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One of ChannelShirt’s closest friends and biggest fans told us an inspiring story yesterday.
She had lost contact with a very close friend from high school shortly after they graduated. It’s been close to 20 years since then, and she had written that relationship off. In the intervening years, despite the MySpace and Facebook phenomena, she still had not been able to reconnect with him. (Of course, she sets her profile to private, so, it’s not easy to find her.)
Yesterday, she gets an e-mail from him, out of the blue. He now lives in a completely different state. And, when she asked how he found her, here was his answer:
I was walking down the street in my town (in a different state), and I saw this guy wearing a funny t shirt. I went up to him and asked him where he got it. He said, this place on the web called Channelshirt. So, I went home, and Googled Channelshirt, and found their site. While reading up on them, I also found their Facebook Fan Page. And, lo and behold, you are one of their fans. That’s how I found your profile.
This just goes to show: It doesn’t matter what state you live in, or how long it’s been since you’ve seen someone, Funny T Shirts bring people together!
We love stories like this! Don’t hesitate to share with us if you have one of your own!
Meanwhile, feel free to become a friend or fan on our Funny T-Shirts Facebook page!
Cheers!
As June nears, and with it, the opening of the new A-Team movie, i have to wonder about how these movie remakes of retro classics are going to affect the icons that represent these classics.
Wow, a mouthful!
Let me rephrase.
Are all the B.A. Baracus t-shirts out there going to start having Rampage on them, instead of Mr. T? Will Dirk Benedict fade into anonymity as Bradley Cooper becomes the new “Face” for the A-Team?
I’ve wondered this before with other remakes. We’ve seen just about every good American TV show re-envisioned and re-made into a movie recently. All the classics from my youth, anyway. Dukes of Hazard, Starsky & Hutch, Get Smart. Heck, even Transformers.
However, for all these other remakes, the icons tended to be items, not people. At least in the t-shirt world. Few people want to wear a shirt with Bo and Luke Duke on it. But, the General Lee, heck ya! Same with Starsky’s car. Same with Optimus Prime.
And, sure, the A-Team has their trademark black van. But, Mr. T is a different story. He’s an icon. His image depicted A-Team tshirts and memorabilia far more than any other logo, including the A-Team bullethole-laden logo.
Will this change?
I would think that 4 and a half years of devoted work to build up the classic TV series would over-ride one movie’s worth of hype. But, who knows the power of Hollywood’s promotional budget?
Here at Channel Shirt, the A-Team t-shirts have been some of our best-selling TV shirts, long before the movie was announced. Mr. T continues to be a hot item even 25 years after his fame in the show. So, I’m curious to see…. in June, will we be selling Mr. T Shirts or Rampage shirts?
Dave
Hi, all!
I’m happy to announce that ChannelShirt now carries ThinkGeek’s line of funny tshirts!
Being a computer nerd, I’ve always loved ThinkGeek. They have some of the coolest gadgets, t-shirts, and fun things you can buy on the internet. As a matter of fact, I think the very first funny tshirt I ever purchased myself was from ThinkGeek. I still wear it to this day.
I’m especially enthralled with some of their electronic shirts. These are for the hardcore geek!
Anyway, if you’re looking to re-connect with your inner geek, take a look through our large selection of ThinkGeek shirts, in addition to all of our other funny tshirts. You can find the ThinkGeek ones by either searching for “ThinkGeek” at the top of the ChannelShirt Store page, or by going to our “All Geek Shirts” channel in our left channel guide.
Enjoy!
Designing Dave
If you’re a collector of vintage tshirts, you’ve no doubt noticed how the near-gravitational forces of advertising and marketing can twist and warp the very English language itself. While it may not matter when choosing between a barbeque sauce with a “bold new flavor” and one with a “hot new taste,” a slight difference in language can make a huge difference when adding to your vintage tshirt collection. In fact, knowing the subtle difference between two simple words can save you from making a very big but very common mistake.
The word “vintage,” for example, is supposed to refer to something that was actually created in the past, such as a wine of a particular vintage. Or a vintage 1948 Cadillac Sedanette. Or even those Guns N Roses t shirts that have been hanging in your closet since 1988.
“Retro,” on the other hand, refers to something that is made today but is reminiscent of a previous style. Retro is basically a copy or impression of something vintage, but is not actually vintage itself. Newly manufactured Hammer pants are retro. Sideburns are retro. Neon-colored leg warmers are retro. Unfortunate, but retro.
To put it more simply, if you go to a thrift store and buy some 80s tees that have been well-loved, those are vintage. If you go to Hot Topic and buy a new black tshirt with a Thundercats logo on it, that’s retro.
Simple, right? So why so much confusion? Well, part of the problem is that, to many young people, “vintage” and “retro” are both just categories of “old.” Is that vintage Star Wars tee cool because the shirt is old, or because Star Wars is old? Are those vintage concert t shirts cool because they came from the actual concert, or because the bands are retro trendy? A high school kid probably doesn’t care and makes no distinction between the two.
