2009 has been an amazing year here at RIPT. We printed over 200 designs from some amazing artists. We sold thousands of shirts to thousands of people all over the world. We hired some great curators to help us keep the quality artwork coming in the door.

We have been luckiest though to have worked with so many talented designers and artists throughout the year. We couldn’t have accomplished any of this without all of them so we thought we’d take this opportunity to give a few shout outs.

So without further adieu, here are our picks for best RIPT tees of 2009:

#10 – More Trees for Birds- 1 color on Silver – Artist: Melostar – curator: RIPT Apparel

Matt – This was our first tee and started us out on the right foot. The response from the t-shirt community was amazing. Thanks Everyone!

#09 – Vampire boy – 2 color on Red – Artist: J.Klavins – curator: RIPT Apparel

Paul – This is probably personally my favorite tee so far that we have done. The funny story behind it is that it was originally tucked away inside a folder of Black and white designs from J. Klavins that was accidentally placed in my rejected folder. I was poking around, found this, and realized how much potential this design had. We were running out of space for the Halloween season when J. Klavins approved my 2-color rendition of his original piece. Since the vampire seemed so “sad”, I decided it might make sense to sell this the day after Halloween. In my mind, he is lamenting the passing of his favorite holiday. Also, when someone commented on a survey that they liked the shirt with “the Vampire with the teeth that were too big” I knew this was special.

#08 – Put Your Hands Up – 1 Color on Red – Artist: Kevin L Cornett – curator: RIPT Apparel

Matt- This is a great one color design where we actually used a screen to print the group of hands at the bottom and another to print the 2 hands near the top. It makes it a very unique tshirt and one of my favorites.

#07 – Campione – 4 color on Charcoal – Artist: spacegirl – curator: RIPT Apparel

Paul – The texture on this tee really turned out awesome. Sometimes halftones can wreck havoc on a design, but this time it worked out beautifully. The colors turned out exactly like the mockup, and the illustration was very lively to begin with. I remember having some debate as to whether we should keep the text at the top or not, but we choose to keep it. Can you say “the perfect tee”, anyone?

#06 – Bombs Away – 4 color on Light Blue – Artist: Andy Gocher – curator: RIPT Apparel

Matt- This tee caused a lot of discussion on our message board and ended up being one of our better selling shirts of the year.

#05 – Shipwrek – 2 color on Turquoise – Artist: Xul – curator: RIPT Apparel

TJ – This shirt came out perfect. I love all the attention to detail on the vines and the wood on the sunken ship.

#04 – Pocket Protector – 4 color on Heather – Artist: killerjello – curator:the_JCW

Paul – Out of all of our first shirts, this one is the only one that used and optical illusion sort of effect. The tentacles really look like they’re coming at you!

#03 – Crows – 1 color on Natural – Artist: Spokeduck – curator: RIPT Apparel

TJ – This is far one of our best and most undersold one color tshirts we’ve done to date. The sheer size of this monster sketch drawing of a crow just makes this shirt awesome.

#02 – Lion – 1 color on Black – Artist: Nathan Opdahl - curator: RIPT Apparel

Matt- I love this tee! The lion itself is magnificently drawn and I love the dripping effect from his mane. I think the color combination is perfect as well.

#01 – Harmony with Nature – 1 color on Army – Artist: ritzh – curator: RIPT Apparel

TJ – Another amazing 1 color design. This design is ranked #1 for me because I think it was pulled off beautifully. It is simple and wonderful and appeals to men and women alike. On top of that, it was our best seller to date.

Take a second and check out the interview with CEO/Owner David Merritt to get a real feel of what IMU is about! Also if you dig what you see use coupon code “IAMTHETREND” for 10% off your order now through Dec 11th.

Website: IMU | The Inside Out

Could you start off with the basics (name, age, position with the company, favorite ice cream, etc)

My name is David Merritt, former captain for the University of Michigan Men’s Basketball team, and now CEO & President of I Miss You, Inc. & The IMU Brand. Darn that’s a long title, forget the captain part. I really like Rice Krispie treats and enjoy defying norms.

One thing that immediately struck me about your brand is the positivity behind it. Could you talk a bit about the inspiration behind your brand name and why you started IMU?

I got a text message about a year ago that said, “IMU.” I had never seen it before but immediately knew it meant “I Miss You.” Over the next few months, God blessed me with a vision to take those three simple letters and do something special with them. I started IMU because I believe in its message of spreading happiness. It’s not just about the clothing. Don’t get me wrong, I believe we work extremely hard to offer the highest quality product and design. However, IMU is more than a t-shirt company. It’s a call action to appreciate the people and experiences that make us who we are. And that’s why all of our designs have positive messages and meaning behind them.

You’ve done an amazing job packaging your entire brand. From the actual packaging that the shirts come in, to your website and product photos absolutely no corners have been cut. What was the thought and inspiration behind doing this instead of working your way up?

IMU was a “brand” before it was anything else. A lot of apparel companies usually start because a designer has a couple of designs and wants to come out with a line. That wasn’t quite the case for us. We first created IMU with the type of message we wanted to portray, and then decided that clothing was the best avenue for us to spread this message. With that, we wanted to create a brand that exhibited professionalism and excellence in everything we do. Our mission is to make our customers feel special every experience they have with IMU. As a result, we go above and beyond in all that we do to reach this mission, from our shirt quality and print, to our innovative packaging.

So what do you think makes IMU stick out from other brands and frankly why should people spend their money on your line?

I believe IMU sticks out because of our unique message, clothing, service, and specifically our innovative community service component. We recognize that we are so special as individuals in large part due to the people and experiences that surround us. Therefore, it is important for us to show others that we care for and appreciate them by giving back. Every IMU employee is required to give 8-10 hours of community service per month. It’s really about doing whatever we can to improve communities. In return, each t-shirt that we sell represents an hour of community service from our customers. So here’s how it works, if you purchase an IMU t-shirt and then go out in do an hour of community service, you receive 20% off your next purchase.

I think people should spend money on IMU because of our message and the IMU experience. It’s about making a statement. We will take care of you all of the way! In addition, we do clothing extremely well. Our creative and unique designs combined with our high quality t-shirt and print. As you said, no corners have been cut.

What have been some of the hardest things to overcome when starting a clothing brand?

One of the hardest things to get accustomed to has been learning to deal with people and different companies. If you’re not careful, people will try to take advantage of you. So, you have to learn how to negotiate and stand your ground. Another thing is dealing with limited human resources. We come up with new ideas everyday, but we really have to figure out what we can handle because we don’t want to be spread too thin. You can’t do everything, so you have to consider what’s most important.

Did you have any brands that you looked up to or modeled yourself after when starting IMU?

Johnny Cupcakes. I mean what can I say? The guy is a staple in the industry and has been so successful because he has truly created a “brand”. Everything he does is consistent. That’s what we are trying to do with IMU.

What can we expect to see from IMU in the upcoming year?

A lot of projects are in the works. We should be coming out with some new products/lines in the upcoming months, which may even include some involvement from professional athletes. We have been fortunate to get Antonio Gates, Pro Bowl Tight End for the San Diego Chargers, and Steve Breaston, Wide Receiver for the Arizona Cardinals, to actively rock our line. Also, we look to expand our community service component by having more events to improve our communities.

Any last minute shout outs or areas we didnt cover?

Shout out to you my friend for doing this interview. IMU really appreciates it and I AM THE TREND is doing a wonderful job keeping all of us in the industry up on the latest happenings.