Interview: Ban T-Shirts

I was lucky enough to have an interview with Duncan (the Dude) from Ban T-Shirts. For those of you who are not familiar with Ban T-Shirts, they are like a politically correct version of T-Shirt Hell. Is that even possible? Well, I think so and that is why I wrote it. While T-Shirt Hell seems to create t-shirts designed to shock and amuse Ban T-Shirts has designs that sometimes shock and usually make you think. Most, if not all of the tees have a message and those messages are typical of far to the left liberals…like me. Anyway, scroll down for the interview and when you are finished (and only then) head over to Ban T-Shirts to check out their great selection of t-shirts.

Who is behind Ban T-Shirts?
All the website design, most of the shirt designs, the promotion, customer interaction and so on is handled by me, the shipping and printing is done by a very nice man called Kurt Brunetto. The Native American designs, and a few others, are created by Ryan Red Corn.

Where are you based?
I am based in the UK, I work on this full-time. However all shipping and printing is done from the States (Connecticut). As most of the customers are not UK based it didn’t make much sense to be shipping shirts all the way across the ocean unnecessarily.

Ban T-shirts was started initially as a creative outlet. I had been in a line of work that required very little artistic expression and I found it frustrating and unsatisfying. I guess I just had a strong need to express myself so I came up with a bunch of designs and put them out there. I’ve always loved T-shirts with cool designs and slogans on them, so I guess this was a natural medium in which to express myself. I have strong opinions and beliefs about what is going on around us so the shirts that I do are usually controversial in nature. I wouldn’t class them all as being political, but they tend to get thrown into that bag, so I focus on that angle quite a lot from a promotion point of view. The majority of the ideas are my own. The exceptions are all the American Indian designs, and 3 or 4 others that I liked that other people had sent in. However as a general rule I don’t use other peoples’ designs. I find I have so many of my own ideas, and I have so much work with those, that using other people’s designs is a distraction.
Ideas come to me in different ways. Sometimes they will literally pop into my head out of nowhere, or some other dimension! But I find that the best way to come up with an idea is just to go somewhere with some peace and quiet and ponder a topic. I need to be relaxed and away from the computer.

Do you remember the first t-shirt you sold? If so tell us about it.
It was a silly little design called Satan’s Little Helper with a pentagram drawn under it. It was done as if a kid had drawn it.

Ban T-Shirts has many controversial t-shirts. Are these causes about which you are passionate?
All the t-shirt designs that I create are about issues that I think are important and they reflect my beliefs on the subject in question. I have designed several T-shirts with an environmental theme, such as the Last Fish, SOS and Think Green. I find it incredible that taking steps to protect our planet from overheating is controversial, to me the number one priority of humankind must be to look after the planet. Another issue that I have no time for at all is creationism, so I did a funny design about that, “Dinosaurs against creationism”. 150 years after Darwin we’re getting a resurgence of ignorance from people who’d like to take us back to the Dark Ages. It blows my mind.

Which cause are you most passionate about?
I guess my big thing is shark finning and how the decimation of shark populations driven by the demand for shark fin soup (mainly in Asian countries) is putting sharks in danger of extinction. 3 sharks are finned every second. Their fins are dried and used in soup. The rest of the body is dumped back into the sea (often still alive). This is a huge issue which is affecting the oceans and ultimately will affect us. I have a website devoted solely to this subject: Stop Shark Finning. I also did a shirt on the subject which you can buy either at Stop Shark Finning or at Ban T-shirts.

Do you think t-shirts can help these causes?
I think they can help in 2 ways. Firstly by generating debate. Customers often write to me saying that they get lots of comments on their T-shirts, so they are obviously getting noticed, and people are engaging. Secondly T-shirts can help to raise awareness about an issue. It’s essentially the same thing as a company getting t-shirts printed to promote their business, but at Ban T-shirts I’m doing it to get a different kind of message out into the public void (I use the word intentionally). Also, people don’t even need to buy a shirt for them to have had an impact. Obviously a lot of people visit the site but don’t buy a shirt – these people are still exposed to the messages I’m transmitting.

