Teefury

I've been noticing a trend with some of the commentary of late, and because I'm a nosy Clavin and all that, I was compelled to throw in my two cents, like a ninja, or a pig, in a cage, on antibiotics.

First, the Star Wars shirts. Yes, there may be a lot of them at different intervals. There's good reason for that, and that is because official Star Wars shirts are often incredibly boring. Yay, Anakin again, the one we don't like much. My first purchase from Tee Fury was "My Son", which is an incredibly clever design. I've shown that shirt to non-geek family members and they, too, have bust a gut. Funny at first but abdominal aneurysm is no laughing matter, really. I digress.

The point is that these shirts are popular, they get attention, the design gets circulated through the blogosphere and that means more customers for the site. That means the site continues on, which in this crappy economy is no small feat.

Second, the animal shirts. See point one and understand that the only thing more rabid and voracious than a Star Wars fan is an animal fan. PETA wanted to shut down 4th Of July fireworks this year because they frighten animals, and that's no joke. Respect the ferret fans for they have... the... POWER!

Third, when one cannot buy a shirt every day. Well, that saves you money, right? Even at $9 plus P&H, you don't have to buy a shirt every day. My last purchase was the '80s Toys Robot design from a few weeks ago. The shirts that have come by since just didn't do it for me, but that's for me. I'm sure they were just what others were looking for, and again, that's what keeps this enterprise afloat. I'm sure that a design that I love will be right around the corner and, fortunately, I'll have the money for it too. It takes diff'rent strokes to move the world and rest in peace, Gary.

Fourth, who owns this thing? Tee Fury prints the run of a shirt but, ultimately, that design is owned by the artist that designed it and that's a great thing. It fosters a positive creative atmosphere, and if that designer chooses to sell that design somewhere else, that's their choice. You do not want designers locked into binding ownership contracts with any one site because that's what killed the music industry. Artists sold millions of records but, when it was time to walk, the label kept the tracks and continues to make cash off them on iTunes. Meanwhile, the writers and artists are getting a fraction of the money they probably deserves... Except Bieber. He deserves an atomic wedgie.

My point is that when you're good to the artists, they're good to you and they give up the good stuff in return. When you start dictating terms or, worse, tell them you own their design now, they start turning in variation after variation of "I'm With Stupid." You think you dislike all the Star Wars and pet shirts? Whooo, Nelly!

Enjoy this Tee Fury thing folks. It's a unique entity. Like I said before, with Greece going under financially and the Gulf Coast slipping under the oily muck, a small venture like this needs your support, and when things aren't exactly like you'd like them to be, just wait a few days, because you never know what's coming around the bend.

And now, let's all join hands and start a rousing rendition of "Kum Bah Yah" (Or "Run To The Hills"... Whatever floats your boat...)