T-shirt Decoration: Modded
From Mod Mania
Contents |
Introduction and T-shirt Forums
Clothing is a necessity of modern life. We cover ourselves, not only for physical reasons like warmth, but also because of social constructs. To satisfy these needs and wants, there are multitudes of different clothing options available. One of the most iconic and undying items of clothing in our modern consumerist society is the t-shirt. The t-shirt is loved by children and adults alike. It is extremely versatile; it can be worn while mowing the lawn, as an under-shirt, and depending on the style, while out on the town. What’s not to love? The only downside to the t-shirt is that every man and his dog has one. Where is the uniqueness? This is when creative types, turn to t-shirt modding. The website T-shirt Forums is an information and networking hub for people all around the globe that do just that.
Kill Monotony by Enkel Dika
Modding Techniques
So what exactly is involved in t-shirt modification? Now, T-shirt Forums is not about re-stitching your shirt with fluoro thread and adding a pocket for your change or anything like that. Specifically, we are talking about t-shirt decoration. That is, adding a picture, words, or other design on to a t-shirt. There are many different methods of decorating a shirt, and many different combinations and effects available. The main methods are: screen printing, Direct-to-Garment Printing, or DTG, Dye-sublimation printing, embroidery, and transfers. Of course, most of these aren’t available to the amateur t-shirt enthusiast. In fact, unless you are considering starting a t-shirt printing business or similar, the only real option is to use transfers. A transfer is basically the middle man for getting a design from your computer to your t-shirt. Even within the sub-heading ‘transfers’ there are many different types of transfers.
An Iron-on Transfer
The most basic of these, and therefore perfect for amateur home use, is the humble iron-on transfer. The design is printed from a standard ink-jet printer (or sometimes laser printer) onto a special transfer paper. The design is then cut out and placed in the desired position on the t-shirt, and ironed over with high heat and pressure for a period of time, depending on the brand and type of paper. When the paper has cooled, the backing is peeled off revealing the awesome design beneath. This is a very fast, simple and effective way to add a bit of individuality to a shirt, however designs tend to deteriorate over time. A more durable option of transfer is a plastisol transfer. These are made with the same process as screen printing, except instead of going straight onto a shirt, the design is printed on to a special transfer film, which can then be stored until ready to be heat-pressed on to a shirt. The beauty of plastisol transfers is that they have almost exactly the same quality and durability as a commercially screen printed shirt. The downside is that they can’t be made yourself, unless you have proper screen printing equipment, which means they must be ordered, usually online, from a screen printing company. Also, to properly affix a plastisol transfer to a garment, a heat press must be used. Decorating t-shirts can be an extremely enjoyable experience; there is little wonder as to why so many people around the world enjoy it, from hobbyists to professionals. It was only a matter of time for an online community based around t-shirt decoration to emerge.
Forums
T-shirtforums.com was started in late 2004 by the current administrator, ‘Rodney’. Since then, the group has grown to have over 75,000 members, who come from all parts of the world, and over 77,000 threads. The t-shirt forums is an online community of people who, in some way or another, decorate blank t-shirts. There is however a great diversity among the members, not just because of their location but also because of their level of expertise, their involvement in the online community, and their preferred method of t-shirt decoration. The group ranges from complete novice to seasoned professional, with everyone in between, and in many ways, this is what makes it such a strong community – everyone aims to help one another. Most people who are on the forums, are either involved in some sort of t-shirt printing business, or are aiming to start one. This means that most of the t-shirt modifying going on throughout the community is in the context of reselling, and therefore is not really consumer modding. There is a proportion in the group however, that are hobby-modders; simply purchasing blank t-shirts and then decorating them to suit their style.
The forum is divided up into many categories and sub-forums, making it much easier to find what you are after. One such category is ‘T-Shirt Selling’ which includes forums such as ‘Graphics and Design Help’, ‘Business and Finance’ and ‘T-Shirt Marketing’. Another category is ‘T-Shirt Industry Information’ which includes forums on each of the major printing methods. There is also a set of ‘Region-Specific’ sub-forums, so that you can find information that is relevant to your location. In this way, sun-communities are created. For example, all the Australian members can talk in their sub-forum about where are some good places in Australia to get blank t-shirts, and in doing so form a kind of clique, which you need to be living in Australia to be a part of.
A common topic of discussion throughout the forum is that of “Which printing method is better?” Everyone usually likes to talk about why their favourite method is best, and convince everyone else of that. However, there are several threads that have been set up in a non-biased manner to outline the pros and cons of each printing method, which becomes an invaluable resource for a newcomer to t-shirt printing to learn from others’ experiences. As mentioned earlier, the community is full of professionals and non-professionals alike. There is an unmentioned hierarchy throughout the community that is based on ones’ expertise and knowledge. Those who have been running a screen printing business for 20 years instantly gain more respect than those who have just started. This hierarchy is reinforced by the stats that accompany each user’s avatar, including Member Since, Posts, and Thanked. These show how old the user is in the community, how much they’ve contributed, and how much people have appreciated their contributions.
Threadless
One topic discussed by members of all levels on the website is that of submitting your designs to a more commercial business for review and, for selected designs, production. This is an entirely different ball game to designing and printing your own shirts. Instead, you design the graphic, and the manufacture and often sale is managed by the website. This is taking modding to a different place; though you are still initiating the modding, the process is undertaken by professionals. This activity merges the manufacturer and the hobby designer.
