I Dress Myself - T-Shirt and Poster Screen Printing Blog

Eco-friendly Couriers

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:19:00 UTC

We are constantly looking for more ways we can reduce our impact on the environment and today I started looking for an eco-friendly courier company. After trawling the internet for a while I found three carbon neutral courier companies which seemed promising enough. I called them up to get an idea of costs to find that they all work predominantly in the London area and that the cost to collect from Nottingham would be pretty huge as they would be coming up specifically for us. This was disappointing news as there's no way we could expect customers using our screen-printing services to pay that much. It's great that there are eco friendly options for people in and around London but what about us lot further North? I guessed that I needed to be more specific with my search so typed "eco-friendly courier Nottingham area". Our website came up on the first page which tells you how successful my search was. There were a number of bike-riding couriers which is brilliant to know but unless they can balance up to four 15kg boxes on the handle bars, aren't going to be able to help us. If you're thinking of starting up your own business in the Midlands, my suggestion would be eco courier. There's definitely a gap in the market there. In the meantime if anyone knows of an eco-friendly courier in the Midlands please let us know. Thanks!

E-on powerless literally

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:27:00 UTC

We've just heard that the E-on offices (just round the corner from our studio) have had a power cut! Now that's karma for you. Apparently their poor call centre operatives are answering the phones in the dark.

Artist collectives in Berlin

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:21:00 UTC

Does anyone know of any interesting art collectives or screen printers in Berlin? In fact, we'd love to hear about any vegan restaurants/cafes, galleries and zine shops too. We're travelling over there in February 09 and would love to visit some good people and places. Thanks for your help.

Can you help badger

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:56:00 UTC

During the month of December we'd like up to 100 people to help us distribute our mountain of badges at a modest 50 badges per person. Distribute them how ever you like. Be ingenious; leave them on bus seats, put them in peoples pockets, leave them on counters, put them in pigeon holes, put them in peoples bike baskets, give them to people who are wearing shit T-shirts, hand them out at gigs.

We would like everyone to document their badge distribution in some way shape or form; photos, a poem, a drawing, a film, a story, even a t-shirt design. As a thank you for your help and time we will offer all of our helpers a �10 off voucher towards a T-shirt of their choice. For the top ten most ingenious and fun distributors we will send them a free T-shirt (their favourite from the website) and a zine to say thank you.

If you'd be willing to give up some time and (for a while) a few of your precious ideas please let us know by commenting on the blog or by email to info@idressmyself.co.uk and we'll post you 50 badges and a copy of your brief as quick as we can. Thank you!

You need hands

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:27:00 UTC

Hands are important at I Dress Myself. We've resisted the change to automatic printers because we appreciate the craft involved in the screen printing process. It means we are in control of every single print. Any problems and we know about them right away. And sometimes those problems give unexpected results that we love and can use for new projects. Anyway, in a world where almost everything is going digital it feels pretty special to be able to continue to screen print by hand.

Brightly coloured totes

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:19:00 UTC

We've just received a sample pack of the new EarthPositive tote bags from Continental and are amazed by the colours. You can get them in black, red, khaki, green, purple, blue and yellow as well as a basic white. Their strapline is "organic fairtrade low carbon" - you don't get much better than that.

We'll be selling them for �1.65 each (colours) and �0.90 each (white).

Co-operative living and toasty feet

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:20:00 UTC

We've just moved house from a rented house to a (much smaller) detached flat that's part of Ned's housing cooperative in Nottingham. Co-operative life has been great so far and everyone's helped to decorate the new place and install a wood burner to heat the place. It's a bit like a swedish chalet I think and, even though we've only moved up the road, the first morning it felt like we'd woken up on holiday in the countryside. Our little girl loves it as she's got some safe outdoor space to run around.

The wood burner has been amazing. It's a mighty 12 kw and super-efficent for burning in smoke-free areas. It's called the Yorkshire. It only needs stoking every couple of hours or so and keeps us nice and toasty.

Next week we're going to start joining in on communal meals too.