Another part of the problem is marketing. Retro tshirts are all the rage right now. The logos and designs of popular things of the past have become hugely popular again. In fact, they’ve become so popular that many t shirt designers haven’t stopped at just using a Transformers, Pepsi, or Rolling Stones logo, they’ve gone so far as to manufacture the t shirts in a way that makes them look previously worn, well-loved, and quite distressed. The result is retro tshirts that look like authentic vintage tshirts but aren’t.
So, what’s a poor collector of vintage tees to do? Well, you can make sure to know the difference between “vintage” and “retro.” You can make sure to read product descriptions carefully, looking for phrases like “licensed t shirts,” which suggest that the rights to the design were purchased but the shirt itself was probably printed recently. And, when in doubt, you can always contact the t shirt shop and ask them directly if their shirts are retro or truly vintage.
Of course, if you’re not a collector or a purist, none of this probably matters to you. Who, other than a collector really wants to buy a 21-year old t-shirt? I mean, unlike a vintage car, some things aren’t really designed to be used 20 years later. Particularly clothes. And, super particularly, inexpensive t-shirts. Maybe a retro tee really is the best of both worlds.
Or maybe I’m just being nostalgic. Some part of me wishes the term “vintage” would only be correctly applied to my trips to purchase old vinyl records and 80s t shirts, and not be used to push the “anything old-looking is cool” fad. I guess I’m just old.
Wait, does that make me cool?
Dave
I’ve ranted about fads before. Well, I’m going to rant again. Not badly this time. I’m more contemplative today, and less annoyed. =)
I was watching a TV news clip about the “This is a Big F*ing deal” shirt/joke which has swept the nation last week.
It was a midly amusing faux pas by our Vice President, and as presidential / political humor goes, it was worth a chuckle when it happened.
However, this news bit was showing people who were so excited because within three minutes of VP Biden making his on-air mistake, there were t-shirts made and available on the internet with his comment blazoned across them.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I appreciate funny t-shirts being made, and especially being made quickly for a timely event. What I wonder about is the ongoing wearability of time-sensitive political jokes.
I expect that the “This is a Big F*ing Deal” shirt will be mildly amusing for a few more months. By the end of the year, when people see the t-shirt they’ll be like, “Oh, yeah! I remember that.” By next year, the shirt won’t be funny anymore. It might have a resurgence in 2012 when re-elections are in the air. But, after that, you’ll have to explain the joke to people. That doesn’t make for an ongoingly funny shirt.
In contrast, take a shirt that has timeless humor. Like
or
or
These t-shrits are funny, but with timeless jokes. Ones that will outlast any single year or presidency. Sure Tibet might be free someday, but even if it is liberated, the shirt would still be funny.
Now, I’m not knocking the Big Deal shirt. It is funny, and I approve of all humor. I’m just noting that when you’re planning to purchase a funny t-shrit for yourself, are you looking for the quick laugh which will turn into a painting-the-house t-shirt next year, or one that will garner you giggles for life?
Hi, all!
As you can tell from the main site, it’s almost St. Patrick’s Day again!
I love this completely low-maintenance holiday. Sure, St. Patty’s Day is rich with Irish and Catholic History and, sure, if you were really religious, you might not drink a drop on St. Patty’s Day because it’s a holy day and all that. But, in America, it’s one of the simplest and most fun holidays around.
It’s fun for kids because they get to run around and pinch each other for no better reason than their mom forgot to make them wear green. For teens and adults, it’s a clear dividing line between people with holiday spirit and party poopers. It takes so little effort to wear green, and yet some will and some won’t.
Personally, I find absolutely no excuse NOT to wear green on St. Patty’s. For me, it’s the perfect day to wear a green funny t-shirt. Of course, I think every day is a good day to wear a funny t-shirt, but green, now THAT’s unusual.
So, I’m sure you’ve seen the glut of St. Patty’s Day shirts we have available at Channelshirt, but I thought I’d narrow it down to my top 5 favorite ones. Anyone can wear a green tie or green pin. But, proudly stating you’re a member of the Irish Drinking Team is a sure fire way to get an extra round at the pub!
Dave’s Top 5 Favorite St. Patrick’s Day Funny Green T-Shirts:
Funny Green T-Shirt #5: Irish Olympics
Just enough green to not get you pinched, but not so overwhelmingly green it’ll clash with your other clothes, this t-shirt design shows that the Irish are talented in many areas, not just one.
Funny Green T-Shirt #4: Instant Irishman – Just Add Alcohol
Like a sea monkey, all you need is a little liquid. This t-shirt is perfect for the after-work pub party. As a matter of fact, I’m fairly certain that simply wearing this shirt increases your alcohol tolerance by 50%.
