The four piece line features three different designs and spread over four different shirts. Overall the tees are extremely solid, with my favorite design being Always Advance. Each design is printed on American Apparel and also features the Local Advancers logo on the back neck of the shirt. All tees are $19.95 with an extra $1.99 flat shipping rate to US and Canada which is spot on as far as pricing goes.

The thing that I have been most impressed about with Local Advancers, is owner Peter Takis’s hustle. He is constantly engaging his audience as well tee bloggers. He is also helping advance the community by putting out a few articles giving advice from what he has learned while launching Local Advancers. I actually posted his article titled “5 Laws To Starting A Clothing Company” which was extremely informational and beneficial to upcoming tee companies.

Peter and Local Advancers provide a great example of how to launch a tee company even at a early age. Make sure to check out the line at: www.localadvancers.com

Enter Le Grand Cru, in my opinion they make very solid yet simple tees. Right now on the site they have 9 tees in the collection that sell for $28 a piece. While I’m not in love with all the designs on the site, I really think they have some standout pieces such as the red v-neck “Le Courage” and the very clever “Brace Face” tee which does a fantastic job of incorporating their logo into a very cool design.

If your in the market for some chill and cleanly designed tees definitely check these guys out at www.legrandcru.us Le Grand Cru also have a very solid blog which can be read at: http://blog.legrandcru.us/

All three tees are very simple and straightforward, boasting only one color designs and in fact only black and white designs. While most times I would like to see a little variety and spice in my tee designs I do feel these tees are decently solid.

The standout piece in the line is the “Yeti Pack” tee which features 23 amazing different versions of a yeti. For me this tee shows the most creativity and originality in the line. While there is nothing wrong with the “Legends” and the “Villian” tees, they really dont show anything that hasn’t been done before.

All tees are printed on heavy weight 6.1oz cotton and run $25 each. The price point is also a bit high for me liking. This is more of a price point I would expect to see from a company that is printing on American Apparel or Alternative Apparel using more than 1 color ink.

Overall Abominable Apparel looks to be off to a fairly solid start. With the introduction of a few different color choices and addition of a bit more originality I can see these guys making a name for themselves.

Check out the entire line at:
www.abominableapparel.com

Here is a great example of a brand with a complete vision. From their website, photography and of course the tees themselves, LUVD portrays a complete and professional branding image. Everything works together so well for this brand to create a unique vibe that it really draws you in and makes you want to be apart of their brand.

That being said their designs are very solid but they are really nothing that hasn’t been seen or done before. What is beautiful about the brand image they have created is that it takes tees that could be viewed as pretty standard and portrays them as something more, something that will make you apart of a group or community.

As far as prices go, LUVD has hit the nail on the head. Prices for both tanks and tees run $22 which includes discharge printing on fashion fit tees.

I highly suggest checking out www.luvd.org to pick up some threads or just see how a clothing brand makes a huge splash while launching. Also check out their promo video below, yet another great example of taking things to the next level.

THIS IS LUVD! from LUVD on Vimeo.

You can pick up the tee at: www.deadburydead.com

Never Die Easy – The Movie from Dead Bury Dead on Vimeo.

After a few emails with the owner of Hype, I came to realize that Hype isn’t necessarily going for that over the top wow factor, but are concentrating more on extremely comfortable and quality shirts that can fit a wide range of tastes.

Speaking of quality, Hype has opted for their own personal custom blanks instead of using the industry standards such as American Apparel and Alstyle. Although I have not personally been able to feel the shirt, they have been described to me as a vintage feeling shirt that is extremely comfortable to wear feeling as if it has been worn for years, yet maintaining it’s integrity.

As far as the screen printing goes, Hype also stresses the fact that they have spared no expense. “Each shirt has is meticulously handled by a very trusty friend that has been doing high end work utilizing environmentally sustainable and socially responsible techniques since 2000.”

Of course when you are talking higher quality shirts and prints you are also talking prices, with these tees carrying a price tag of $25. I really do not have a problem with this price tag, but the issue that I see is that first time customers might have a hard time realizing the cost compared to quality ratio. When buying clothing online it is impossible to feel the shirt itself as well as examine the printing, so it becomes a much tougher sell.

And last but not least we have the designs themselves. While there is nothing wrong with the designs, for me they are nothing that really stands out enough to make me want to make the $25 purchase. Most of the designs are spin offs of already well know styles or logos and unfortunately at this point in the game HYPE doesn’t have the brand presence to be able to rework known styles, add their name and have them sell.

