[Source: http://lydall.standard.co.uk/2010/08/designer-targets-borisbikers-with-new-tshirts.html]

Indigo Clothing produced these t-shirts for 29 year old entrepreneur and architect Anthony Lau. Anthony was the designer of the racks that hold the bikes for the new London cycle hire scheme. You can buy the t-shirts from Velorution cycle shop in Great Titchfield Street, Soho.

With Kate on a much deserved summer holiday the blog has been quiet. My apologies. Stephan however has been raving to me about a screen printing club in Dalston, London that we should write up. Set up in 2007, Print Club allows members to use their well equipped studio to produce posters, t-shirts, art prints, etc. More after the logo…

Print Club is a great way for designers and illustrators to get their hands dirty and they run one-day beginners workshops to teach the basics of screen printing. They are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and they are well equipped. They have six screen beds, two t-shirt carousels, a t-shirt dryer, Apple Macs, storage facilities, a washout room and a large exposure unit. £90 a month gives members unlimited access to the studio and 9 hours pre-booking time per week. They supply the facilities and members supply ink, paper, emulsion,and screens.

We think it is a great idea! If however you need t-shirts printed and don’t want to go down the DIY route, of course Indigo Clothing are always on hand to supply both garments and the printing service is super-quick time.

]]> http://www.indigoclothing.com/blog/print-club-london-waterbased-screen-printing/feed/ 0 http://www.indigoclothing.com/blog/oh-my-clog-wood-is-good/ http://www.indigoclothing.com/blog/oh-my-clog-wood-is-good/#comments Mon, 12 Jul 2010 09:54:35 +0000 Kate http://www.indigoclothing.com/blog/?p=2028

Popular in the Netherlands for over 700 years. Can easily be hosed off if working in the garden, and allowed to air dry. When syncopated with foot taps, they form a special kind of dancing.

The clog has a great deal of versatility as a form of footwear, but this summer it has become more than a tourist’s souvenir. No longer fashion roadkill, the clog will have you hop, skipping and toe tapping your way onto the catwalk. In its most perfect form, the clog should look like you just slipped it on in a hot second. It likes to be kept low key. It’s a low maintenance kind of shoe. This said, don’t underestimate its stylish charm. In that hot second it can transform you from average Joe into towering Dutch goddess. Ironically, the Australian brand (famous for their well-loved boots) UGG have had their elves hard at work hammering nails in a new range of slip on clogs. With a pair of dark denim skinny jeans folded up at the bottom, these could quite easily become the new boot, showing that UGG are not a one trick pony.

UGGS and Kisses

But if slip on doesn’t do it for you, have a glance at the clog creations from Creatures of Comfort. These handmade Honey coloured clogs are made with Nubuck leather and shiny silver buckles. Their open toe and ankle strap shows how the clog has been summered up, and they are self-branded as ‘Incredibly Comfortable,’ though there’s only one real way to find out……..

Platform Clogs

…..I say there’s only one way to find out…..

purely in the interest of research I have sampled a few of this season’s clogs, and have to admit that they were incredibly comfortable. But just to let you know, they might take a bit of getting used to. Don’t head straight for the catwalk without a practise session. When I took my first clog stroll I did feel a little bit like I was walking on a rocking horse. It’s good to be aware that the clog is a whole new sensation.

360° Color: A Peek Inside Pantone from Base on Vimeo.

Some people are naturally equipped to deal with heat, others do not have this God-given facility. I am one of the latter. When it gets hot, I am perpetually melting. The only place where I become human once more is beneath a cold shower or in a lovingly air-conditioned building. When humidity strikes, and neither of these two options are available I am doomed.

The only possible solution to this scenario is to combat heat with devilishly nice clothes. Breezy lightwear is essential for the melting months, and though the oppressive warmth might make you feel like you need to look like a troll, the opposite is true. For ladies, what could be more perfect than a floaty summer dress which drapes and flows away like a pretty cool stream in material so light you’ll barely know it’s there? Clothiers Eskell know what it’s like to be hot (double-entendre intended) and it’s likely that this was the inspiration behind their Luna Dress which is green and white in all the right places. Decorative and elasticated, the two summer essentials, you won’t melt with this dress on your team. Promise.