I notice that you have a page on your site called Hate Mail. Do you get a lot?
We get a fair amount. Most of it has been published. I guess when you are outspoken you just have to develop a hard skin. Not everyone agrees with me. Some people agree with some things and not others, some agree with most things, and others probably don’t agree with anything! I got so much hate mail that it inspired me to create a T-shirt called “Feel the Love”. It’s proving to be fairly popular. Every cloud has a silver lining!

Were you shocked when you got your first hate mail?
Not really. There’s a lot of easily offended people out there who need to chill out a bit and open up their minds.

I assume you get some positive feedback too but I couldn’t see it on the site. How about including some of that?
I get a lot of positive feedback and have received some really nice emails from people. I publish some of them on the blog page.

How has the t-shirt biz changed since you got into it?
I’m amazed at how many T-shirt companies are out there and how much talent there is. There are a lot of cool shirts out there and talented designers. So there is more competition now than there used to be.

What do you think about trends such as the ampersand, Helvetica and CMYK tees?
They’re cool from a design point of view. I guess I don’t really spend much time keeping up with the latest trends although I am exposed to them as I am in the business.

Do you have any favorite online t-shirt stores or designers? Who and why do you like them?
One site I really like is A Constant RRP OFF. They were going to bring out some new shirts but I don’t know what’s happening. I liked them so much I was even considering carrying some of their shirts. I liked their designs and also the web site design. From just a t-shirt store perspective I like Royal Apparel. If anyone out there just wants plain shirts but doesn’t like the American Apparel advertising strategy, I suggest they check out Royal Apparel. They make great tees which are very similar in styling to American Apparel. I use them a lot for my own designs.

Do you have any advice for people getting into the t-shirt biz?
Start off slow and work hard. Don’t invest much money, it’s more important to build up contacts and work on getting traffic to your site. I don’t advise throwing away money on advertising. I have tried it and it’s very difficult to make it pay.

Would you like to tell us about any mistakes you have made along the way?
I kind of regretted not having made Obama shirts until after the election. I think I could have made some money off it but I guess I just wasn’t inspired too much. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great that Obama is President, he’s infinitely better than Bush, it’s cool that he inspired so many people to go out and vote, but I’m just not really into making shirts about individuals any more. I’m more focused on issues.

Have you seen celebs wearing your tees?
No. I don’t pay much attention to what celebrities are doing.

What can we expect from Ban T-Shirts in the future?
Ban T-shirts has tended to have a lot of “anti” T-shirts, and I will continue to do that kind of shirt, but I am also starting to focus on doing more T-shirts with a positive message, such as “Build Community” and “We are the people we have been waiting for”. I am also probably going to bring out one or two less overtly political shirts, although I think even my non-political T-shirts are probably more political than other people’s.

The only other thing I would like to add is to thank everyone who has ever taken an interest in what I do, whether or not they have bought a shirt. I’ve made a lot of contacts and met some cool people doing this, customers, designers, bloggers, models, photographers, printers, it’s been great fun so far, I hope to keep doing this for a long time to come, it’s my passion.

How to run a t-shirt Business

There are many options for people who want to start their own t-shirt business. Even online there are several roads you can go down. Recently over at Tee Junction Adam Fletcher compared and contrasted some of your options and it makes good reading for those in the tee biz. This post is from a while back but as my regular readers know, I have been pretty busy recently with the new addition to my family. Anyway, check out this article at Tee Junction: Design Contests vs. Mass Production.

Today I read another interview over at Tee Junction with Jeremy Kalgreen of Amorphia Apparel chose Spreadshirt as his method of choice. It is also an interesting read. There are many great articles at Tee Junction but I’m glad that I can read them on my feed reader as the light text on dark background really hurts my eyes.

Interview: ZBQ

The first thing you notice when you get enter the ZBQ website is that unlike any other t-shirt store out there. The website design and structure is unique and makes you want to browse around the site even if you are not in the market for a t-shirt. Based in Halifax, Nova Scotia the ZBQ stands out from the ever increasing number of t-shirt stores on the web. No ironic text or Hollywood inspired catchphrase designs will be found here. Instead you will find an eclectic bunch of designs each of which defy categorization. Unless off course ZBQ style is considered a category.

