Craving original, humorous, and ingenious tees? Wishing to show off your stunning artwork?
Threadless is the answer to your desires. Founded in 2000, the online graphic design network sells apparel, bags, pillows and even dog bowls, all of which feature the works of modern artists around the globe.
Threadless not only provides a constant supply of unique and creative products, it also allows artists – whether amateur or professional – to submit their designs and have the opportunity for their artwork to be worn by hundreds. Furthermore, if an artist’s design is chosen and printed, he or she is rewarded up to 2,500 dollars, as well as a Threadless gift card. The process is almost too simple: All you are required to do is create a personal account to be able to submit designs and purchase clothing.
Another unique aspect of Threadless is in its community-minded decision making process: consumers can actively participate in choosing various shirt designs that are to be printed and sold.After designs are submitted and approved by Threadless administrators, they go through a scoring process. During this period of time, individual customers give the design a score out of 5, with the highest score of 5 meaning “$!!! I would buy it!” and 1 translating into“UGH, NO.” After a few weeks, when the scoring period ends, the top-ranked designs are printed and put up for sale in the online shop.
Threadless regularly hosts design contests that address themes for specific clothing collections or products. Previous contest themes include Iron Man, Disney villains, greeting cards, and sock designs. Contests in the past have also centered on creating exclusive designs for companies and organizations such as GAP, Sony and the World Wide Fund for Nature. Additionally, Threadless has collaborated with popular contemporary musicians, in the last year hosting t-shirt design challenges for the bands Foster the People and Arcade Fire.
With a constant supply of original designs, Threadless provides a rich source of innovative products, as well as a great platform for artists showcase their work. Shoppers, artists, and those just plain curious, you can check out Threadless at www.threadless.com.
This article originally appeared in the May/June 2013 issue of UNIT-E. It was written by Rosalind Chang, a student at the International School of Beijing.
About UNIT-E
UNIT-E was founded in the spring of 2010 with the aim of establishing a non-profit, student-run magazine for international students in Beijing. Staffed by current students from a range of international schools, the magazine provides an amalgam of cultural tidbits, fragments of Beijing student life, and a broad spectrum of unique perspectives from a diverse group of young adults.
Photo courtesy of UNIT-E