Vertical Potatoes

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 09:44:00 UTC

I must admit I haven't had a chance to try this out yet (my food growing achievements so far amount to a herb box in my living room window and a chili plant at the studio which we've just noticed today has yet another chili on it, great stuff!), however I know people who have. This potato growing method enables you to grow your own potatoes even if you only have a piece of concrete for a garden. I'll have to wait until spring to give it a go now.

To start with you need to find some sort of container to grow your potatoes in. A large bag or sack is best as this will give you more control over how much sunlight the leaves will get. Any large container is okay to use so long as it isn't too deep as sunlight needs to reach the potato leaves. Whatever you're using needs to have holes in the bottom for water to drain. Not a problem if you're using a hessian sack or other porous bags but if your using a non porous you will need to drill quite a few holes in the bottom.

Once you've sorted yourself out with a container you need to line the bottom with about 10cm of broken bits of crockery followed by about 15cm of compost. Lay a few seed potatoes, sprouts pointing upwards, on top and cover with more compost. Water well.

As the foliage starts to grow lift up the walls of your sack (if you're using one) and add more compost and remember to keep watering (this is normally where I go wrong)! Continue in this manner and in a few months you should have reached the top of the container and be ready to harvest your first crop.

I'm looking forward to a summer full of homegrown homemade chips.

Our very first newsletter

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:41:00 UTC

We finally sent out our first e-newsletter yesterday and got a really positive response to it. A big thanks to Alun from Multiple Design for making it look nice and Chris Tebbit for making it work in the real world. I'm just pleased with myself for finally getting round to writing and sending it. Take a look at our very first newsletter for a link to a sneaky pre-order page for limited edition Jon Burgerman cardboard prints.

Permaprint ink tests

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:37:00 UTC

We collaborate with Colormaker Industries and recently got a tester pack of their new water based printing inks for paper and have decided to use these Permaprint inks for all our paper printing from now on. Permaprint inks do not contain any of the usual nasties - in fact, it doesn't contain toxic chemicals at all.

We've found coverage to be great even with 50% extending medium and the ink dries to give a good tough finish that doesn't smudge. The colours are bright and opaque with a semi-gloss finish. Like most water based inks, they can dry quite quickly on hot days so you have to keep the ink moving and make sure it doesn't dry in the screen. Happily, the retarder (which slows down the drying of the inks) is probably the greenest part of the range. It's a natural product used in hand creams and even in some foods.

Permaprint is the first water based ink for paper we've found that's completely solvent-free, which makes our studio a much nicer place to be and our environmental footprint that bit smaller. Permaprint inks are due to be launched in the UK early next year and will be available from West Design.

Great Tape

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:00:00 UTC

We get through a lot of tape here as we are constantly rebuilding boxes to package up tee orders that we've printed for people, so it's great to find a tape that is not only environmentally friendly and great value but is also far better aesthetically than the standard plastic packaging tape we had used in the past.

We source the tape from Arboreta papers which is a Bristol based company who specialize in recycled papers. It is made from recycled paper and has a water soluble adhesive which means that it can be recycled again, unlike it's shiny, ugly counterpart.

Just cut the strips to size and wet with water, it's as simple as that. It may require a little more effort than standard tape but it looks so much better and costs the environment a lot less too.

It's Nice That exhibition

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:24:00 UTC

Our 'Ode to Modbury Town' tote bag by Conway and Young is currently in the Original Format exhibition in Plymouth. It's the first in a series of exhibitions featuring a selection of the work posted on the design blog It's Nice That in it's original format.

The photo shows a selection of work - our tote is in the middle.

24 September � 24 October 2008 The Viewpoint Gallery, Plymouth College of Art, Tavistock Place, Plymouth, Devon, PL4 6PW

Further dates/venues TBC.

Young Card Players at Origin

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 20:49:00 UTC

We love Laura McCafferty's contemporary textile artworks created using traditional techniques including hand-stitched applique and screen printing.

We worked in collaboration with Laura to produce limited edition screen prints for her exhibition this week at Origin, The London Craft Fair. Laura will be launching a brand new collection of large scale work at Origin featuring groups of her friends. Titles include The Brighton Donkeys and Young Card Players.

