Jake Nickell, threadless interview!

Threadless as a website is something that always amazes me because its just one of those ideas that is so obvious its a wonder no one had thought of it already. Design competitions have existed for a long time but Jacke Nickell and Jacob DeHart were the first to see if it would work as a buisness model. I Spoke to Jake Nickell last year and heres the interview, enjoy.



Phil: Hows it going Jake?

Jake: Well, tired actually - It's 4am on a Thursday and I'm currently sitting in the bathtub preparing for a 6am flight to NYC. I will be returning to Chicago this afternoon. Trips like these for quick meetings are kind of cool because I feel like some kind of secret agent, but also very not cool because it's 4am and it's going to be an incredibly long day.

Phil: God nowadays I can barely manage to get up past 10 in the morning let alone 4am, though if I were doing trips like that I could probably manage. Well look at it this way who else can say, yeah I went to New York for a couple of hours? So Jake tell us a little bit about yourself.




Jake: Well, growing up I lived in Minnesota, Colorado, Missouri, Texas and
Indiana all before 4th grade. My dad was in the army so I moved
around quite a bit. I went to college at the Illinois Institute of
Art in downtown Chicago, got about 3 years through it, then quit with
3 classes left to get my degree because I just couldn't go another
semester running a new business with employees to manage on the side.
(I started the business when I was a Sophomore) Now I live downtown
and work full time mostly programming our websites and managing the
business.

Phil: I know what its like to move around alot personally I like it but having to make a fresh start each time can be annoying. So do you regret not getting your degree? I mean you obviously put alot of work into it to get that far.

Jake: Well, not so much - for a while it worried me but now that Threadless
has really taken off and skinnyCorp is doing so well, I feel like even
if it fails, there are a lot of opportunities for work in the future.




Phil: Yeah threadless and skinnycorp really have taken off over the past few years, for those that dont know could you tell us a little bit about threadless, skinnycorp and how it all started?


Jake: Yea! Jacob and I used to be members of a design forum called
dreamless.org back in 97-2000 and we met there. There was a tee
shirt competition on there to design the shirt for an event in London
and we both entered and I actually won it. We loved the whole process
of the design competition and decided to host our own, ongoing
competition for an actual line of tee shirts. We really started it as
a hobby, we were both really into art and design and wanted to do
something neat in that space. We started skinnyCorp as a design shop
and had Threadless as a side project.

Fun stuff

Phil: Your love of design really comes through I mean I don’t think threadless
would ever work if you didn’t love what you were doing, so what do you think
attracts designers to threadless other than the money?



Jake: The exposure of their work itself, it feels great knowing that
thousands of people are looking at the art you have created and even
leaving their opinions about it. When you create art, there is a
certain amount of pride that usually goes along with that. And when
you are that proud of something, you want to show it off!

Phil: Makes me wish I could draw, oh well I'll stick to films and photography, you
mentioned before that you started threadless off at hobby, weren’t you ever
scared I mean starting a business is normally a pretty big decision to make,
something that people spend along time planning. What was your experience of
starting out?




Jake: Starting out was literally Jacob and I just asking for designs on
dreamless and then printing the best ones. We each put in $500 and we
printed 24 of 5 different designs. Then when those sold we’d just spend
all the money we made on printing more designs. We didn't spend any
of the profits for the first two years and instead spent it on printing
as many designs as we could.

Phil: So do you have any advice for people starting out in business?


Jake: The most important thing for me was to be really passionate about what I was trying to do. Everything I did to start the business was fun and I thoroughly enjoy work every day. If that wasn't the case I don't think I could do it.



Phil: So a while back you launched the new threadless website, are you please with how it’s turned out so far? What are your favourite features on the site?


Jake: Yea, I'm really happy with the response so far, this is like the 8th
time we've relaunched threadless and I actually think it has been the
most positive of all of them. Whenever you dump a big change on
people it can be pretty overwhelming at first. I'm confident that
most of the people that are feeling that way will learn the new
interface and love it over time.

My favourite thing about the site is just how much more organized it is now. We went up to a 1024x768 resolution so things feel a bit more spaced out and easier to handle now. I like the small details about sites the most and all the little details you'll find on new
Threadless I hope you'll find are really fun :)


Phil: So what do see in the future of threadless/skinnycorp?

Jake: We just want to keep building community websites that encourage people to join in and help co-create neat things.

Phil: What music are you listening to at the moment?

Jake: I've been listening to a lot of Against Me and Streetlight Manifesto lately :)

Phil: Thanks for the interview Jake.

