Tshirt Blogging/Customisation Q&A
// February 14th, 2007 // Articles/Features
I (and I think most of the t’osphere) was contacted by a student from London School of Fashion looking at customisation and blogging in, well, unsuprising fashion. I thought I’d post my replies to her comments here, I’m not sure how interesting they are but its easy content so I cant resist 
a) Why you think blogging has become such a phenomenon?
Firstly simplicity. We all had something to say but not the means to say it. Now starting a blog is a three click process, the barriers to doing it are so low. Its also easy, you dont have to research or support your arguements in anyway, opinion rules and we all have opinions.
b) Why you started a t-shirt blog and what do you offer and in turn receive from the virtual community?
I started a tshirt blog because I
1. Wanted to learn about blogging
2. Wanted to improve my writing
3. Could see how it would benefit me professionally
4. Could see a niche that was not being fulfilled.
In return I get a platform for my opinions. A chance to talk about my passion. I get a small amount of praise, sometimes 
I’ve made some friends and contacts. Oh and I was lucky enough to get a great job at Spreadshirt. That was helped by my dissertation but the blog was where they found me.
I hope I offer great tshirts and the occasional bit of interesting original content about the industry.
c) Why do you think people are getting into customisation especially with t-shirts? Do you perceive its popularity and demand to stay niche?
I’m not sure people are getting into it. Its just like blogging, the desire was there long before the platform to support the desire. Now services like Spreadshirt, Cafepress and Zazzle make it practical for the first time to fully customise and design products without specialist knowledge or risk.
I’m not sure what you mean by the second part of the question? Are tshirts niche? I’d say they’re far from it and a market heading towards saturation. T-shirts are the perfect product to sell online. The success of Threadless (forecasting $20m this year) is not under the radar anymore. I bet a new tshirt label is started every 1 minute these days.
d) Do you think organisations like Spreadshirt and Threadless are sustainable in e-commerce? (i.e. Do you think their popularity is based on the novelty factor or are they actually filling a gap not being provided for by retailers?
Sustainable? See question above. Tshirts have rock solid demand. Online clothing has passed the 1bn pound mark. Its not going anywhere, the market is crowded but if you offer something different from your competitors its okay. Spreadshirt is the perfect response to that crowded marketplace, it removes all the risk. I’d say Threadless has peaked. But I’ve spoken about that on my blog a few times. And I dont thinks it because they’ve lost their novelty. They offer involvement at a level not offered by traditional retailers. Thats not novelty, just the way all businesses will be run in a few years. Its not “buy this from me” anymore its “what do you want to do here”. Business’ are a platform for the creativity of their consumers, not the other way round.
