Art on
your sleeve
competition in London. disagrees. "l‘he hest thing about 'l'hreadless is del‘initely the cotntnunity section. We‘ye t‘ecei\'cd oyer 40.000 designs so lar and it is so much l’un going through and scoring them. It‘s a way for a designer to get their work in tront of a huge audience.’
Those not l‘amiliar with Mact‘otttedia l-‘reehand or :\dohe Illustrator can still get their creatiye
juices flowing courtesy ol‘ Vans
trainers. The company 's (‘tistom range allows customers to way the colour or pattern on up to ll sections ol a standard Vans trainer. choosing from tip to 27 colour options. The process is simple and performed via the website. l'sers are presented with a blank shoe to work with and can then click on each section ol‘ the trainer to assign it a colour. When the design is complete. the shoe is made in around the weeks and shipped out lot‘ the sum ol‘ (soo (around £32). l'nl'ortunately. shipping is currently limited to the l'S. so now is the time to dig out any distant relatiyes
or li‘iends residing in the land ol~
the tree to ask it they can l‘orward the linished product to you. l'iinally. lor the truly old skool.
‘DESIGNS THAT CATCH THE EYE OF THE TEAM ARE PRINTED FOR JOE PUBLIC TO BUY'
allows users to create a lo-res graphic masterpiece. (‘reating an image one pier at a time is not necessarin l‘or those with a lull— time job or actiye social life. htit tor the impatient. the Tee Machine allows you to copy and paste an image from another source which it then pi\elates.
l’ixcltees partner ;\lan \Vatls says that the success ol the company. which has had a total (it'll—14‘) designs suhmitted since its launch. is down to customers‘ desire to get their artistic oar in. "the l’ixeltees Shirt Machine lets people l‘ull‘il their garment lantasies.‘ Which just goes to proye what we‘ye known all along that the customer is always right.
Visit www.threadless.com,
You need never find yourself stuck next to someone wearing the same Topshop T—shirt again. Katy lyricAulay discovers a clutch of companies giving us the, opportunity to design our own clothing.
he words ‘tlesign your own' .tlt‘ enough to strike leat' into the heart ol' anyone who‘s Eititltlered at the sight ol a \lrs l’itt' 'l'—shirt hill
3 mitt-s such as ‘l‘hreadless are
wt: ~ that there are members of
bit; out there who are smart
:j. lt-tl as an ongoing 'l‘-shirt
:t .oinpetition. American ti‘.‘.ll_\ llircadless receiycs 300 \‘ltll'lt‘s a week. which the glutiiy posts on its website for :wlimis to rate. l)csigtis that are .1 iilaily popular. or those that l. the eye ol a team of in—house out s. are printed l'or Joe Public
Shoptdt
Spend. spend, spend
donation to one of the
to buy. Anyone can submit a design as long as they follow the rules l'or colours. formats and resolutions clearly stated on the site. :\side lrom being able to see your design grace the torsos of others. another incentiye is the $400 cash pri/e pltts Slllll 'l‘hreadless gil‘t \‘ouchcrs (amounting to around £275) ol'l‘ered to those whose 'llshirts are printed. It’s an excellent way l’or 'l‘hreadless partners .lake \ickell and Jacob l)ellart to tap into the ideas of budding designers out there but isn’t it a little like getting the customer to do hall ol’ the work'.’ Nickell. who started the site iii 2()()‘() after winning a 'l‘-shirt design
l’ixeltees. a pixel design and l—shirt purchase site launched in 2003.
I Top Shop, the Body Shop, Gap and French Connection are among the high street retailers planning to show their wares at a series of charity fashion shows to be held in Edinburgh’s Ocean Terminal on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 June as part of the Bluebell Day Campaign. Those who want to do their bit to raise awareness of post- natal depression can catch an evening show for £10, or gain entry by
112 THE LIST
Saturday afternoon shows 5 i '
starting at 1pm or 3.30pm.
Go to www.oceanterminal.
com for more information. I Strap on your crash helmets. According to its websne. members of lkea's mattress display team are going to be bouncing their way to the big blue Glasgow store on Saturday 1 1 June to entertain us Wltll their death defying stunts. If your IOIIllS are aching and yoor sleep is restless. it's a chance to get some advrce about which mattress will suit you best.
t. ' o
m‘ " ., not to mention that the event has got bed bouncing and pillow lights written all over it. I Sister team Catriona and Susie Garforth have Opened 8 new shop, Sooc, in Edinburgh’s Old Town. It‘s a haven for those looking for one-off or unusual fashion items,
and customers can expect intricate skirts, bags, belts and jewellery from the sisters‘ label, also called Sooc, alongside fashion by eight other designers including Junky Styling from London, Marie Helene from Paris and textile designer Alison Willoughby. The venture was funded by the Prince’s Trust, and new talents are also getting a chance to make their mark at the shop. ‘We plan to involve students by helping to sell their
www.vans.com and www.pixeltees.com.
designs,’ says Catriona, creative director. ‘We are attending the fashion degree shows to source new products.’ 8000 is at 26 St Mary’s Street, Edinburgh, 0131 558 7500.