We worked with Laura to produce screen prints of these two designs. All are hand pulled prints on recycled paper using environmentally friendly water based inks. Each of the two designs are in editions of 25 and will sell at �85 each.

Launched in 2006, Origin replaced the Chelsea Crafts Fair as the UK�s principal selling event for individual designer-makers. In 2007 there were more than 20,000 visits to Origin and the event attracted 316 exhibitors across two weeks.

You can find Laura this week (6th-12th October 2008 - week one of Origin) at stand F3 (opposite the back wall) in Somerset House, Strand, London, WC2R 1LA

Pictured is Young Card Players (127x175cm) - Textile, screenprint, hand stitch

Best of a bad situation

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:04:00 UTC

Unfortunately our landlord unwittingly signed a long-term energy contract with E-on. E-on are generally considered the worst offenders with plans to open a series of new coal-fired power stations. We were horrified when we found out. But stuck.

Our landlord agreed to move over to a Green Business Tarif with them and E-on finally allowed us to do that. We're happy to pay the difference. Basically E-on match every unit of electricity we use with a unit generated from a renewable wind or hydro source and supply it back to the national grid. And as the electricity we actually use will come from a variety of sources they say they'll offset that through our relationship with Climate Care. Hmm, not convinced about the efficacy of carbon off-setting but it's the best we can do at the moment.

We'd much rather be customers of Ecotricity. For every pound you spend on electricity with them they spend a pound building new green energy sources. They've built 12% of the wind turbines in England.

We'll just have to look forward to the day when we can tell E-on to F-off.

Daniel Eatock 'T' tees launched

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:12:00 UTC

This series of 'T' designs by Daniel Eatock are limited to only 50 tees of each design. But are you a courier, helvetica or akzidenz grotesk fan? Decisions, decisions.

Kingsnorth Activists Not Guilty

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 10:37:00 UTC

On September 10th, 6 activists were found not guilty of commiting the offense of criminal damage at the Kingsnorth Coal Fired power station in Kent owned by the energy company E-On. The campaigners were accused of causing �30,000 of criminal damage to Kingsnorth smokestack from painting. The defence was that they had 'lawful excuse' - because they were acting to protect property around the world "in immediate need of protection" from the impacts of climate change, caused in part by burning coal. This is the first case where preventing property damage from climate change has been used as part of a 'lawful excuse' defence in Crown Court. During the trial, the world's leading climate scientist, James Hansen, came to court and challenged the government's plans for new coal, calling for Gordon Brown to announce a moratorium on all new coal-fired power plants without carbon capture and storage.

After hearing all of the evidence, the jurors (representatives of ordinary British people) supported the right to take direct action to protect the climate from the burning of coal.

NNNNNYYYYYYYEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!!!!!!

Have a look at the campaign

Have a look at the case against coal video

North Pole Island

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 09:51:00 UTC

This month, satellite pictures have confirmed that, due to global warming, the north pole is now officially an island for the first time in it's history since before the last ice age over 125,000 years ago. The rapid rate in which the North Poles ice caps have been melting have been and continue to be catastrophic for huge numbers of species that rely on the delicate ecosystem of the North Pole. Some species that are immediately threatened with extinction are Polar Bears, Ringed Seals and Walruses. Also under threat are Krill, which use the ice as a nursery. Krill are the main food for Whales, Penguins and many other animals who will be in serious trouble when the Krill is not available.

It is considered common knowledge by many that global warming is a human made disaster and one that can only be halted by us humans. You can make a difference by getting involved, re-addressing your lifestyle choices and spreading the word. Good luck!

Tubular tees

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 19:44:00 UTC

We like the way Fitch have had their tees packaged up. They've all been tagged with screen printed swing tags, rolled up and put into poster tubes. With the labels on the outside they look quite special. Here are some of the last ones about to get packaged up to be sent off.

and fertilize the plants

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:41:00 UTC

Disposal instructions for Permaset inks suggest that waste water can be poured onto the garden - apparently the nutrients help fertilize the plants (although not every day). Obviously you have to strain out any solid waste first but what a lovely idea.

Currently our waste water goes down the drain but we're planning to work with the Environment Technology Centre in Nottingham to design and build our own water recycling unit.