The site is a little confusing when you look at it but is quite intuitive so it isn’t difficult to get the tees that you want. Payments are made through Paypal. I could talk more about ZBQ but I was lucky enough to interview the owner and I think you would be more interested to hear what he has to say about ZBQ and future plans. Just read on. My questions are in bold. If you think my questions are lame feel free to add your own in the comments and you never know, perhaps ZBQ head honcho, Jason, will respond to them.

I noticed widespread use of the first person in your FAQ. Is this a one man operation?

Well for many years ZBQ has been primarily a one-man operation, and is at this time as well. There have been times when things got busy when I would hire people to help me out, but for the most part it’s been me, myself and I.

It also says you are based in Nova Scotia. Can you speak Gaelic?

Ha ha, no! There are people in certain areas of Nova Scotia, like Cape Breton, where that is quite common, but Halifax is a pretty urban center and I don’t know anyone who speaks Gaelic. But I’d like to learn.

And the important question: why t-shirts?

T-shirts have always been an obsession of mine: I started out making my own when I was a teenager because I was into all kinds of weird music and lived in a small town where you couldn’t find cool shirts to express your individuality. Then as I got older and moved to bigger centers I started going to lots of concerts and amassing a huge collection of punk & other tees. But I also never stopped making my own. I always thought it would be neat to pursue as a career. I guess to me the t-shirt still represents a very democratic way of sharing imagery- it’s like a wearable gallery. You can really deduce a lot about a person’s personality based on the kind of t-shirt they’re wearing. Art should be out walking around in the world, not holed up in some dusty gallery.

I notice that you have guest designers but do you also design some of them? If so which is your favorite of your own designs?

Yes I do a lot of the designs myself. My favorite of my own is probably still Vampire in Paris.

I live in Japan so am curious about which countries you have shipped to. I have to guess that you ship to the USA and Canada quite frequently.

Yes USA primarily, Canada second, but I also sell a lot in England, Australia and Germany. I have only ever had 3 or 4 orders from Japan but I would love to have more!

You got into the t-shirt biz way back in 1998. How has the industry changed since then?

There has been a massive influx of new companies and new designers- when I started, if you were doing something original, it was pretty easy to make a living because the competition was not that heavy. Now there are thousands of shirt companies and so many amazing shirt designs that it’s impossible to keep track of it all! Thanks to the internet, t-shirt culture is bigger than ever and I think it’s great. It can be kind of frustrating because it’s harder to stand out and be noticed, but it’s good because it really gives me a lot of inspiration and kind of keeps me on top of my game. I get really jealous looking at some of the incredible stuff out there, but it also makes me want to try even harder and take things to another level.

In you more than 10 years of experience do you have any tips for people hoping to follow in your footsteps?

I would say that make sure you’re getting into this for the right reasons. If you’re looking to make a quick buck and get instantly famous, you’re in for a pretty big disappointment. As I mentioned, the competition is insane these days. But if you want to do this because you have a genuine love for it, that can sustain you. It’s what’s kept me going. I’ve gone from selling a handful of shirts every month to thousands, and now back to almost where I started, but I have no intention of giving up because at the end of the day I truly love it. Seeing those shirts roll off the conveyor is my biggest thrill.

Do you have any funny anecdotes or tales of caution related to the t-shirt business?

Well if you’re doing custom shirts for people, always do a sample shirt first before you go and make 50 or 100 shirts that are the wrong color or art. I learned that the hard way! Also, I would advise against taking credit terms from your suppliers. That can get you in a lot of hot water! And beware spending a lot of money on advertising- I’ve found that most of the time it doesn’t really pay off. If you have extra money to spend on that stuff then it’s a great way to promote your brand and get the word out, but don’t expect an instant return on your investment, because you probably won’t get it.

I read a little bit about how you started off using heat transfers on tees, do you still have some of your original collection?

I do have some but not many- I wish I had saved more of them. A lot of my friends have some of those and they’ve actually stood the test of time surprisingly well.

You mentioned now that you are now printing on used polo shirts. I think they look great but I was wondering why you decided to go down this road.

