty of time to plan to snag one. And you really should. While I still hold true that I'm not entirely in love with the shot-glass son here, I do love the overall liquid feel of the colors and the blissful romance of the main characters. The kid dampens the romance, as they always do, but it's still a totally worthwhile purchase. Don't forget, $15 on Friday, because even if you win over at our big CW contest, it's rather unlikely I'll be able to snag one of these as a prize for ya... one day and all that.