We've been cleaning out our wash-out booth (a yearly job) and it did take some chemicals to break down the emulsion/ink residue. But a few chemicals once a year is much better than the harmful solvents used every day by screen printers that use plastisol inks. Much, much better. This photo shows the ink residue on the wire rack.

Positive Change

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 14:18:00 UTC

We're in the midst of a large print run for Fitch. Ten of their young designers have designed a T-shirt and they're printing a limited edition run of each design. All profits go to the Depaul Trust, who work with homeless and vulnerable people in the UK. The designs are looking really good. Here's a sneak preview of their 'Positive change' label. For the designs themselves you'll have to watch this space.

Take off your pants

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 13:38:00 UTC

We love these tees and the cause. Commando Festival is based in Edinburgh but you can join in from anywhere in the world.

The rules are very simple:

* Don't wear pants for the month of August.

* Tell your friends you're not wearing any pants.

* It's a game of honour, so if you wear pants, you're only cheating yourself.

* You must wear pants again on the 1st of September - Without school there would be no holidays!

From Heathrow to Kingsnorth

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 21:31:00 UTC

I spent a couple of days this week walking with the climate caravan, a group of people walking and cycling the 60 mile route from Heathrow to Kingsnorth in Kent, calling for climate action. I had a great time and met a really nice bunch of people. It's amazing how empowering it feels to take to the roads and make a stand for something you believe in.

There was a pedal-powered sound system, some amazing trikes and go-carts, people dressed as penguins and polar bears, and even a pedal-powered boat. I was impressed at how organised the caravanners were, with cycling stewards temporarily blocking side-roads to allow the caravan to pass through junctions, and bikes on the edge of our lane to keep the walkers safe.

Kingsnorth is the proposed site for a new coal-fired power station that energy company E.on and our government plan to build. If built, it would emit between 6 and 8 million tonnes of CO2 every year. It seems crazy in the face of climate change but apparently 6 more coal-fired power stations are being planned.

Consequently, Kingsnorth was chosen as the site for this years Camp for Climate Action from 3rd to 11th August. Last years camp was a few hundred metres from Heathrow in demonstration against the plans to build a third runway. With windmills to power computer suites and solar panels to heat the showers they plan to show that sustainable solutions do work. There'll be expert speakers, open debates and free workshops on all things sustainable. If you can spare the time next week go along - I think it will be incredible.

The Future of Ink on Paper

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:46:00 UTC

The Royal College of Art initiated a 3 year research project called RCA/Print Digital, which investigates the future of print and culminated in a limited edition, digitally-printed book called Control Print.

"If �quality� is to be a fundamental reason for print to exist, and �environmentally sustainable� the watchwords in production,

DOES THE DIGITAL PRESS REPRESENT A RETURN TO THE SENSIBILITIES OF A TRADITIONAL �CRAFT-BASED� INDUSTRY, PRINTING MATERIAL OF BEAUTY ON DEMAND FOR THE MOST DISCERNING AUDIENCE?

This research explores this question from the perspective of a �creative practitioner�, by placing emphasis upon the importance of human skill and intervention in a process which has been hijacked by automation."

See the Control Print website and download the book for more info.

How big is yours

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:41:00 UTC

I've been looking at my carbon footprint using a really useful calculator at myfootprint.org. Apparently the average person in the UK has a carbon footprint of 48.1 gha (global hectares), which (if everyone had a footprint this size) would require 3 earths to sustain. Even scarier, the average person from the US would need 5.3 earths to sustain their lifestyle! Me and Pete are pretty good on most counts and came up with a carbon footprint of 17.5 gha, but this would still require 1.1 earths. And really, considering that third world countries need to undergo quite a bit of (carbon creating) development to lift them out of poverty, we should each be aiming quite a bit lower than 1 earth to compensate.

Thankfully the website gives lots of ideas for reducing your carbon footprint and we went back through the calculator making a few changes to reduce ours. We didn't use our car much anyway and have decided to sell it and use bikes and public transport more. We're changing our energy provider to Ecotricity so that we only use energy from renewable sources, and we're getting a composter from the council (our old home-made one died). Nothing too painful and this reduces the Conway family footprint to 0.8 earth each.