I really like certain aspects of what this company is doing such as their attention to quality, but in order to shine and sell online you need to be able to impress people with designs first.

Check out the entire line at: www.bewareofthehype.com

I can definitely see this tee being a HUGE hit in the Chicago market! The tee is currently available for pre-sale for $20 and FREE SHIPPING! Pre-sale ends on July 30th and at that point the tee will go up to $22 and free shipping will no longer be available.

Pick one up for yourself or favorite Bears fan at: www.instantclassictees.com

And for those of you that need a quick refresher on the Super Bowl Shuffle enjoy:

Overall the designs look decently solid with some hitting the mark a little more than others. One design that stood out to me as having a lot of potential was the “Red Baron“. I really dig the vibe of that tee, but wish they would have made pilot look a bit less cartoonish and maybe a bit more haggard looking! With some smoother illustration and less stock looking graphics that tee would have been a home run for me.

For me the best tee out of the bunch would be the “Sorcerer Hands” shirt. While the design is nothing groundbreaking I think the design does a great job utilizing the tee as a background and making it appear as a sorcerer has opened a portal on your chest and is coming through.

All tees from the current line run a very nice $20 point. Also aside from the new tees, Branded Baron has marked down some of their existing line to only $10.

Check out the new line and all tees at www.brandedbaron.com

My favorite tee of the current line is titled “Its Mathematics”. The tee depicts what I imagine a “Gangland” type monkey would be packing in the jungle, a banana peel neatly concealing a blade. Looks like the jungle is getting rough these days!

Although the current line only features 3 new designs, looking back at their back catalog and their current offerings I definitely see a brand that has a vision and is attacking that vision. I love to see when a brand sets out with a mission, goal and vision for their brand to build an identity and Annie Mulz is definitely on that track.

Check out the available line at: www.anniemulz.com

Both designs while extremely different from each other stick out in their own way. The “Lonerider” tee is a great skull design shirt that proves that not all skull shirts need to be over the top and in your face to be effective. That tee also reminded faintly of “The Goonies” skull, which is a plus in my book! The tee is also printed on my favorite blank American Apparel Tri Blend. Design plus AA Triblend = fistful of awesomeness!

The second tee titled “Perro Tureco” features some pretty sick looking macabre artwork, that standouts great on the mustard colored shirt. The tee is also only $15 which is quite a steal!

You can pick up both those tees and see the whole line at: www.fistfulapparel.com

The tee that sticks out to me most in this line is the “Sharky” tee. This is one of the few designs that I have seen the use of shading and gradients in a Johnny Cupcakes design instead of the traditional style of solid colors and bold thick lines, which actually works very well on this tee and design.

Aside from the new tees Johnny as released a brand new Grey on Grey Crossbones New Era hat for $59.99. The hat is a online only product with a very limited run of only 150 made!

Be on the lookout for new products from Johnny Cupcakes every 5 weeks throughout the summer!

www.johnnycupcakes.com

The new tee design is a play on Chinese Food Takeout is a very solid and summery design. The tee is limited to only 50 pieces and features 100% Fine Jersey cotton, flattering stylish fit on virtually any body type, stretchable collar for increased comfort, reinforced shoulder construction and durable double-stitched bottom hem and runs $19.99. Each shirt also comes with a awesome Chinese Takeout Customer Container!

Pick up the tee at <a href=”http://www.deadburydead.com”>www.deadburydead.com

Among being an a very awesome looking tee, it’s only $12 and better yet if you pick one up you will be entered to win a original piece of art from Wotto himself!

You can pick up the tee for only $12 HERE

Johnny Cupcakes Artist Series $39.99
Dave Quiggle, Illustrator and Tattoo Artist from Southern California via Erie, PA

Zombie Liqourice: 3 New Tees: www.zombieliquorice.com Godmachine, Aaron Kerr and Joshua Belanger $20

DeezTeez. Flip the shirt up to instantly turn into a zombie, only $15

2K Sports made good on their $1 million “Perfect Game Challenge” promotion for MLB 2K10. The winner? A 24-year old Alabaman man named Wade McGilberry.

He used Kenshin Kawakami against the mets, it took him six tries, he had a cuple of scares, one 3-2 count, a grounder deflected to the shortstop in the first inning and a fly ball to the warning track in the eight, Kawakami, through his interpreter, told MLB.com, “I want to know why he used me.”