Well it s one way of keeping this whole game interesting for me. T-shirts are awesome but I like to shake things up and add a little variety. That’s why we’ve always done lots of different styles, from baseball shirts to track jackets and lots of different types of ladies shirts, and why we’ve also done prints and rock banners and are producing a line of underwear. T-shirts will always be our mainstay, but I want to play around with as many different things as I can. It’s also a way of standing out from the crowd a bit I guess as well. Plus as you mentioned, the polo shirts look pretty fresh and I like wearing them myself!

Your website and t-shirts are quite different from what I am used to seeing. Is this a conscious decision to stand out from the crowd or are you just creating what you like? What inspires your designs?

Really I’m just following my gut as to what I like. I really feel like with ZBQ there’s a certain aesthetic I’ve always gone for, it’s hard to put into words, but when I see it I know it fits into the collection. It’s definitely a feeling. I don’t do things just to be different, but in a certain way I do, because there are a lot of cookie-cutter shirt companies out there doing the same things and I don’t want to be lumped in with that. A couple of years ago everyone was trying emulate Threadless with the clever vector “inside joke” designs. Then it was all-over prints, now it’s zombies, or whatever. That’s all well and good but when everyone is trying to do the same thing it just kind of dilutes itself. I’m inspired by 1950s pin-up culture, the art world, jazz, pornography, graffiti and general badassery with a comical twist.

Apart from your own store, do you have any favorite online t-shirt stores and if so what are they?

I like the Beautiful Decay stuff, Design by Humans is freakin’ awesome (speaking of jealous) and I love Imaginary Foundation. I see tons of other companies that make great stuff but honestly I don’t really follow them too closely, just kind of get a general overview of what’s going on out there from blogs such as yours, Rumplo and Emptees. Not to sound too self-centered, but I tend to focus more on what we do at ZBQ, as I really don’t want to get too distracted by what’s going on with other companies. Maybe I’m afraid I’ll start trying to imitate them.

Do you have some tricks up your sleeve yet? What can we expect from you in the future?

Well I’ve always really wanted to get more into doing ZBQ clothes. As mentioned, we’re doing ladies’ underwear, which should be available by April if not sooner, and we’re also doing a few skirts to see how those go. Hoping to do jackets, button-up shirts and other items down the road as well. I’m also kind of an amateur filmmaker and would like to incorporate that into ZBQ somehow, so you may be seeing some interesting stuff on YouTube sooner or later. And one of my dreams, which may in fact be coming true this year, is to finally open a bricks & mortar ZBQ store/gallery here in Halifax, with hopefully more to follow in other cities. But at the end of the day, for me it’s still all about the humble t-shirt. I love them.

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Great tips and insight for people interested in getting into the t-shirt biz from someone who loves what he does. Thanks Jason.

Springleap Video Interview

Our friends at Pop Culture Tees recently posted about this video interview with Eran from Springleap. I have mentioned Springleap before a few times as you might remember. They are a South Africa based t-shirt competition site. They seem like a nice bunch of people and it is nice to what they look like and how they are thinking. From the video and as they have mentioned many times, winning is not just about money at Springleap, it is about exposure. Watch the video to find out how winning at Springleap can help your career.

As well as the above interview with From the Couch there is also a video showing us around the Springleap offices and introducing us to the staff. Pretty cool and much shorter than the interview so you are less likely to fall asleep.

Some of you may also remember my criticism of Springleap’s prizes and mentioning the fact that I hadn’t received all of them yet. Since then the system has changes and they are awarding prizes of about $750 with no runners up to receive the pathetic prizes like I received. Well done Springleap!

I would also like to mention that I never received the hand-drawn poster of my design nor have I received any royalties from sales of my design.  In a way I have been waiting over 6 months for that poster so I guess they some more work to do.

Jimiyo Interview

Artist and t-shirt designer Jimmy Benedict aka Jimiyo has bared his soul over at new blog, The Familiar Strangers. OK, so baring his soul is a bit melodramatic but it got your attention.

Like the Presidential race, I’ve stopped paying attention to the trends to prevent myself from having a fruitless opinion. When I did pay attention, I became annoyed at tired concepts that had been done over and over. Wait, here’s one: C-Mothereffing-Y-K shirts. (Read more.)

