Every now and then we like to do something a little bit different here at stolen goat. So a few months ago we set about creating some special edition t-shirts. The brief was simple, we wanted to represent four of our favourite cycling heroes on t-shirts with premium quality fabrics.
The Artwork
Head of stolen goat design – Trevor Lough (aka Big Chief) loves this kind of open ended brief. He’s not a typical graphic designer – unlike most his first step is not to open a laptop or macbook. His first step is to research the hell out of the subject. His second step is to pick up pen and paper and start drawing like an obsessed artist for days on end. He’s a little different, which is why he fits in so well here :-)
The process of first drawing everything by hand takes a little longer and becomes a real labour of love. Especially if, like Trevor does, you like to incorporate thousands of dots and lines to add real texture and atmosphere to the design.
It took some time, it has to be said, but it meant we had a chance to source a new t-shirt manufacturer.
The Base T-Shirt
I’ll let you into a little secret… most t-shirts you buy online, or even in a high street shop, are made from the same mainstream manufacturers. They rattle them out cheap and cheerful… and then the brand takes the label out, puts a new label in and slaps a screen print on top.
This is fine to a point. But personally I’m not a fan of the end result. The t-shirts often shrink badly in the wash and don’t fit particularly well.
So we took the long, old skool route and found a manufacturer who could take a carefully selected fabric and make the t-shirts from scratch. The result is pure class. Super soft 100% ring spun cotton of the most luxurious feel and fit that doesn’t stretch or shrink in the wash. The print quality is sensational, so light that you can barely feel it.
The Special Edition Result
We are super proud of these special edition cycling heroes t-shirts. First class design meets premium quality fabric. Yum. Buy one and judge for yourself…