The Imaginary Zebra: Destroy Their Facebook Page check it our HERE

INTERVIEW:
www.sacerandsavive.com

SALES:
Skeg: www.store.skegits.com Use coupon code: SPACID for 25% off

ARTIST OF THE WEEK: Atomic Child: http://atomicchild.com/
Worked with: Randr Tees, Four Year Strong, 8Bit zombie, All American Rejects

Play With My Tee Tees:
American Apothecary: www.a-apothecary.com (water based inks: pima cotton) %10 of proceeds go do drug outreach programs
Packaging: B
Printing: A
Price: D $108!!! Wowie Zowie
Presentation: B
Overall: B

I Love Antix: www.iloveantix.com
Packaging: C
Printing: A
Price: A
Presentation: B
Overall: B

Kalel: www.kalelclothing.com All $20
Packaging: C
Printing: A
Price: A
Presentation: B
Overall: B

Tee Picks of the Week:
Adam: Dead, Serious! Clothing:
Wolfpack: http://deadseriousclothing.bigcartel.com/product/wolfpack

Beau: Hips & Hair – spray on inspiration $28 limited quantity of 30. This design comes directly from a painting I did in December of 2008. I strive to make designs that come from more original sources, than just graphic art stuff. The deeper meaning is that I wanted to show how inspiration can come in the form of anything…even a spray can.Hand printed on American Apparel.

Youtube Video of the Week:

Make Believe have been a while in the making, and upon entering the website you can see why. It’s instantly obvious if a brand has put great time and effort into preparing to launch, and this shows in the high quality craft of the websites presentation. The products are presented wonderfully, in a unique side-ways scrolling online store. One of my only complaints is regarding the mocked-up product images which often don’t give a completely accurate representation of the printed product, but they are very bold and clear.

One of my personal favorites from the line is ‘Geronimo‘, a bold native American graphic which resembles something from the 1950′s. A simple black print on a heather gray shirt will forever be a winner in my books. Another outstanding shirt is ‘Cityscape’, which again is a very bold and well thought out piece of design. The vintage photo combination of a city and mountain landscape compliment each other beautifully, and are finished with a nice little quote and subtle distress. The price tag hits the sweet spot right on the head at just $20.

All in all, I think Make Believe have done a fantastic job to say this is their first launch. If this is anything to go by, the brand has a very bright future ahead.

Check out the entire collection over at: www.makebelieveclothingco.com

With this release Vicious History also stepped up their game in a few areas. First off they decided to switch from the Anvil 980 Fashion Fit tees to American Apparel 2001 blanks. While I really didnt think the Anvil 980′s tees were that bad, American Apparel is definitely a step up. This change has resulted in a $2 increase from $18 to $20 but that still seems more than fair.

Vicious History also decided to do their first photoshoot instead of just putting up mocks of the tees. I am always a huge fan of actually seeing the shirt in a real life setting over just a photoshopped mock up. To me it just gives the product a little more credibility and life.

The new line overall is fantastic with four extremely solid pieces. While I enjoy all four of them the Craig Robson “Birds of Prey” tee absolutely grabs me with its incredible design and great use of the red color in the background that just enhances the design and gets my pick of the litter. Also back this time around is one of my favorite artists Keaton Henson. His new piece “Napoleon” picks up right where he left off with last winter’s “General Mutton” tee.

What I also enjoyed about this release is the introduction of a black tee into the mix. Tom Neal did a fantastic job creating a simple yet effective black tee that features the Vicious History logo extremely well. Last but not least Robot Tiger’s “1780″ tee provides a very different look to the line, with more of a modern look that is a nice breath of fresh air.

All tees from the new line are on sale now for only $20, so head on over to: www.vicioushistory.com to pick them up!

Take for example “Handjobs For Crack“, which features a dog-like character wearing a clown suit offering handjobs for crack, if that doesn’t grab your attention I don’t know what will. Aside from the “Handjobs for Crack” shirt, I was digging the “Parrotghost” tee.

Parrotghost tees run £25.00or $38 and can be purchased at: www.parrotghost.com

The tee is only $15 and is printed on American Apparel. Speaking of price, Lead & Light has actually lowered the price on all his tees to only $15!

Check out the entire line at: www.leadandlight.org

Can you start out by telling us how Ruckus got it’s start?

