Interview 15: Threadless Tees

We love t-shirts at Rule29, which is one of the main reasons we are big fans of Threadless since we first heard about them a few years back. I have many favorite designs (the most recent being the tribute to Michael Jackson), and so does our past intern Craig. Watch the 29 shirt challenge and peep at least 10 Threadless tees! But here I digress, and without further adieu, I present the next 29 questions interview our fun friends from Threadless. We are pumped that the team took the time to share a little insight behind Threadless and its magic. (Oh, and if you have no idea who we are talking about, then first start by going to their site, and maybe order a tee, hoodie or something for the kids, or someone else’s kids. Oh yeah, and submit or vote on a design.) Enjoy and have a tee-rrific day…

1: How was Threadless born?
Threadless started as a hobby. Jake Nickell entered a t-shirt competition on a small design forum called Dreamless. After experiencing the excitement of winning, the idea of having an ongoing competition with an open call for t-shirt design entries was born.

2: How long did it take to before you realized Threadless was a big deal?
It took 2 years from when Threadless started for Jake to quit his job and start working for himself. However, at that point the focus was to be a web agency, creating websites for clients. Threadless was proof he knew how to build an e commerce website. After 4 years, Threadless was doing better than the web agency, we realized Threadless was a big deal, and all of our clients were fired and the focus was mostly Threadless.

3: What made you think it would work?
In the beginning, we didn’t think it would work. It was just something fun to do. It’s like saying what made you think skateboarding would work when you first decide to start skateboarding.

4: What was the first official Threadless tee design?
The first official Threadless competition was simply a thread on the Dreamless forum. 50 artists or so submitted designs and we printed 5 of them. The first one was called “Prate” and it was designed by a designer that goes by the name of “Prate.” Very insidery.

5: On average, how many submissions did you get during the early years?
It increased month-to-month, year-to-year, constantly growing. The very first call for entries on Dreamless got 50 or so designs, then the competition moved to the Threadless.com website. At that point we were getting a few a week, maybe 10-20. The next year, maybe 15-40 a week, etc.

6: Do you have a favorite Threadless tee?
I like a lot of really weird tees. I tend to like a lot of our Select shirts and the occasional odd design that gets through the Threadless competition. A long time favorite of mine is “My Little Pony.”

7: About how many total submissions are we at, today?
If you include declined designs, we’re looking at about 240,000.

8: On average, how many submissions does Threadless receive daily?
About 100-150.

9: What’s an average day like at Threadless?
There is no such thing as an average day here. Every day is different. Some are wild and crazy, some are more balls to the wall get stuff done, some are laid back. It all just depends on what need to get done.

10: How many employees work at Threadless?
We are at around 70 between our offices and retail stores.

11: Does Threadless design any tees, or is it all community?
For our TypeTees and Twitter Tees, we design most of those in-house. But even those slogans and tweets came from the community.

12: How did the Threadless retail stores come about?
We thought it would be awesome to do. When it came down to it that’s really what made the decision. We had weighed the pros and cons for so long about doing it but deep down we all knew it’d be a lot of fun and cool for our community. So we did it.

13: How are the Threadless retail stores different from other physical stores?
We try to make the community the biggest focus. Other than that, we have some sweet in-store TV monitors that always display the latest tees and the community comments on those tees.

14: Aside from Threadless, what other tees do you like to sport?
Print Liberation, Slow Shirts, 2K, Graniph, Homage, Glennz Tees, and any other tee our designer friends make on their own

15: What kind of sweet food can you find in the Threadless kitchen?
Lots and lots of condiments, little packaged peanut butter cracker sandwiches, leftover cake, Coca-Cola products, and if you’re lucky, Miller products.

16: What other community events does skinnyCorp/Threadless do?
Our biggest events are our annual community meet ups. This year we had a great turnout – we held a design competition, had some of our artists draw in real time, and of course there was a wyld karaoke session!

17: What would be the best superhero tee shirt?
A bulletproof one… OOOHHH… Or an invisible one.

18: What kind of music is pumping at Threadless?
Whatever it is, it’s usually really loud (in a good way). Sometimes we catch Speedy Joe singing.

19: What does Threadless do for fun outside of the 9-5?
We have Awesome Parties once a month. Yes, that’s in caps because that is our official title for our monthly all-company shindigs. Besides those, so many of our employees occupy their free time with any number of creative outlets: poster making, painting, improv, crafting, child-rearing. And there are so many Threadless folks in bands that you could go to a show every week.

20: Who are some other communities you admire?
Flickr, Society6, Behance, Digg, Etsy

21: How has Threadless grown since day one?
We’re all at least an inch taller now.

22: What might most people not know about Threadless?
The original logo as most people know it was designed in the passenger seat of a car, in Flash.

23: How many tees has Threadless produced so far?
Over 2,000.

24: What are some of the strangest designs or things that have happened at Threadless?
Check out this site.

25: Where are some of the coolest places you have seen Threadless?
It’s always cool seeing bands and other celebrities sporting our tees. They’re all over the internets, too! We have a lovely little spot on our site where you can see them.

26: If you could make any other product what would it be?
Skateboards and/or grilled cheese.

27: How else can people follow Threadless?
Twitter and Facebook and breadcrumbs.

28: Any future skinnyCorp magic we can get a tease about?
We’re working on a new teleportation delivery service for our fulfillment warehouse. We think that the instant gratification of ordering, then immediately having the product zapped onto their desk in front of them would be awesome for our customers. A lot of consultants are telling us this initiative is a lost cause. Screw them.

29: What does design mean to Threadless?
Everything! We know our design community is a very powerful thing. Great designs rise to the top and become tees because the community has deemed them great. Our community is the best barometer of what great design is.

So do any of you own a Threadless tee or have submitted a design? Tell us your favs or what other questions you may have?

Special thanks to Mig Reyes of Threadless for helping this interview happen. Follow Mig here.