Jake: Thanks for interviewing me.


Skinnycorp

Threadless.com

Threadless myspace

Just Desserts: A fairy tale

For someone taking a film and television degree, I feel I've really not talked enough about films, so to rectify this I talked to Karen Sloan although theres not much to go on (this is here is the only one she has online) she looks like she could become a talent to be contented with. What the film and then read her comentary.





Phil: What is the film about?

Karen: The short is about a girl who loves to bake who goes one day to meet up with her "true love" and discovers that he's been unfaithful. broken hearted she goes home to bake her pain away and in the end she gets her "just desserts"

Phil: How did the ideas develop?

Karen: The film was actually oddly inspired i guess by listening to the band cursive's song driftwood: a fairy tale, it's a song based on the story of pinocchio, and it made me start to think about the idea of creating the perfect lover...so that was sort of the basis and then i wanted to create a story that captured the magic of the fairytales i loved as a child, and things just sort of fell together and we went with ideas as they came, a lot of things were just spur of the moment, "let's try that"
type things that just worked.


Phil: What was the most difficult aspect of filming?

Karen: Filming was relatively easy. I worked on the project for about 6 months. I wrote, filmed, and edited it in april 05 for my video 2 final, spent the summer analyzing my mistakes and planning, and then re-shot in september. The difficult part with filming was probably finding times when my actors could meet, but it was a lot of fun because they were 2 of my best friends. The difficulty mainly was in editing and composing the music. Most of the special effects (glowing tear drops, dream bubbles, multiple cookie boys) weren't too difficult, but the opening credits, with the pages turning in the book, was a pain in the ass, it was composed of over 44 layers in adobe after effects and had a ridiculous amount of key framing and i rotoscoped the footage of me on the directed by page to make it look like it was illustrated (it's kind of hard to tell on youtube) also to enter my film in various competitions i had to use royalty free music, so i had to arrange loops in adobe audition to make my music...which was difficult for me personally, since i dont have a musically wired brain at all and i had a very clear idea of what i wanted the music to sound like.

Travis Pitts interview!

Its kind of old, but its new here, about a year ago I started talking to one of my favourite threadless designers Travis Pitts, his work is intelligent and witty but most of looks bloody good, enjoy.



Phil:
Hey Travis how’s it going?

Travis Pitts
Pretty good, Stomach hurts, Olive garden indigestion.


Phil:
Unlucky mate, you need to get some anti acid, I've heard of that place parantly its pretty decent can’t remember what food it is mind. Anyway let’s start at the beginning, tell us a little bit about yourself.

Travis:

I'll be 30 this year, married to a great girl, happy in every way
except not doing what I should be doing in life- getting paid
regularly for art and design work. (Insert optimism here)- but that's
going to change this year as I'm actually going to buckle down and
send off samples to companies that suit me, instead of approaching the
wrong ones, or assuming a job will fall in my lap.
..but to start at the beginning: I was born in Joliet Illinois, moved
to Douglas Georgia when I was not quite 2, so I don't remember much
about snow or the north at all. Grew up in Douglas, essentially the
middle of nowhere, a humid, swampy area of the southern US- my only
entertainment being legos, nintendo, a go-kart, and my art supplies.
Had plenty of time to lay around and draw funny pictures. Moved to
Savannah Georgia in 1990, which seemed to be an improvement at the
time...but like a carnivorous plant, this city lures in many creative
types only to trap us with a high cost of living, few jobs, and no
easy way out.

So that is where we sit, trying very hard to get out this year.
Atlanta, Athens or out of state completely.
Artwise, I've never had so many ideas and so little time to do
anything about it.

I'm sorry, is everyone depressed yet?

Phil:

Well I hope the future bodes well for ya, I know exactly how you feel, I’ve lived in small villages for my entire life, balls to what they say country living isn’t idyllic it’s damn right boring. I’m moving out to York in a few months though so all should go well. So what influenced your art work other than boredom?

Travis:

Both my mom and older sister were artists of sorts. my oldest sister
(12 years my senior) babysat me alot, and I got to look at alot of art
books and album covers most kids my age weren't allowed to or wouldn't
understand. Also got to listen to a wide variety of late 70's and
eighties music...to which I would lay there and draw to.
Playing with legos, building things outdoors, all gave me an
attention to detail as to how things are actually put together that I
think I still try to carry over. Sometimes I am such a perfectionist
about it I don't get much done. (things like assuming the viewer will
know what a real engine of a ' 76 station wagon will look like and
trying to cram that detail into a 2x3 comic panel where it isn't even
the focus)

At probably 7 years old, I understood the politics and humour of comic
strips like Bloom County from my sister's anthologies, and was awed by
the works of h.r. giger from her books and calendars.
To see my older stuff, you'd recognize inspiration from things like
basil wolverton, EC horror comics and the like, I used to crosshatch
and stipple the hell out of everything, back when black and white was
my only way of expressing color.



