by Mr Four Fingers on May 7, 2012
I’m thankful for being part of Hide Your Arms because every so often I’m introduced to a new brand that impresses me and Colus is one of those very brands. As soon as I saw Colus Hunter design (above) I could feel some deep rhythm stir inside me, something raw and totally awesome. Ok maybe a bit heavy but let me just say that Colus has got skills and has instantly become one of my favourite designers.
I received the t-shirts in a bespoke white envelope with enigmatic eye symbol printing in black . The eye symbol is a device used by Colus used to represent morality. Packaging is the first impression and it’s always good to see the effort. This ‘morality’eye design can also be purchased as a t-shirt called ‘We Are What We Do’. Layered inside the envelope were my two -t-shirts Hunter and Wise Owl (sealed separately) and a mission statement card nicely printed up with a personal note written on the back. I’m a firm believer in personal touches.
Both designs are single colour screen prints on American Apparel so make sure you follow the care instructions properly to get the most from the fabric. We were taking the photographs at night and the flash was popping off the t-shirt making it look intensely white. The designs in the Colus range are simple and bold, Hunter being particularly striking. If you don’t like attention then this t-shirt is not for you.
The fit of Hunter on me is great and the soft fabric feels really good. Craig, featured wearing Wise Owl, says it fits well and being an American Apparel white t-shirt it’s slightly on the thin side as you could see his tattoo faintly. All t-shirts are printed on American Apparel.
I had a good time reviewing Colus t-shirts and focused on being as non-biased as possible which was easy because the product is pretty good. You can purchase one of these t-shirts over at his online store for $26 and you can even check out his latest jewellery release.
by Mr Four Fingers on February 21, 2012
Iain Macarthur T-shirt design – V51 England
This t-shirt may be couple of years old but it’s still great and there are a few of them still out there.
This design is by the talented Iain Macarthur. This has guy has amazing inking skills and the imagination to go with it. Rarely do I feel his jealous about someone else work. Damn you Iain! I recently found this t-shirt amongst many at a TK MAXX clothing store in London and picked it up immediately. I appreciate the fact that 55DSL have given the main stage to the artist and have not tried to crow bar in unnecessary branding.
The t-shirt fits well, the detail is amazing and the balance of the illustration sits perfectly across the chest. The fabric is not heavyweight, slightly on the thin side, so expect it to loosen sightly up after a few washes.
If you live in Britain, then check out a TKMAXX store and treasure the t-shirt if you find it as it was a limited edition print. I think it cost £15/£17.
Andy’s Note: How cool is it having a new blogger on HYA showing us stuff that they’ve actually gone out and bought? We know this guy has taste, and he’s even willing to wade through TKMAXX to find great tees!
by Mr Four Fingers on February 20, 2012
20sixFresh – UnderTheNeedle – Design
Hello HYA fans and anybody new (in which case welcome). My name is Doug, one part of a two part duo who operate under the name of Mr Four Fingers and I’m the latest person to join the Hide Your Arms writing team. Ask me what we are and I will probably distract you with some bright colours. Basically we create illustrations and our meetings generally involve tequila. Oh yes, this is our first post. Cheers Andy!
While perusing the internet I found a design in a t-shirt competition by an illustrator who goes by the name of DOOOM. His design caught my eye and I soon followed some links back to his website where I found some serious talent.
This design is entitled ‘Under the Needle’ and is sold under the 20 Six Fresh brand. The design and colour choice are well considered for dark fabric execution, which is not always easy. The clean vector lines, traced from hand drawn designs are well balanced and the overall feeling off oddity is heightened by the strange mushroom shape at the top of the illustration. Later I found out that this is the view from under the Seattle Space Needle.
Cost: $25
by Andy on September 23, 2010
My inbox being what it is, sometimes I neglect my e-mails, especially when they come from people I don’t know, I’d rather be writing posts or doing something more fun than responding to e-mails. That laziness unfortunately means that you guys sometimes miss out on some cool brands, and this is one of those cases. I got an e-mail from Chris, the guy behind SockMonkee about a week ago (to clarify, SockMonkee is also Chris’ illustration moniker), and I thought to myself, “I’m sure I recognise that name” so I searched my e-mails and it turns out I was contacted by Chris back in February and never replied, hell, I don’t even know if I read the e-mail!
I wish I had, because SockMonkee as a brand clearly has a lot going for it, good designs printed on AA tees at a reasonable price ($20), what more could you possibly ask for?
by Andy on August 12, 2009
Linework is a new-ish label from London combining the work of illustrator Sam Falconer with organic tees, and it looks like a pretty good match to me. As ever though, I take issue with the lack of large images of the designs on the site, there’s no point putting so much time and energy into designing and printing tees if we can’t take a good look at them until they’re in our hands, also, us husk fellows are left out in the cold somewhat as the sizes run S-L, but I’m sure that was merely an issue of budget rather than rampant sizeism. Price-wise, they’re £15 a pop, which is good for an organic tee in the UK, and Sam has a fairly unusual style that you don’t see too often being put onto tees, so there’s definitely something different about this fledgling brand.
Costiness=£15 Available from Linework
by Andy on December 13, 2008
I wouldn’t normally post about a
calendar being released, but hey, it’s the weekend, weird things happen, and it looks really cool.