I was doing some simple design stuff for family, friends, and my church, and i just started making clothes for myself to wear around. I made one shirt specifically that people started asking me about, haha, wanting to know where I bought it. So I ran with the idea and printed up 100 pieces of that shirt and i sold em out of my car. Haha, modern mans hustle i suppose. Well, they sold out and I made some decent money from it. So I took the plunge and put the money toward trademarking, licensing, and all that lame stuff, and Ruckus was officially born.

I heard some of the owners of Ruckus are involved in sports. What sports exactly and what effect if any has that on your brand?

You’re definitely right. I am the sole owner of Ruckus, and not only me, but really the entire Ruckus team is heavily involved in Athletics. I was in sports my whole life, wrestling, rugby, football, MMA. I played rugby overseas in Samoa for a year before attending college where I was a 2 Time Collegiate All-American in Rugby at the Univ. of Wyoming. I’m still very involved in Rugby, both playing and coaching. Then we have Cory Sittner a great friend and our main model. He was also a Collegiate All-American in Rugby, and he is also now a personal trainer and fitness advisor at Fusion Fight Gym in Montana. My brother Parker Orms plays football at CU, remember his name cause the dude is a baller. And then my other brother Jordan was just over in New Zealand playing rugby. And then my wife, she is a crazy athlete as well, she is a marathon runner. Even my little sis is an athletic trainer for her High School team.

Really, Ruckus is about so much more than just the clothing, it’s really more about a lifestyle than it is a clothing company. Everyone we are involved with is driven, and competitive. It works great because through Ruckus, it gives me the opportunity to coach and work with Elite athletes and sports teams, as well as provide them with the toughest gear out there. Just this year Ruckus became the official sponsor of the Western Rugby Collegiate All-Stars, as well as the Rocky Mountain Under 20 Select Side. These two teams are made up of the best rugby players in the Western United States. We also work with a couple MMA fighters. Really we just like to surround ourselves with passionate people who care about what they do. Around here, it’s understood that “Good is the Enemy of Great. “

The new line looks much different than when you first started. Could you explain the inspiration for the new line and the new look?

Well Ruckus really has three parts and they are all considerably different from each other. We have our street gear (like the new spring line), we have our team gear, and then we have our “Come, Let’s Dance” line. I think the older stuff you are referring to is probably our CLD line. Come, Let’s Dance is an organization that we partnered with last year. They are based out of Steamboat Colorado, but really based in Uganda, Africa (if you believe home is where the heart is). My brother Jeremy spent the last 3 years of his life in Uganda devoting his life to helping the orphans and widows in the slums of Uganda, and really this line was my attempt to help raise support and awareness for him and his cause. They believe that change comes through relationship not money, through self-sustainability not hand outs. They believe in empowering the future generations of Leaders in Uganda through family empowerment, restoring lives, and providing hope. All proceeds from our CLD line go directly to helping the orphans and widows in the slums of Uganda. For more info on this project, or to donate or support please visit: www.comletsdance.org
The new line was heavily influenced by people telling me I can’t. If I was pitching ideas, and someone said, you can’t do that, or that’s stupid, basically I ran with that idea and made it work. I love taking things that people don’t think can work, and then making them crazy fashionable. Hence my Euro Trash Mullet –Ha ha.

What are some clothing brands that you have looked up to while building your brand?

Ahhhh clothing brands I look up to would have to be… Hurley, 410BC, Hotlife, Make Believe, Kid Dangerous, Humanity for All, and right now, I’m really into Lead & Light. The way he does his texturing is crazy awesome.

What is the best and worst part of running your own clothing line?

Worst part is all the freaking legal / technical / paperwork crap. Taxes, payroll, registration, licensing, etc. I hate that part. The best part would be having an idea in your head, and then being able to put that idea into motion and watch it turn into a reality. I also love the people that Ruckus has brought me together with. Brandon Herbel, Matt Skiff, Zach Reed, Mike Cordova, David Blaise, I could go on forever. I am truly blessed to have such an awesome team in my corner.

Tell us about this spring release?

This spring release is huge. Ha ha, well to us at least. We have over 10 shirts, guys and girls, some cut&sew wallets that turned out killer, and some backpacks that also turned out Amazing. This spring release really is the corner stone, and is going to set the bar, we expect each release to be bigger and better from here on out.

What do you have in store for the future?

