Jeff Finley - Threads Not Dead: The Designers Guide to the Apparel Industry

Copyright 2011 Go Media Inc., All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Basically, this means dont sell or give away this eBook without written permission from us.

Legal Notice:

While all attempts have been made to verify information provided in this eBook, neither the Author or publisher assumes any responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary interpretation of the subject matter herein. The content is based on personal experience and anecdotal evidence. This publication is not intended for use as a source of legal, business, marketing, or accounting advice. Use this information as you see fit, at your own risk. Your situation is unique and may or may not be suited to the suggestions or examples I provide in this book. Use your head and your best judgement and adjust this information accordingly.

The Purchaser or Reader of this publication assumes responsibility for the use of these materials and information. Adherence to all applicable laws and regulations, federal, state, and local, governing professional licensing, business practices, advertising, and all other aspects of doing business in the United States or any other jurisdiction is the sole responsibility of the Purchaser or Reader. The Authors assume no responsibility or liability whatsoever on the behalf of any Purchaser or Reader of these materials. Any perceived slights of specific people or organizations are unintentional.

Any trademarks, logos, and images used in this publication are property of their respective owners and are simply used as references and editorial purposes only.

Dedicated to Emptees.com (2007-2011)

On March 1st, 2011 Emptees.com closed its doors. The Emptees website had been instrumental in building a thriving t-shirt design community. It had been a major source of inspiration for this book and it is sad to see the site shut down. This book includes many references to Emptees and even links which may have been broken as a result of the closing. Fortunately, the community has come together to create a replacement that promises to archive and salvage all the content and be better than ever. This website is called Mintees.com . Every attempt has been made to relink and fix any errors that may have occured. If you discover an error, please let us know so we can fix it.

Thank you Emptees,

Jeff Finley

Matt Wigham , founder of Indie Labs . He created Emptees , Big Cartel and Pulley.

Jeffrey Kalmikoff , VP of product at SimpleGEO . He was formerly CCO at Threadless and Director of Design & UX at Digg .

Marc Hemeon , Director of UX at Oakley . Formerly Design Lead at Digg and CTO and Partner of Design by Humans and Teefury .

Mark Capicotto , designer and founder of Glamour Kills , one of the great
success stories to arise out of the indie apparel design community.

Rob Dobi , designer and entrepreneur. Clients include Thursday, Teen Magazine, and Fall Out Boy. He has his own clothing brand called Full Bleed.

Maxx242 , illustrator and designer with 13 years industry experience. Clients include Famous Stars and Straps , Miami Ink , Fox Racing , and Blink 182 .

Angryblue respected poster artist and t-shirt designer for over 5 years.
Clients include Slayer, Nine Inch Nails, Harley Davidson, and Guns and Roses.

Jamie Tallerico , designer at Abercrombie & Fitch . He was formerly a designer at Atticus Clothing, American Eagle, and Art Director at XVLA Denim.

Horsebites freelance illustrator currently working with The Black Axe . He has over 6 years experience designing for the punk and hardcore scene. Clients include Fall Out Boy, Strike Anywhere, and No Idea Records.

Ben Scrivens , founder of the horror t-shirt brand Fright Rags . He has been a major client of countless designers in the indie t-shirt community.

Brandon Rike , freelance designer nearly 10 years experience designing for bands and indie apparel companies. Clients include Linkin Park, Deftones, and Billy Joel.

Munk One , illustrator and designer with 11 years in the apparel business. He has worked for Wilson Sporting Goods, Blink 182, and Kid Robot.

Kelly Kiernan , founder of Cure Apparel . Diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 2005, launched Cure Apparel to raise awareness and funds for diabetes research.

Adam Hendle , designer, blogger, founder of I Am the Trend and ShirtLaunch .

Jon Kruse , designer and founder of How To Start a Clothing Company . He also has his own apparel company Mediocre Clothing .

Dave Pearson , founder of apparel brand Paint the Stars . Has worked with well-known designers in the indie apparel design community.

LT Magnotto , expert color separator for Jakprints . He has over 6 years experience preparing t-shirt designs for screen printing.

Rikki Burns , illustrator and designer. She curiously made a name for herself winning design contests at Design by Humans and shirt.woot.com.

What is This Book?

This book was written by Jeff Finley , thats me. Im an artist/designer and partner at Go Media , a creative agency based in Cleveland, OH. Over the past 6 years Ive done t-shirt designs for bands ranging from Jimmy Buffet to Metallica and everywhere in between. Ive worked with dozens of indie apparel brands on everything from their initial line of t-shirts to their brand identity. However, lots of people reading this book know of Go Media because of the design articles and tutorials on our blog GoMediaZine and our vector packs sold at our stock art boutique Arsenal. For those that need numbers, heres a vain attempt to prove my credibility: Our blog is read by over 300,000 visitors per month and over 22,000 readers subscribe via rss. The Arsenal has served over 80,000 customers since 2006 and is widely considered a leader in indie stock art boutiques. It was from these years of serving my clients and fellow designers that I felt I owed it to them to write this book.

Humble Beginnings

It took a lot of work to get to this point. 6 years ago I was just another art school kid trying to get good grades and graduate on time. I had no experience in t-shirt design in fact I didnt even know such a thing existed. I was oblivious and all I cared about was getting a real job doing CG special effects or animation for games or film. I spent my time prepping my resume and demo reel with the hopes I would land an entry level position at a studio somewhere. Needless to say, thats not how things ended up.

The Inspiration

I was unable to find a job in my field. As I graduated I got jaded, and wasnt really interested in CG special effects or games anymore and had discovered the work of Rob Dobi , Derek Hess , and Angryblue . If those three artists had a dollar for every time I mention them as inspiration, theyd be rich by now.

What inspired me about those artists, aside from their sheer talent, was that they earned a living for themselves designing posters and t-shirts for bands I was into. Through their work, I discovered a whole new world of commercial art. That was the moment I decided I was going to follow in their footsteps and make a name for myself and design for my favorite bands.

The Secret Underground