Yes. Summer Dress.

For the man, it’s shortie time. Pop out the pins and slip into a pair of lightweight tailored shorts by Original Penguin. These seersucker shorts won’t leave you looking like a sucker. Combining the trend for denim shorts, the lightness of cargo and the tailoring of Original Penguin, you’ll be chill. And for your own personal reassurance they look great accessorized with a cold beer.

Man Shorts

As Justice have perfectly demonstrated in their video for DANCE, everyone needs at least one or two interchangeable party tees.

There are few prerequisites for this genre of t-shirt, but for an unforgettable party entrance make colour, graphics and relativity your top priorities.

Chunk Clothing could arguably be the specialists in party wear. Their New York Sounds tee in cobalt blue is inspired by the New York subway map re-imagined into a pair of beat transporting headphones, to take you on the ultimate journey. Whatever subway sounds are like, it makes me want to hear them.

The subway never sounded so good

From Your Eyes Lie, there is another form of party tee on offer, this time it’s a Disco Owl illustrated with a dramatic purple and yellow lightning strike. Who would have thought that the owl was a serious party animal.

Disco Owl

If something more simple says PARTY best to you, then Lazy Oaf should be able to provide all your party attire. Their simple colour block tee for men is guaranteed to lift every spirit, but if you don’t need any extra help in the spirit lifting department you can show off in a Martini t-shirt, which comes complete with a Marilyn Monroe upper lip mole. Classy.

Colour Block

With a twist

Indigo have built and launched a dedicated official merchandise store for alumni of Cambridge University at camalumni.co.uk. Products include earthenware mugs, a Case Logic netbook skin, a Slazenger gym bag, a Balmain umbrella and a beautiful 3-piece recycled leather travel set in Cambridge Blue. Indigo will be adding to the range throughout the year and has handled all aspects of the project including building the website, making advertising collateral and producing, storing and shipping the merchandise.Indigo has worked closely with Cambridge University Alumni Relations Office (CARO) on this project. CARO exists to encourage relationships and build links between the University and its alumni wherever they are in the world. CARO keeps alumni informed about the development of the University, and provides a wide range of programmes, events and benefits.If you are a university or large organisation and interested in a bespoke merchandise solution, contact Alex on 0800 061 2207 (UK Freephone).

If you are looking for cool world cup t-shirts, look no further than Didi. They have t-shirts for most of the major teams. My particular favourite is this USA one, listing all top players as well as the hapless England goal keeper, Robert Green, who fumbled the ball allowing USA to draw 1-1 earlier in the month.

[28/6] Right now it seems like all the shirts are sold out but hopefully they will reprint some more.

What is it about the Ray-Ban that makes everyone from the Men in Black to Sarah Jessica Parker slide a pair up their celebrified noses? And aside from the celebridoodles, a pair of Ray-Bans have become indispensable to the non-famous. Take a stroll around your nearest city and you’ll outcount your fingers by the number of Ray-Banners you see protecting the population from the sun’s glare.This summer the shades that have experienced recurring patterns of slump and revival since their original creation in 1952 are experiencing a large scale return. But what is it about these shades that seems so accessible to everyone? Is it that they suit all faces, is it that they are seen as an investment in quality, or is it simply that

in the

“black suit with the black Ray Ban’s on”

you can

“Walk in shadow move in silence
Guard against extra-terrestrial violence”?

Debatable, but this year Ray-Ban has introduced more than colour to the simple black shades, today we have print. Collaborating with some of the world’s best print makers, Ray-Ban have extended from sunglasses to limited edition posters to publicize their new collection.

Alongside the posters, the rare prints collection is nothing if not exciting. These subway map style shades will make sure you always find your way around. Though if your attraction to the original wayfarer can never be lost, why not try a twist on the classic with an insider flower print.

