Where the Wild Things Are

I love checking to see what @bryanbrinkman has created each week for his #DesignAShirtAWeek submission to the cause.

This week's submission is as creative and imaginative as all of @bryanbrinkman's designs have been to date, as you are about to view here:



His unipighorse, by some, might be "pooh pooh'd" since in our current reality there would appear to be no such thing as a unipighorse.  I would argue, "what is real in the realm of imagination and drawing?"  What if Maurice Sendak had felt that way and never wrote and created the "wild things" in his widely celebrated work, "Where the Wild Things Are"?

So this week I am just saying to feel free to let your self be unlimited with your creations and designs.  Let the wild things out...you know...as long as they aren't going to harm someone else.

Lest you think I forgot, I haven't.  Below is my submission for this week.



I went for the cute factor this week.  What's more cute than paws and babies?

Lastly, for the third week in a row the Marilyn Slade t-shirt is MySoti's sales topper.  Way to go!

Oh wait!  Now really lastly, as always, please consider this blog an open invite to share your designs or tips and the like.  We love hearing from you.

Happy Halloween and All Saints Day to all the sinners and saints alike.

Going Pro

Welcome to Week #5.

Okay, still a little surprised that no one else is participating on Twitter #DesignAShirtAWeek.  Having said that, I am thrilled with @bryanbrinkman and @loribjork entries for this week.

Since I am @loribjork and one of my other great passions is spirituality and the law of attraction, I just want to share my belief that if you ever find yourself walking around and all of a sudden an idea pops in your mind that goes something like this, "that would be a great idea for a t-shirt"...well, to me, that really is all it takes to identify your self as a t-shirt designer.

There are tons of easy to use software out there to help you get the idea from your mind into a digital format.  And tons of web presences, including MySoti, that you can upload your design to.  Or if you don't have the use of software or the time or inclination to learn, you could always hire someone like @bryanbrinkman or @loribjork to create a digital representation for you and/or upload it to the various web presences.

For me personally, there was nothing more exciting than the first time someone buys an item with one of my designs on them.  And while I am not a dictionary, let's get real here.  If you get paid for doing something, you are a PRO.

Once you identify your self as a PRO, it radiates a vibration to the Universe that brings you more of the same.

So, if you want to be a PRO...be one.  Proclaim it.  PRO claim it.

"If you think you can't or can, you are correct." Henry Ford

Okay...@bryanbrinkman was obviously inspired this week by Halloween.  I love his newest entry.



@loribjork not so much.  I appear to be a little more inspired by the love of a tall, cool one.



Thanks for peeping this blog.

Remember, there is a standing open invitation to all who wish to participate via Twitter with #DesignAShirtAWeek.  We will shamelessly plug your design in this blog.

Below is one of the most demanded designs on MySoti this week.  Stuff by RikkiB, which is described as doodle-tastic!

What makes a successful t-shirt designer?

What makes a successful t-shirt designer?

Seriously, what's that answer.

You've sold more t-shirts with your designs on them than anyone else?

You are in spot 1 when someone searches "t-shirt designers" on Google Search.

http://www.customink.com

So I had to check them out. Catchy slogan, "You think it. We ink it."

Okay, I'm still enthralled with MySoti if you are thinking t-shirt design purist. Custom Ink does offer the ability to put your design for purchase on a frisbee. Frisbee golf anyone? They seem very much like cafepress. Hmmm, but shorts and beer koozies too. The design lab looked inviting. Nothing about tips on what makes a good design.

So what else does google have for us?

2. http://www.coloroverload.com

3. www.threadless.com

Here we go? They pick a best of the month, called the bestee winner. July '09s winner, If you would like to see his design, click here. It actually is quite delightful, but you need to be a cat person.

And they have design challenges. Currently, threadless loves geeks sponsored by Microsoft. You can win some money, too. They are accepting designs through October 1, 2009. Want more info, click here.

Threadless also offers money if your design is chosen for print. More info about this if you click above which takes you to their homepage. If you win their annual bestee award, kapow, $22,500.

MySoti has a this week's most wanted. People may vote on each others designs. This week's most wanted:


Okay, I checked out MySoti's blog to see if they have any design tips. Nada!

It did show some pretty awesome designs, though.

Okay, no answer to what makes a designer successful. You could probably find as many answers almost as their are designs.

If you are a t-shirt designer and would like me to dedicate a blog to you and some of your designs and your design process and inspirations and what you feel makes a successful t-shirt designer and the like, call me. Okay, don't call me 'cuz I'm not giving you my phone number. You can leave me a message via MySoti.

And, of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't use this opportunity to pimp one of my own designs.



and the same design but small



Until we meet again, may you be abundant and blessed with inspiration and may you flow an abundant amount of wealth to you for bringing your inspiration to manifestation.

Welcome

Inspiration.

September 12, 2009 (technically...since it is on at 12:35 AM) I saw an episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The second one already with that guy who was in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and hosted the VMAs. The first time he was on the show, as a Twitter experiment they picked someone out of the audience and encouraged everyone to follow him on Twitter and see how many followers he'd get.

The second time that guy was on the show, they again mentioned @BryanBrinkman and that everyone should send him a nice tweet...probably to be sure to watch the VMAs.

So I tweeted him. When I viewed his profile page to see how many followers he had and what he'd been tweeting, I saw a tweet for #DesignAShirtAWeek. Well, I design shirts and I wanted in. And then there were two.

What was fun about this is that Bryan uses a website called MySoti, which is blog friendly.

And so while I haven't really decided exactly what direction to take this blog in, my initial inspiration is to invite more people to tweet with the #DesignAShirtAWeek hash tag and then pick one or two or three to share their design for the week and their inspiration for creating the design.

So, again welcome.

I plan on most of my submissions coming from my nb2c or what I consider text-speak for not born 2 conform. To me this is the attitude where originality is embraced and uniqueness reigns. And if this makes me a dork (thus my MySoti moniker, nb2cdorkbjork), so be it. I figure dorks, geeks, nerds and the like actually have it best because we tend to shun the status quo, collective consciousness and think outside the box.

In this first blog, I include my week 1 design, which was my original nb2c design. And I'll be honest, part of why it includes a skull and crossbones is 'cuz that seems to be quite a popular icon with the younger crowd.



My week two entry comes from loving the lips and coming up with something that uses them and incorporates the nb2c attitude.



And even though entry three is a little early (we'll consider every Friday official entry day), this is also one of my favorite designs 'cuz I love the glasses with the tape on the bridge and I love the idea of those who buy it having the "stones" to put it out there and tell it like it is.



It was after a couple of days that I got the idea to create two web pages for each design. One I call BIG, which as you can see above puts the design out there on full display over most of the front of the shirt.

The one I call small. Not everyone likes a design that big. Some are more subtle and like the idea of smaller with placement over the heart. And that is probably another thing that I hope to come out of this are possible tips. So here is the same design as the one above, just placed over the heart.



So, I encourage you to submit your designs via twitter and I trust that if I check out your design and love it, you'll agree to allow me to promote it in this blog.

Happy t-shirt designing and wearing.