Phil:

Cool, I used to do a lot of art but unfortunately I lost my attention span, the result being nine years of no art, a loss of all my skills and all my confidence, but I’m planning to get back on track. So it you would defiantly say that comics were a huge influence on your art. We’ve been hearing a lot about Robot Derby girl over on threadless, so what’s it about?


Travis:

Robot Derby Girl is just one of a thousand things I want to do...even
if it just ends up being a 4 issue miniseries somewhere..(going to
submit to darkhorse, fanatgraphics, and a few other b&w oddball
companies).
Basically, it's another outlet to draw scrappy girls and quiet,
golem-like robots...but unlike the rest of my doodles, it's gelling
into something a little more solid. It gives a nod to certain anime
formulas, but is mostly western in approach. People keep saying it
reminds them of one thing or another, but it's not my intention as
I've purposely tried to stay out of the comic reading world to not be
influenced, and I'm not really a fan of japanimation to begin with- my
biggest eastern influence being the art for video games like MEGA
MAN...

the good part is, at least it reminds people of certain things they really LIKE.

It seemed a good place to draw all the gears, robots, helmets, outfits
and landscapes I draw anyway, and out of it came the story of a girl
who is the underdog in a near future robotic rollerderby-type event.
She's not the underdog because she's a girl, but because she rides an
outdated robot in a competition long since taken over by sleeker,
sportier models.
(kind of like how I feel as an old school illustrator in today's
graphic design market, i guess)
..it's just going to be the trials and tribulations of her everyday
life, trying to get money for repairs, winning just enough to get by
on, enemies, friendships, etc... Her robot is both mocked and revered.
It has uncanny abilities beyond the typical race/attack programs built
into the others that even Robot Derby Girl (aka Cam) can't put her
finger on. It was literally all that was left to her when her father,
a former great in the circuit, died while riding in a race. Not only
is it her inheritance and employment, but unknown to her, it also
carries his essence.
However, the robot can't speak (at all) or act beyond its limits, so
there will be alot of poignant moments where the robot goes out of its
way to protect her, and alot of inner turmoil where he can't decide if
he should tell her, or even how to do it.
She in turn, will do anything to keep the robot in running repair, and
will begin to see it less as a hassle and more as a father and
protector. soon, it will be felt so strongly both ways that there may
not even be a need to ever have the truth come out, which is how I
would prefer it.



Phil:

Whoa, I can’t wait to read it I love the idea that this outdated model despite everything strives to win against all these technically superior robots, there’s nothing like a good underdog story and it sounds like the epitome of it. I wish you the best of luck of luck with getting it printed. Threadless.com a while back printed Robot Derby girl (congrats by the way), how did you hear about threadless, what do you like about it and what’s it like being a printed designer?




Travis:
I heard about threadless from my old high school friend Ron Lewis,
also a designer...he told me about it at the crux of their '$2005 in
2005' competition. At the time, $2000 was a big deal. The normal
winnings were $250 or $500, I can't remember which. I submitted a
bunch of mediocre drawings I had laying around because I had no idea
what threadless was or what the audience expected. He pulled off 'you
sank my battleship' for the win. I've been in love with threadless
ever since.

Phil:

$2000 is still a big deal, though I can see what you mean, its way up on the $250. I wouldn’t mind seeing some of your older stuff at some point. I mean your stuff’s pretty decent right now, I mean you’ve not been printed by threadless once but twice (three times if you count the 12 month club tee), so what did you spend the money on and how does it feel to be a winner?

Travis:

The joy of winning, having something in print, having a sort of cult
fan base, having something that can be traced back to me- all of it
was more gratifying than the prize money. Each time I won, we were in
some kind of dire financial situation and the money usually had to go
directly to bills. We’re totally on top of our debts now, and I have
to say I couldn't have done that without winning.
So my new goal is the $2000...I’ve won at every other amount
threadless has offered. This time I might actually get to spend it on
something frivolous- like a Honda ruckus (scooter) to replace the
crappy off-brand one I bought that died 9 months later.