I’m assuming that you didn’t stay around to read this sentence but hey, I need the typing practice. If on the other hand you were foolishly expecting me to drop some pearls of wisdom you are surely disappointed but you can cheer yourself up by purchasing a few of Jimiyo’s creations, some of which you can see below.

Interview with Retro Campaigns

A short while ago we reviewed some t-shirts from Retro Campaigns and Christine from Retro Campaigns kindly agreed to tell us more about this unique store. Retro Campaigns is not only her first t-shirt business but her first business of any kind she tells us. What a great way to start. The American Dream is alive and well in the form of cool retro political tees.

What made you decide to start a t-shirt store?

Actually, it didn’t actually start out as a business venture. A few years ago I just wanted to own a shirt from an old campaign for myself. I looked everywhere I could think of but I couldn’t find anything. So I thought, “Why not make some myself?” I created a handful of simple designs and got positive responses from friends who encouraged me to think about selling the shirts. I mulled that over for a while and I thought maybe there are people out there like me who would be interested in this kind of thing, so I decided to give it a shot. I knew a great designer who thought it was a cool idea and we were off from there.

I’m a big political history buff, and America has a rich tradition of interesting and colorful politicians. I think the shirts are a fun way to remember them and maybe also shine a light on some of the candidates who lost the race, like Eugene McCarthy, Wendell Willkie, Barry Goldwater, George McGovern, Adlai Stevenson, etc. I think it’s unfortunate that some of them are remembered now only for losing their election(s).

Wendell Willkie for instance made huge contributions after his loss to Roosevelt. He traveled the world in 1942 as Roosevelt’s representative and reported back to the president and to America in frank terms what he saw throughout a world in the grips of war. “A military victory, as such, will not be enough … We must win the peace,” he famously said. He so firmly believed that it is the duty of Americans to debate and question government that the press dubbed him ‘America’s Private Citizen Number One’.

You include information about the politician featured in the designs with every purchase. Are you trying to educate people too?

That’d be a great bonus, yeah. I’d love to think that in some small way I might be helping to keep the memory of these people alive.

How often can we expect to see new products in your store?

We’re aiming for 3-6 new designs every other month.

Which is your favorite design and why?

I really like the Adlai Stevenson “Hole in the Shoe” design. I think it looks great and I love the story behind it. During his 1952 presidential campaign, a photographer caught a picture of Stevenson with a big hole in his shoe. “Better a hole in the shoe than a hole in the head!” he said to the guy, a remark typical of his quick wit. The Stevenson campaign went on to use that as a symbol of Stevenson’s down-to-earth character, work ethic and frugality. Today that image is part of our political history. There’s even a statue based on that photo at the Central Illinois Regional Airport!

What has been your proudest moment?

It was pretty cool the first time we were contacted out of the blue by a television production company asking to use out shirts for their show. But I’d say the first sale we made via the Web site was the best.

The wait for someone to buy the first shirt seemed like an eternity. I kept doing “practice” buys to make sure the site was working! Basically, I was the geek who calls the operator when no one is calling to make sure the line is working. When I got notification of the first sale it was amazing. The first thing I did was make sure it wasn’t someone that either I or my designer knew! But it was an honest-to-goodness sale. Very cool.

Who is your favorite former politician and why?

Robert Kennedy. His adult life was at first dominated by his zeal to stamp out organized crime; even during the first year or so as Attorney General he offered little but lip service to the civil rights movement. But as he saw first hand the reality of what was going on, particularly with regard to educational opportunities in America, so far removed from his prep school upbringing, he came to believe that racial equality was a key to America’s development as a nation. And he would go on to travel the country and see crippling poverty, leading him to promote social programs.

I guess what I’m getting at is he could have led his life quite happily as a criminal attorney, or as an Attorney General or senator focused on crime, or even a presidential nominee on a crime platform. That was an area he could latch on to. Black students trying to attend school in the south was outside his milieu by a long shot. But he sought out knowledge of what was happening and he listened to real people and learned about their experiences and problems. He actively sought to help people and raise awareness nation-wide. Few people, much less politicians, seek out the realities of inequality in the world, and fewer still change their life’s focus based on what they’ve learned. That’s my opinion anyway. He’s a hero to many people, for many different reasons.

