Here at Icon Printing, we’re always on the look out for creatives who appreciate the world of printing and print making as much as we do. Our expertise is in screen printing, direct to garment, transfer and digital embroidery. What’s great about this industry, is that there are a number of ways to transfer image onto paper, fabric, garments in general, and when we stumble across something rather awesome, we like to share.
Behold, Tugboat – the collaborative name for the team printing projects of husband and wife duo Paul Roden and Valerie Lueth, from Pittsburgh, USA. Their prints are original illustrations, carved out of woodblocks by hand (with hand tools), and printed onto paper by hand on their in-house etching press. It’s not too often you come across this level of craftsmanship, forward planning, pure skill and talent. You can’t help but be blown away.
To find out more about the printing services we have to offer at Icon Printing, please feel free to get in touch.
This is a behind-the-scenes glimpse into what went into creating the 2012 Team GB kit. Adidas appointed top British designer Stella McCartney as Creative Director and asked her to design a collection of 590 pieces for over 900 athletes. The process drew on both the technical expertise of Adidas as well as the creative eye of Stella.
This short clip is a great little insight and definitely worth a look.
Whether you’re a Photoshop novice or a total wizz, it’s likely you’ve used or heard about the programs keyboard shortcuts. They’re nothing new, but there are actually a few sneaky “undocumented” tricks that can boost your productivity. A selection of them are shown within the drop down menus, but there are also just as many that aren’t.
You’ll also be glad to know that most of them are transferable across to Illustrator and InDesign too. I’m using a Mac to write this post, so if you are using PC, Cmd = Ctrl and Opt = Alt.
1. Square Marquee Tool
To create a perfect square marquee or object, just hold down the SHIFT key. This also works, when re-sizing or scaling an object – by holding the SHIFT key down, your objects proportions are locked, creating an even enlargement or scale down.
2. Space Between Lettering
A really quick way of changing the tracking (posh word for the spacing between letters) of a font, is to select the word and then hold down the ALT key and then tap either the left or right arrow. If you only want to change the spacing between two letters – as apposed to the entire word, just click your cursor down between the two letters in question and nudge them closer or further apart using the same keys.
3. Zoom to 100%
Double click on the ZOOM (little magnify glass) tool and it will instantly zoom your document to 100%.
4. Show/Hide Layers
If you need to show / hide more than one layer, instead of clicking on each one by one, you can click on the visibility (eye) icon and drag your mouse up or down – you’ll notice each layer appear or disappear.
5. Precise cursor
When using tools such as brushes, cloning or healing – you can press down your CAPS key, this will show you a precise cursor, should you need it for accuracy.
That’s the first five for you to have a play with – you’ll be using them without even thinking in no time! Don’t forget to check back soon, as we will be posting the next 5 in a few days time.
Every once in a while a T-shirt line suddenly appears and proceeds to take the fashion world by storm. This is exactly what happened with the Dutch luxury T-shirt brand Zoe Karssen a mere 18 months ago. The label is a creative partnership between Quince and Zoe Karssen, built on the foundations of cool, easy to wear fashion with a playful, rock n roll twist. The collection channels laid back chic and is an obvious hit.
I personally first came across the brand six months ago whilst on a trip to the ‘t-shirt capital’ that is Australia – well, they have the weather for it! I was enjoying a stroll down the very cool Chapel Street in Melbourne, when I came across a T-Shirt only boutique, called Black Books. Their selection of Karssen tees took pride of place along one wall, and it was love at first sight. Not only was I drawn to their irresistibly understated tongue-in-cheek slogans and bold imagery, but the detail that came with it – even though they initially seemed so low-key and well…simple.
There was the topstitching details, unfinished edges and drop hems to the reverse of some, the pared down colour pallet and my favourite touch – the use of screen printing on the front inside of the garment. This gave a wonderful subtle, almost preworn look to the designs. Each design felt different, carrying its own selection of quirks with it. I had great difficulty in whittling my choices down and not immediately walking out with every single style they had.
It’s no wonder they’ve been picked up by big retailers like Liberty, Net-a-Porter and Harrods. The collection delivers a healthy injection of super-cool “I just threw this on” to any outfit.
But not as we know it. Social Networking isn’t anything new, but how we utilise it on a daily basis is constantly evolving. Does your 140 word limit on Twitter feel too restrictive today? Well now you can be as “statement” as you want without moving a muscle. We’ve found a selection of intriguing items to adorn yourselves with – it’s like a Facebook and Twitter gift shop out there! Here are some of our favourites…
Obviously we find ourselves gravitating towards the printed t-shirt. At Icon Printing don’t go a day without coming in contact with one! Much like our various social media accounts or “outlets” – which they fundamentally are, the statement t-shirt is also a medium for self-expression.
And it doesn’t stop there. What better way to fuel your Facebook obsession, but to don a pair of these…
Who would have thought it! (Well, Daniel Reese aka Brass Monki did, to be precise.) Gone are the days of shifting around a few colours upon your favourite style of trainer, now you can go all out and rock a pair of actual Facebook or Twitter branded sneakers – let those bad boys do all the talking!
We nearly have a full outfit here, stay tuned – the best is yet to come. Now, we know you secretly sit at home Facebooking in just your underwear…hey, whatever floats your boat! If this sounds like you, I’m pretty sure you need a pair of these…
#AWESOME? Like, Unlike? Why don’t you let us know!
War & Piste is a ‘wickedly funny diary of a ski season’ written in a fictional account of one person’s ski vacation, journeying in the Austrian Alps. The author of the book, Alex Thomas, went through six winters of adventurous skiing to eventually bring out her story of the interesting and funny world of ski-life.
When it came to promoting the book in December 2011, Alex and the Traudl Publishing promo team (Polly and Blue) went to the Alps in order to build the hype of the novel. They carried with them lots of books, skis and War & Piste t shirts. Courtesy of Icon Printing, the t shirts for Alex and her team were produced by screen printing black prints onto coloured tees and white onto black t shirts which gave them extra impact due to the contrast in colour. Bold text was used in the same font as on the front cover of the book and also a website link was displayed clearly on the back to attract more publicity.
The Cherry Laundry (mentioned in one of our earlier blog posts) is a clothing company which is based on 1950′s laundry associations yet with a bit of a fun and exciting twist. Daniel Dewhurst is the founder of The Cherry Laundry and his t shirt designs include irons, washing machines, washing machine temperatures with a vintage look.
This year’s massive charity fundraiser, Text Santa, encourages everyone to donate money to those who are particularly in need of support this Christmas.
Text Santa is a charity initiative from ITV and in partnership with Vodafone UK, are delivering help through their JustTextGiving service. Across 400 Vodafone stores, staff are also getting involved with the campaign.
Friends of the Earth have put their foot down with a campaign that aims to stomp out the outrageous rip-off scandals that the Big Six have been getting away with for so long.
New British label, Casson, created by the London born fashion designer Hannah Casson, has recently teamed up with Icon Printing in the launch of her sleek new brand. The easy to wear clothing offers high quality with style and comfort.
Hannah Casson pays tribute to her home town by naming the clothes after London’s favourite pubs and also her local favourites too. She says “Pubs have been at the heart of London for centuries and have managed to stay at the forefront of contemporary British culture without ever going out of style. I want Casson to emulate that.” These names can be seen in the ‘Black’ and ‘Classic’ collections.
