ShirtFight

ShirtFight is a-Changin!

Howdy ShirtFighters!

Well we've hinted around a bit that things are a-changin' here at ShirtFight.com...and now is the time to throw back the curtain and reveal our sinister plans!! Muahahahhahaaaaaa!

Ok, maybe it's not *that* sinister...I just like doing the evil laugh thing.

The first and probably biggest change is we're removing the contest portion out of the site. When we first started ShirtFight oh so many months ago, we had one main goal in mind...to showcase and support really awesome artists and their work. And I think we've accomplished that quite well...we've built some really strong relationships with the artist community. And in the process of running our weekly competitions we've learned a lot about what makes artists tick, their likes and dislikes, and what it really means to support what they are doing. Contest sites, while exciting on the surface, isn't very artist friendly. Some of the more established, die-hard artists even go as far as calling competition sites spec work. For those of you who don't know what spec work is, it's essentially when a client does an open call for artwork and only pays for the design(s) they like. It's not exactly what we envisioned when we launched ShirtFight!

So how are we going to support our artists? Well like I said, we've built some really strong bonds with our artists. We've seen styles and talents that make our jaws hit the floor, really powerful artwork that we want to have on our shirts. Instead of doing an open call for work and shoehorning artists into a certain theme (yes I know, themes are fun but also very restricting), we will reach out to those artists we love and work with them 1-on-1. Our site will still be artist focused...when we announce the release of a new shirt we will showcase the artist, even more-so than we currently do. We're going to pick our artists' brains, have them give us a glimpse into their world...how did they go about drawing their design? What inspires them? What tips and tricks can they give our artist community so everyone can benefit? These are just some of the ideas we have in mind.

So for starters, the site is getting a face lift to reflect the fact that we don't do competitions anymore. The front page will be the first to get updated (wait until you see it, it's so kick ass), followed shortly by the rest of the site. We're going to release one new shirt a month (that's the goal) and grow this new business model that way...I'm happy that we're actually moving to a monthly release instead of trying to go the other way with a daily release...I would much rather have one really really great shirt that I can't live without than a new mediocre shirt every day. We're going for quality, not quantity.

Now you may ask "What's going to put the FIGHT in ShirtFight?" See, I knew you were going to ask that Well the site will take on a new fight themed feel, which will tie in nicely to the branding of our name. On our main page we're always going to showcase two shirts, one will be the "champion" and one will be the "challenger". This might be a new shirt vs. a reprint, a top favorite vs. a special sale...and eventually we'll get to the point where we are pitting two new shirts against each other. What does the "winner" get, and what happens to the "loser"? Well, who knows...we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Ok I think I've covered everything...the changes will start happening after our final Heavyweights contest which starts tomorrow at midnight! If you have any questions guys just post them here, we're totally open and happy to answer whatever you got.