Therefore, the focus is moved from your printing technique to your graphic style. There are many of these sites out there, some rewarding the selected submissions with tangible rewards, others simply with recognition. Personalities on the T-shirt Forum site have mixed emotions about these sites. They do provide a source of recognition and income for your efforts, but in many cases, having your design selected means you lose ownership of it. The website retains the rights to the image and your use of it is legally limited.
A major participant is Threadless, a fairly young site (created in 2000) selling graphic t-shirts with designs submitted by readers, or, in other words, helping designers modify shirts. The company offers $2000 in cash and $1000 in prizes to the selected designer. Student submitters can choose to convert this to a $3000 scholarship to support their studies. Also awarded is an ‘Alumni Club Membership,’ connecting you to all other winners. This in itself creates a prestigious online community made up only of past winners. And who knows what this exclusive membership entitles you too? It may not be much, but the title is enough to make it desirable and admired. If you are chosen for the monthly ‘Bestee’ award you also receive up to $22,500 more in prize money. So obviously there is a huge incentive to submit: there is nothing to lose! The attraction of the prizes, as well as that of having your t-shirt in print and for sale, encourages submitters to generate interest in their designs through conversations on the site.
Once submitted, the winning designs are selected the viewers, who rate it out of five, and also specify whether they would buy it as a t-shirt, a print or both. This immediately gives the members a sense of connection to their fellows. As non-members are not restricted, the addictive excitement of having your opinion make a difference increases the number of members, and also gives them endless conversation topics.
To provide a space for this interaction, Threadless has a forum and a blog. Readers are also able to comment on designs when they vote. Comments are usually notes of encouragement, the odd suggestion for improvement, and the even rarer negative feedback. Designers often comment back and, in this way, their mods evolve and improve, creating documentation of a dynamic and interesting journey that perpetually attracts more comments and submissions. It also keeps members coming back; they have discussions with each other in the comments section about the design, which leads onto other, unrelated topics. Thus, readers and especially members are connected from all over the globe by their shared interests.
The site’s forum is also available space for interaction. Coded by subject, it is easy to find what you are looking for, making participation a breeze. It’s little things like these that help generate a self-sustaining online community. Another such device is a column on the side of the some of the site pages that lists some of the members whose birthday it is that day. This not only creates a family-like atmosphere, but also reveals the average member is aged between 18 and 30 years old, with the majority being in their early 20’s.
Of these members, there are those who submit designs and those who surf the pages for to enjoy taking part in the community. These users also interact with the personality of the website, which encourages a youthful, chilled but productive attitude. In this atmosphere, submitters post their work and ask for feedback. Designers and casual readers alike respond, and all feedback is appreciated, a vote even more so. Submitters are more highly respected, but comments and votes left by any reader, no matter their level involvement, are valued.
Etsy
If, like some T-shirtforum readers, you believe modding t-shirts should be kept at a personal, handmade level but still want to sell your product, then you can turn to Etsy. This website describes itself as ‘an online marketplace.’ They aim to connect people with similar interest in up market craft and give them the means to make a living from their efforts.
In order to do this, Etsy has a basic template for online shopfronts within the site, that t-shirt modders and the like can ‘move into’ and make their own. The site then behaves, as claimed, like an online market. Stalls are grouped in categories so product is easy to find, but browsing is still encouraged. Under ‘Clothing,’ you can select ‘T-shirts’ and voila, you are in the world of modified T-shirts, batch manufactured and sold online.
As Etsy is accessible to anyone, the only restrictions being that the product must be handmade, the shopkeepers here range from beginner to professional modders. As these sellers are sharing a space, Etsy encourages them to communicate by providing online workshops, chatrooms, news posts, a blog, a section with tools for promoting your store and finally, a forum. The forum is where most of the community action occurs.
Administrators make announcements and interview relevant experts and stallholders. These extremely informative sessions can then be discussed in related threads. Only members are able to submit replies and comments, and can also create their own threads. these can be questions to the general public or a search to connect with like-minded sellers. For ease of navigation, the forum, like the storefront part of the website, is categorised. Stallholders can also search the forum for exactly what they want. In this way, t-shirt modders converse in threads such as ‘Which Technique is preferred for T-shirts? Direct to garment printing, or heat press?’ Those in the know can respond and help out the person who started the thread. Members who aren’t sellers can also post threads in search of a certain item. All this interaction ensures that seller’s products and sale techniques are always improving, and buyers are fully satisfied.
Though there are clearly defined personalities in the forums- administrators, sellers and buyers, all treat each other with the same level of respect and are happy to help each other out. It is understood that each is integral to the success of the other, and the entire marketplace. Thus by supporting each other, they support themselves, creating a self sustaining community.
Conclusion
Websites such as T-shirt Forums, Threadless and Etsy are great resources for anyone wanting to modify a shirt, from professionals through to first timers, and even make some money out of it. Not only can you learn how to go about doing it, but also what method or product would be best for your project, where the best place to buy certain materials or equipment is in your area and the best way to go about selling. You can also learn from the multitude of other people in the community that know more about the subject of t-shirt modding than you, which is useful in the short and long-term. For these reasons, online communities will continue to aid the well-loved pastime and business of t-shirt decoration.