There’s a great biography of him called Robert Kennedy: His Life, by Evan Thomas that I would recommend to anyone wanting to learn more about him.

If Retro Campaigns is still around in 40 years time and I’m sure it will be, which politician do you think will sell the most t-shirts?

I would love it if we were around for 40 years! I think RFK, but I’d love to see the statistics of whose shirts people are buying over a couple of generations like that. I’m a big statistics nerd!

POD Shopkeeper Spotlight: Barry’s World

This is the first in a series of interviews with POD shopkeepers who talk about their motivations, their passions and of course, their t-shirt shops. This interview is with Barry S. Goldberg, owner and creator of Barry’s World. His quick wit and keen eye for the surreal has enabled him to produce a seemingly never-ending supply of fun and wacky t-shirts. When you finish reading this article be sure to head over to Barry’s World. You won’t be disappointed.

POD: Cafepress

Since: March 2006

“a peek deep inside my brain”

I originally opened my store to provide an outlet for my creativity. I’ve spent years creating bizarre images in Photoshop for various on-line contests and my brain is constantly filled to bursting with new ideas, wacky sayings, surreal designs, etc. My store is basically a peek deep inside my brain, which is why it’s called “Barry’s World.” There’s really no unifying theme, except that everything in the store is a product of my creativity and speaks to me in some way. I grew up in the 70s and 80s, so much of my humor is influenced by those decades, but I never know when inspiration will strike next or from where.

“Dude! I *love* your shirt!”

My favorite story is something that happened last summer while my wife, son and I were at the beach. We were walking along the road leading to the beach when I noticed two vaguely scruffy-looking guys in the early to mid 20s walking toward us and staring at us. The closer they got, the more they stared, and I was starting to get a bit uncomfortable until they finally stopped in front of us and one said, “Dude! I *love* your shirt! Where did you get it?”

Well, the shirt was one of my own designs, naturally (this one, to be exact), and after I got over the shock I whipped out one of my handy business cards (yes, I even carry them when I’m at the beach).

“you like me! You really like me!”

My best memory is simply when I sold my first shirt to a complete stranger, thereby validating my belief that people would actually like my stuff enough to pay for it. Or, to quote Sally Field, the moment I realized that you like me! You really like me!

“nebulous plans for world domination”

I do what I do because I enjoy it. The fact that I can do what I enjoy and make money at the same time, well, that’s pretty amazing to me. Aside from some nebulous plans for world domination, my ambition is really to just keep doing what I’m doing as long as I can. I doubt I will ever run out of new ideas to put on shirts, so hopefully people will keep buying them from me.

The first shirt (“Suicidal Snake”) is really the design that got the whole store started in the first place. I created the image for an on-line Photoshop contest and it did so well that I decided to try putting it on a shirt and see if anybody would be willing to buy it. Over the years I think I’ve sold a grand total of maybe two shirts with this design, but it still holds a special place in my heart…

The second shirt (“Killer Strawberry”) is just a classic example of my warped brain in action. If you think Killer Tomatoes are bad, you ain’t seen nothing!

The third shirt (“Meerkat Trio”) is just something that makes me smile whenever I see it. I love working with animals, and it was just so much fun to get those cute little critters to stand like that and play their instruments while I took their picture…

The fourth shirt (“Pierced Tongue Burster”) is a representative sample from my line of “Chest Burster” designs. I don’t know why, but I just love the idea of various unexpected objects bursting out of somebody’s chest, whether it be a pierced tongue, a baby duckling, a pointing finger, a loaded gun, or what have you.

The fifth shirt (“Softball Chick”) is part of my “Sports Chick” line, since everybody loves a cute chick who’s totally into sports, right?

The sixth shirt (“American Rose”) is part of my “Rose By Any Other Name” series that I thought up one day while fiddling with Photoshop. The image is actually quite complex, with over 50 individual layers, but the effect worked so well I just had to put it on a shirt.