Funny Green T-Shirt #3: Rub Me For Luck
Forget a genie’s lamp, lucky penny, or even four-leaf clover. YOU are the best lucky charm of all. Wear this St. Patty’s day t-shirt out on the town, and, if you play your cards right, you may just have a cute new stranger rubbing you for luck. Who’s gettin’ lucky then?
Funny Green T-Shirt #2: Irish I Were Drinking
I laugh every time I see this shirt. Of course, I love stupid and funny puns, and this one fits the bill. This simple, easy, but funny t-shirt design lets all your office mates know you’re ready for the drinking to begin!
Funny Green T-Shirt #1: Irish Yoga
T-Shirt Outlet really hit it out of the park with this funny green Irish Yoga t-shirt. It’s amazing the body positions you can find yourself in while drunk. Or, more often, it’s amazing the body positions your friends find you in while you’re drunk. Either way, this awesome t-shirt shows that you know about the consequences of a hard night of St. Patty’s Day Partying, and are up for the challenge!
I hope your St. Patty’s Day finds you with friends and good cheer! And, may your funny t-shirt get you a free drink!
Dave
I finally stumbled upon a couple of guys who like T-shirts as much as we do!
If you haven’t seen the currently-going-viral video “T-Shirt War,” it’s a cute little production, which used over 200 t-shirts in its making.
This is the stop-motion You Tube equivalent of a flip book cartoon. But, it’s fun to watch.
Enjoy T-Shirt War!
Dave
You know it’s time to post a blog entry when not one but two people send you the same article link in the same day. Even if for two different reasons. Plus, it’s been a while anyway.
John, my partner in creativity and the other co-founder of Channel Shirt, sent me the first link to the now relatively infamous “Three Wolf Moon” shirt that has taken the internet by storm. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can read about it here:
http://tinyurl.com/3wolf-article
“Now,” says he, “if only we can get an internet fad like that to happen on one of OUR shirts!” I’m paraphrasing, but he has such a good point. In this day and age of LoLCats, Leeroy Jenkins, and FAILblogs, marketing seems less about having a good product or a good business plan, and more about having your quirky turn of phrase be the unpredictable, runaway hit on the internet this week.
I think I keep treating internet memes like these as fads. I can feel myself being righteous even as I type this. They SHOULD be fads. They should be gone by next month, barely to be remembered a year later. And yet, they continue on. Not only do they continue on, they seem to snowball like the lies of a guilty teenager. Or an average politician.
Just recently, they had ROFLCon: an entire convention all about these internet memes. My mind reels. They might as well have a convention about bell bottom pants, or Beanie Babies. Wait… do they?
Yet, it appears these new fads are here to stay. I should just write all my blog posts in motivational poster format.
Of course, I’m just jealous. I’d be happy, and quite a bit less bitter, if the sales of one of our own funny t-shirts increased by 2000% because of an internet fluke. And, the Three Wolf Moon guys are laughing all the way to the bank.
Meanwhile, my brother sent me the same link. He suggests we do a Three Hippo Moon shirt. What a great parody. And, I love a good parody. Maybe we’ll make that our next hippo shirt. Maybe I can get the Nooma Nooma dance kid to wear it for promotion…
Dave
For my first tutorial, I figured I’d start easy. Well, easy NOW. As with everything, this stuff was rocket science to me before I learned it. And, as usual, John had to talk to me like a 5 year old and send me pretty pictures until I understood it.
Many t-shirt designs have text. So, to make them, we use fonts. Fonts are often kinda lame when it comes to spacing between letters. Sometimes they look fine. But, usually, they don’t. They have gaps between some letters, and not enough space between others. To fix this, we can use tracking and kerning in Photoshop. And, with only a minute or two of work, you can make text look brilliant and professional, rather than clumsy and amateurish.
So, take a look at this little video tutorial to learn how to use tracking and kerning to improve the quality of your text designs.
Enjoy!
Hi, all!
As you know, my name is Dave, one of the supernatural creative forces behind Channel Shirt. As you may know, I’m a computer guy. What I’m NOT is a designer or artist, by any means. I have trouble drawing stick figures, in fact. So, I tend to leave that stuff to John, since he could draw the Mona Lisa while in a coma.
But, I couldn’t leave all the work to John. Especially because I have t-shirt ideas, too! So, I’ve taken to learning some things about how to design and create the graphics for some of our t-shirts. And, I figured, if I have learned something valuable along my journey, maybe someone else will benefit from it as well.
So, this blog section is designed to be a place where I can post tips, tricks, tutorials, and other information that I have learned about anything to do with making t-shirts. it might be useful if you have ever dreamed of making a shirt and selling it, or, heck, making an entire t-shirt business. Either way, I hope you enjoy and benefit from the stuff I’ve had to learn from the school of hard knocks!