Subway

Secret Flowers

LTD Tee publishes a new t-shirt design once a week. After a week you can’t get your hands on it again!  You can use promo code “indigoclothing” to get 10% off too. This week their design is supplied by Oliver Hibert who LTD Tee interviewed. Re-published here to read at your leisure:

LTD Tee: What was your inspiration or concept behind the artwork submitted to LTD Tee?  How did this artwork come to life?

Oliver Hibert: I’ve been quite inspired lately by all things dark and dangerous, touching on reptiles, mythology and symbolism which is represented here with the theme of the iconic Ouroboros. This piece is in connection with my recent and current works of having the feel of a “bad trip”, which is a bit of a change for me because most of my previous work has been considered as a “groovy trip”. The psych colors and feeling will always be a big inspiration for me but I’ve been intrested in playing with and mixing those colors and feel with darker imagery and concepts…

LTD Tee: What artists or websites do you find inspiring?  Where do you draw inspiration from?  What is your favorite artwork (either your own or someone else’s)?

Oliver Hibert: Well, I like many different artists ranging in different styles for a lot of different reasons, many current and some that have long past. Though, currently I’ve been getting more and more into Egyptian art and Hieroglyphics… One of my favorite paintings ever is the well known and celebrated “Garden of Earthly Delight” by the amazing Hieronymus Bosch.

LTD Tee: What is your favorite medium to work in and why?

Oliver Hibert: My favorite medium to work in is definitely Acrylic on wood or canvas. I am a true painter in my heart. After completing a piece, the sense of accomplishment makes me feel alive like nothing else. I also enjoy the fact that there is only one original copy that can never be truly duplicated, that makes it very special.

LTD Tee: Any tips for aspiring artists?

Oliver Hibert: Keep working at what you’re doing. Have faith in what you are making. Have fun with what you are creating. The most important person to please is yourself, so be yourself. If you are enjoying what you are doing then your right on track…

LTD Tee: What is your core belief or ideology?  What is something you would like to share, or think everyone should know?

Oliver Hibert: Some questions are better left unanswered, for me this applies to art in a big way.

LTD Tee: Anything else?

Oliver Hibert: I sneeze a lot but I kind of like the way it feels.

“Mama, mit meinem Praktikumsplatz haette es mich nicht besser treffen koennen!”

That is what I told my mother right after my very first week at Indigo as a new intern here. My name is Julia Wilk, I am from Germany, and it means something like, “There would have been no better place for a work experience.” I am enjoying my work experience at Indigo Clothing – I really am!

Unfortunately the customers, who call us every day, have no real idea how much fun people here are! The atmosphere is always balanced. Nobody is sitting in her/his own room. Sure everyone has their own desk but the desks are all placed in the middle of the room. Everyone can look at each other, which allows us to have a conversation together the whole day long. As you can imagine these circumstances make the atmosphere really lively!

Well, there is one thing that I have to say that I don’t like – Indigo Clothing with it’s massive choice of garments makes me want to spend money: I want to buy new clothes! My personal favourite brand that we supply is ‘Bella’, and my favourite garment is the Tube Top by Skinnifit.

I’m looking forward to the following weeks!

Mary Poppins was the ancient forefather of the practical bag. From her flowery zip-up she could produce anything, lamp stands, kitchen sinks, bottles of vino, probably people. Though if you’ve seen this version of Mary Poppins, perhaps you’d be more frightened of what she might bring out of her bag than before. True, the big bag can be dangerous. I always find that with a small bag I have the neceessities, I have a more wholesome, feng-shui approach to life’s essentials. Purse? – sure, keys? – why of course, phone? – yup, spare socks? – no, no, not really needed. When the big bag comes out however, the shoulder clutter comes too. The spare socks are in, along with a full size wall calendar: why not? Instead of a mobile I’d rather take the yellow pages and some coins for a pay-phone, and then comes the ‘second lining’, the most detrimental component of bag clutter. A swamp of cinema tickets, rail tickets, receipts, free breath mints, hair pins, lip balms, informational leaflets, flyers, copper coins. The list never ends. I have to keep my bags on the small side to ensure that my life remains in focus, but with a summer array of lovely bags for the buying, bigger is always better.

