Graniph 2010 Winter Sale

The Graniph sale has been on for quite a bit as you can see and that is the decidedly strange way they depict up “up to 30%” off in Japan. I know English speaking nations would put the tilde (squiggly hyphen) before the 30%. I’ve been corrected. It actually means from 30% up so there are even better bargains to be had. Anyway the sale is still on and while there are a decent number of bargains there are not a whole lot of t-shirts. Below are two interesting tops that are in the sale.

Great deals at Graniph for PayPal users

Design TShirts Store Graniph has teamed up with PayPal to offer some great deals to ensure you get some bargain t-shirts. Graniph is the ever expanding Japanese t-shirt company with over 80 stores worldwide and an online store with a huge selection of t-shirts.  And new shirts are constantly appearing!

Anyway, in collaboration with PayPal they are offering three ways to make your shopping experience even better.

1. 15% Off
2. Free shipping
3. Chance to win 12 t-shirts.

Sounds awesome because it is awesome. The only catch that I can see is that you have to pay with PayPal but that doesn’t seem like a catch to me at all. In fact it could be seen as the 4th bonus.

You can find out more details on the Graniph website. As I am living in Japan I can’t take advantage of these offers but on the other hand I can and do just pop into the local Graniph whenever I feel like it.

Graniph teaches you how to dress

Recently Japanese t-shirt store, Design T-Shirts Graniph, have been branching out into other areas such as pants and jackets and now that they have all these new items they are providing lessons on how to coordinate your wardrobe. It’s very kind of them. Check out Graniph Coordinate Guide no. 4.

The 4th graniph Coordinate Guide presents a few quick and easy PRACTICAL styling tips. Looking towards autumn/winter, check out our versatile and cool Shawl Collar Blouson in a MAD RANGE OF stylin’ color HITs!

Graniph don’t sell socks yet apparently.

5 Awesome Astronaut T-Shirts

OK, it’s not a very long list but these are 5 great t-shirts and you don’t need to be a spaceman to wear them.

The first t-shirt will be only available for a very short time at Teextile so if you want it I suggest you order it now.

This is a photo image but equally effective t-shirt design from Japanese t-shirt Giant Graniph. Or maybe it’s just the cute girl.

And talk about cute girls. Design by Humans does have a few of them.

This is a new tee at Threadless featuring some interesting images.

And this is a classic tee from Threadless which is currently out of print but I’m sure it will get a reprint sometime in the future.

If you know of any other cool astronaut t-shirts feel free to link to them in the comments.

Graniph in Harajuku

Japanese t-shirt store, Design T-Shirt Store Graniph, will soon open a brand spanking new flagship store in Harajuku. Apparently there will be an art gallery inside in the store too. You know, just in case you get bored looking at the t-shirts.

Harajuku is amazing for t-shirt aficionados anyway but many of them are pricey. Graniphs tees are a very affordable ¥2,500 (or about that) and about  ¥4,200 for two. Of course if you are in Harajuku you always drop into UT for even cheaper tees. The UT store is very cool.

Graniph Design Award

Japanese t-shirt company, Design T-Shirt Store Graniph, is holding a pretty big t-shirt design contest. This is their third time to hold it. It is open to everyone and has huge prizes. They are not as big as the UTGP but they are still pretty big. Check them out:

• Gold Prize: ¥1,000,000 (about US$9,000)
• Silver Prize (x5): ¥100,000
• Bronze Prize (x10): ¥50,000

There seem to be prizes in other categories too and I am not totally sure how that works. On the application form you are asked to check a box beside a magazine name. I guess that means that are applying to that magazine’s contest. I wonder will you still qualify for the above contest? Anyway if you are considering applying you should check out their terms and conditions.

The entry period is February 2009.

Two New Graniph Stores

Japanese T-Shirt giant Graniph have two new stores. The first is in Sendai, northern Japan. It opened in August on the 5th floor of the Parco Building. It focuses on ladies tee apparently. The reasoning being that it is situated in the ladies department. Sorry guys.

The next is in Taiwan. It will open up Sept. 24th. Address for all you jetsetters: 1st Floor, No. 15 Nanjing W. Road, Taipei,Taiwan.

Of course you can always do your shopping online. Link: Graniph.

Two New Graniph Stores

The good news for those of you who come to Japan but don’t have time to find a Graniph store, today a new Design T-Shirts Store Graniph was opened in Tokyo Narita Airport. Actually, Narita Airport is a great place to do souvenir shopping with prices not being all that different from regular souvenir shops in the city. Now of course it is even better with this new Graniph store. You can get souvenirs that people will actually be delighted to get. The first 300 people will get a free badge but I am sure it is already too late.

I did say two new stores. The other store is opening in Jakarta, Indonesia tomorrow (July 18th). To celebrate the opening, there will be 75 exclusive ‘Jakarta only’ Graniph t-shirts available. I hope we at least get to see what we can’t buy.

Graniph Design Award 2 Winners

As I said in the previous post  Design T-Shirts Store Graniph also have design contest and they have announced this years winners. The gold prize went to Taiwanese designer Cho Jo Tzu for her very clever rabbit design. When you look at the full selection of winners you will see a wide variety of designs from designers all over the world.

To be honest most of the designs don’t do anything for me but to be honest, the taste in Japan is in general quite different from other countries. Below you can check out my favorites. These are a British, Japanese and Australian artist respectively.

Design Tshirts Store Graniph

Design Tshirts Store Graniph is a t-shirt store that was established in 2001 and expanded rapidly throughout Japan and into a few other countries such as Australia and Singapore. They have a great selection of ever changing shirts, one of which we ordered. While I often go into the store in Joinus near Yokohama Station we decided to see what their online shopping experience is like. We used the main website rather than the keitai (mobile phone) site but I just noticed now that their site is bilingual. That said, a lot of the Japanese site is in English. Just check it out.

The t-shirt we ordered was one that impressed us while we were at the store. It is called Paint People and you can check the images below to see why. It is a simple but clever one color design. They didn’t have ladies sizes so my main squeeze chose size SS. The size is suitable but the fit is just not her type. I imagine she will give it to someone, which is a pity because I really like this shirt.

We ordered it in the evening and, as hard to believe as it may be, it arrived the next afternoon. They don’t need logistics lessons. That’s for sure. It was also the first time that a t-shirt arrived in a box. It arrived in while cardboard box with the Design Tshirts Store Graniph red logo covering half of it. It wasn’t easy to open because of the glue but what it was open there was another piece of car framing the t-shirt which was also inserted in a clear plastic bag. Very cool.

If you like these shirts but don’t live close to a store, you are in luck, as they ship internationally. They also accept t-shirt submissions and have had two major design competitions. I will tell you more about the t-shirt submissions in a later post. I will have to put my translators hat on. I don’t think they will have another major t-shirt design competition untill next year though. You can see the most recent winners on their site.