Im really excited for our future. We just signed a deal with Olympic Gold Medalist Henry Cejudo. We are now the official gear provider for his “American Dream” summer camps. We also have a few surprises in store for a little later in the summer. We have some huge stuff that is in the works that Is a little premature to talk about at the moment, but yeah, I’m definitely pretty stoked on our future.

Make sure to check out Ruckus’s new website and spring line at: www.ruckusapparel.com

I am in love with the “Symbols” and “Dead Sailor” tees. With these tees Shrimp Sauce has introduced their first cut and sew, by simply printing their designs on a linen fabric and double stitching them to the cotton shirt. The look and feel created by this process is incredible and really takes the designs to a whole new level. Both of these designs also come available in tanks and both the shirts and tanks will set you back $28 each.

Aside from the cut and sew pieces, the new line includes 3 fairly solid new tee designs which also mark the first introduction of color into a Shrimp Sauce shirt. While I am not in love with these shirts as much as the cut and sew, they are definitely solid. My favorite out of the bunch is “The Witch’s Diary” shirt, the artwork on it is definitely creepy and it is also really nice to see something other than black or white on a Shrimp Sauce Tee.

Last but not least, Shrimp Sauce has also released a custom bandanna and patch. The bandanna is hand dyed and includes a embroidered Shrimp Sauce logo, that looks incredible. The Pentagram patch is also extremely solid, measuring in at 4.5″ and would be a great addition to any back pack or shirt.

On top of all this, Shrimp Sauce also found the time to film an incredible promo video that really sets the tone for the new line. The quality of the video is unmatched to anything that I have seen a indie clothing company put out, I really hope that they continue to put this amount of effort into their future releases.

Check out and purchase the new line at: www.shrimp-sauce.com

Shrimp Sauce :: The Witch’s Diary S/2010 Look Book from Shrimp Sauce on Vimeo.

Speaking of pushing the brand the latest release does just that. The direction of the Spring line picks up where the Winter Line left off, with the use of more toned down color schemes and overall more mature looking designs.

I absolutely love the introduction of the “Senses” Tee mini series. The mini series is comprised of 3 “senses” sight, touch and feel. I absolutely love the artwork for the tees and they work great as a concept and as a set. You can buy each tee separately for $19.95 or a three-pack for only $44.95.

Also included in the new line are a couple more band collab tees, featuring bands Broadway and Oceana. Before I move on I really want to touch on how brilliant the idea of these collabs are. Aaron has done an absolutely incredible job teaming up with some incredible upcoming bands and instead of just sponsoring them, he has developed collaboration shirts with them, that make the bands feel more apart of the “Stheart Family” as well as I believe make the bands want to help push the Stheart product.

Last but not least Stheart has expanded their embroidered line with introduction of 2 V-Necks, 1 hood, 1 Crew Neck and 1 tank. These are great addition to the line and are a really nice choice when you are looking for something that is a bit more dressy and formal than your standard screen printed tee. The Stheart Goose Logo, is an extremely solid logo and makes for a great clean look.

Overall, I am extremely impressed with the new Stheart line, from the photography, collabs and overall designs this line continues to dress to impress.

Check out the full line at: www.stheartclothing.com

Industry BS:
Collaboraction’s 7th annual carnaval: Dome of Doom; capture the full video we are sponsors
Watch the Collaboraction’s Promo Video HERE

Dizzy Bat Contest: Watch a submission HERE

Arkaik releases new line: www.arkaikclothing.com

Hamburger Disco new shirts: www.hamburgerdisco.com

Amazing Video Game Pasties – Check them out here!

Rob Dobi Interview – Full Bleed, YourSceneSucks.com, NewEnglandRuins.com fame

Sales:
RandR spring cleaning sale 20% code as well as 10% off twitter code

Do You Like My Tee Tees
Full Bleed: www.fullbleed.org
Stheart: www.stheartclothing.com
Your’e History: www.weareallhistory.com
Miles to Go: www.milestogoclothing.com

Shownuff

Each tee indeed does feature a burger or burgers in some sort of crazy situation. Whether it be “Brain Food” combining burgers and brains into a sweet zombie treat or the “Burgergram” which takes 150 tiny burgers to form the ultimate mega burger!

These tees are definitely both playful and creative while maintaining a great sense of style. Pick up your favorite burger inspired tee at: www.hamburgerdisco.com > Each tee will set you back $30