If you’re ready to splash out on some nylon, this ‘She Said He Said’ bag by German label George, Gina & Lucy might be the bag for you. Not only is it available in many colours, it’s name also suggests that it will be the chattiest bag you ever own.

She Said He Said

If you’re looking for something large, but would prefer a more relaxed look then you’re Forestbound. These peeps are big news across the pond. Using exclusively found and salvaged materials, Forestbound create durable, utilitarian bags. Well-worn, historic looking textiles are sourced in their New England homeland and worked carefully into one of a kind shoulder wear and stuff carriers. Hmmm, sold.

Forestbound

For something a little smaller, Brooklyn based Reiter8 are also in the market for remaking their holdalls from used materials. In their case it can only be ex-sail boat sail. Reworked, remade, sailing once more. Just think, your shoulder wear will once have been flying, free in the sea air breeze. Refreshing.

Reiter8

And finally, a classic. The vintage satchel. I recently discovered new Scottish brand Scaramanga when I was searching for a special bag present. This brand make satchels like you’ve never experienced before. Their materials are fairly sourced and nothing is they do is mass produced. When the ‘Large Wide Leather Satchel’ landed on my doorstep I wasn’t disappointed. Obviously I had to use it myself for a couple of weeks to make it more authentically ‘vintage’, which I did like a pro, before giving it to my nearest and dearest. When the sad day came for us to part, it was the worst: like parting with a choco muffin seconds after its touched your lips, before you’ve even taken a bite, so bittersweet. Hopefully we’ll be reunited sooner rather than later though, because sharing is caring.

Scaramanga

What would we do without denim?

I have thought about this many times. According to Professor Wikipedia, denim is: ‘a rugged cotton twill textile, in which the weft passes under two (twi- “double”) or more warp threads.’ Sounds complicated, that’s the science of denim. And as all the best things in life (le macaron, the expression ‘sacrebleu!’ and Gerard Depardieu) denim originates from France.

If the only item of denim in your wardrobe is a pair of jeans, something needs to be done. This season is all over the denim shirt. At first I thought ‘Naaah’ but the denim shirt has a certain power. It can turn the ‘Naaah’ into a ‘Oh actually’ and then a positive ‘Mmmm defs’. With all its persuasive techniques, this variation on a theme is hipster springwear at its finest.

J. Crew show how the ladies can wear a ‘boyfriend’ denim shirt with a nip and tuck for subtle tailoring. In other words, it looks like your wearing boyfriend’s shirt…but better.

Men have the handy advantage of not having to borrow mens clothes, they just wear them. And this pale shirt by denim experts Levis has a perfectly worn-in look, as well as two handy chest pockets for all you storage needs.

But if your looking for something a little bit different, then that might be the Wrangler hooded denim shirt. Combining hood with denim, this shirt has popper buttons and a zip and rolled up sleeves. Everything you could ever want.

These shirts comes with one health warning. Don’t overdenim like Britney and Justin did:

Indigo Clothing has built and launched a merchandise store for the MBAT, the annual sports tournament held every year by the MBA programme at HEC, Paris. Now in its 20th year, the MBAT organising committee wanted to be able to start offering merchandise online; before, during and after the event.

The MBAT Shop built by Indigo

Indigo supplies the merchandise, handles payment, fulfilment and customer service and provides a complete merchandise solution. If you need something similar, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.

At Indigo, we love t-shirt stories and we love ethical stories so what excitement was to be had when we discovered Hello Rewind, the US based t-shirt reconstruction project that can turn your old t-shirt into a laptop sleeve. Not only are you recycling an old t-shirt into something new and cool, this social enterprise works with women formerly sex trafficked in New York City so they can learn new skills and support their new lives.

T shirts become laptop skins

[via Engadet]