Phil:

I’ve always wanted a scooter unfortunately I’m also constantly broke; though I’m hopefully gonna buy a £220 camera, ah disposable incomes fun. Well I wish you the best of luck in threadless comps and I wish you the best of luck with Robot Derby girl, thanks for giving up your time to chat.

Travis:

Thanks, man, it was fun

You can get in touch with Travis at
myspace

Zom-bot.com

Contemplation, thought and consideration

Last summer I entred a photography Competition that asked us to take a photo that depicted my own religious beliefs the problem was for me I wasn’t exactly sure what I believed (and still don’t) this was an exploration of my thoughts and feelings at the time.

OK as you know from the topic for me this has been a very tough challenge because for me it was not just simply a case of taking a photograph of something that represented my religious beliefs. For me it became a journey of self discovery because I had to work out just what my religious beliefs were. It is probably very unusual for a photography competition to say that the photos are unimportant but this is the truth, they are but mere records of the journey I took to take them. Now it is also important to remember though they are two photos they can not be considered separately because they represent parts of the road to self discovery.

Up until a few years ago my world had been a certainty, I knew what I was going to do as a career, where I was going to go to university, where I was going to live and ultimately I was certain that there was no God. But then things changed, I realised the college I was at was not for me, I hated the course I had chosen to study. I had to change and changed a lot of things in my life such as switching to courses that allowed me to be creative, I switched to a college that finally felt right to me. Yet in this time of confusion my certainty in my religious beliefs were shaken. I had been so certain of my future and yet that had all been proven wrong so why was I still convinced God didn’t exist? The truth is I could no longer be certain of anything with in my life, I watched as my friends from high school became drunks and drug addicts to various degrees, there beliefs were simple, there might not be a next time.
I couldn’t live like that and so I threw myself into exploration I tried the religion I’d been so determined to be against, Christianity and yet I felt nothing towards it I still couldn’t cope with the idea that God existed and I could not cope with Christian rhetoric and yet I still felt the need to have religion in my life. I considered Judaism but that was even worse than Christianity in fact all the religions seemed too based upon one simple belief. God does exist but our God is the correct one to follow. I didn’t like that for one I still do not believe in a higher being that has created everything but more importantly I disliked the intolerance to other belief systems. Then I found Buddhism and at first Buddhism made sense, it did not require me to believe in a God because God didn’t exist, they are more like angels and are ultimately unimportant, however what is important is striving to achieve Nirvana. At this point I started to read about meditation. I genuinely believed I had found my religion and yet something just did not feel right, I can not explain it because I still do not understand it myself but this religion that made perfect sense did not feel like it was for me.
I was stuck, I was a person seeking religion and yet could not find one that represented my beliefs and this is the state I have been in for a year stuck in limbo between religion and atheism.
And now today the journey. Whenever I feel sad or angry I roller blade, I do it for freedom because I am away from stuff and I am relaxed. Today however I decided to roller blade to the river. This is not a simple journey and takes 30 minutes to roller blade there, it is further complicated by the fact that you have to go down a steep hill that requires you to take off the blades and walk down. So I did I walked down a hill bare foot across searing hot tarmac burning my feet as I went along. I had got to my destination and yet I felt unhappy with it. It felt like the journey was not over yet and so I walked down the river barefoot. This is no easy task because the river is a dirt road it is full of stones and the occasional bit of glass. When walking down this road you are forced to walk slowly and to think about everything you are doing for fear of cutting yourself and having to go to hospital the only thoughts you can have are were to put my next footstep. After a good half an hour of walking I stopped for the first time in a long time I had walked somewhere with out thinking, with out a mind full of thoughts clouding my brain, making me stressed, making me angry. I felt free.
I stopped and sat down by the river hands clasped together and just watched as the river flowed and eventually I closed my eyes and concentrated on my breathing. I have never felt this way before and all I can describe it is as peace. My words do not justify the feeling I got watching the world go bye. The ducks casually swimming past the rusting dock.
So what exactly is it that I believe? I believe in beauty, these pictures represent how I see the world because I believe in the beauty of nature and the beauty of what man has created. To me the docks represent a class of different types of beauty, the man made which is not just designed for practicality and that of nature something that we can not create but only manipulate. I still do not know if a higher being created the earth, nor do I know if nirvana exists but neither am I convinced we exist for no other purpose than to reproduce. I will probably never find my answers but maybe the search for these answers is all that’s important.








The pictures were taken several hours after this journey and so will only ever be an attempt to recapture how I felt, the explanation was written as soon as I got home.


As for the competition I can third.