Have a look at yours and see what you can do.

A Century of Olympic Posters

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:45:00 UTC

As well as visiting the terribly nice people at Print Club London at the weekend, we also popped into the V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green to have a look at their exhibition entitled �A Century of Olympic Posters�. The title is pretty self explanatory, obviously a build up to the big hype of the London Olympics in 2012. They have some really amazing large format posters on display, using all sorts of techniques, from screen-printing to litho and digital printing. They have a few small format (A2ish) reproductions for sale for �15 each (although we were a bit disappointed that they didn�t have our personal favourites!). If you get a chance to see it, I would definitely recommend it. It�s free and is on until 7th September 2008. If you can�t get to see it, then you can buy the book online.

Blisters on my fingers

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:24:00 UTC

35 Illustrators. 35 Edition and hand signed prints. 35 Pounds each. We went down to London at the weekend to go to the Blisters on my Fingers screen print exhibition organised by Print Club London.

There were some great artists exhibiting some really good work. We printed the Jon Burgerman print 'Hard work hurts my hands', which we've pictured along with some of our other favourites.

Fred and Rose (who run Print Club) are really nice people and we'd recommend anyone in East London who's interested in screen printing to join up.

Windows...

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 12:21:00 UTC

Hulloo.........Emma here the new addition to the family.

Well i've been here for one and a half weeks now and what a breath of fresh air. I have my creative head back on, no Saga FM ( sorry mum ) and i have WINDOWS yes WINDOWS to look out yeeeaahoooobedoo!!!!!!

Anyway i just wanted to say a big thank you to Pete, Hannah and Helen (oh and Nabs) for making my 1st week and a bit really homely and happy.

Saving a square mile of sea

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:42:00 UTC

The amount of plastic waste in the sea - an average of 46,000 bits of plastic float on or near the surface of every square mile of sea - is enough to shock anyone. Fran Crowe decided to do something about it and vowed to "save" a square mile of sea. She spent a year collecting 46,000 pieces of rubbish from the beaches near her home in Suffolk and the plastic she collected is being exhibited at Landguard Fort in Felixstowe. I heard Fran on the radio the other morning talking about the 46,000 challenge, which she hopes will raise awareness for the plight of seabirds and other marine life. It's estimated that the death of more than a million seabirds and over 100,000 marine mammals every year are caused by entanglement with, or the swallowing of plastic litter. Plastic takes a thousand years to break down in the sea (and even then it's still present as microscopic fibres). The amount of plastic waste in the sea is thought to be doubling every three years. A very scary thought.

Doing your bit doesn't have to be hard; the main things are to avoid plastic packaging and carrier bags and take your rubbish home with you. Last year Modbury town in Devon was the first town in Europe to ban the distribution of plastic carrier bags. The scheme was a huge success and many towns and communities have since followed. We printed a limited edition Ode to Modbury Town tote bag designed by Conway and Young to highlight and promote the cause.

You can find out more about the 46,000 challenge and see lots of photos and figures for what was found where at Fran's website.

First class envelope

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 15:21:00 UTC

Even Daniel Eatock's envelopes are great. We received this in the post today and were suitably impressed (as we are with most of his stuff) with such an intelligent yet simple use of design.

Visit Daniel Eatocks website here.

The wonder of the stapleless stapler

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:51:00 UTC

We came across the stapleless stapler about a month ago and it still gets me every day. A stapler...without staples. Brilliant!

You fold the papers over at the corner, the staple-less stapler cuts a little tag into the papers and as you take the stapler away it pulls the tag through the papers. You unfold the corner and the tag holds them all together. No staples required so much better for recycling the paper at the end of its life.

It's not perfect though (it seems nothing ever is). Although designed in the UK, it's made in, and therefore transported from, China.

The Greenlok stapleless stapler is available from The Green Stationary Company for �5.95.

Shelf it

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:39:00 UTC

We had a "getting organised in the studio" day today. Here's us with some new shelves.

Aldous Huxley and the ecological problem

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:55:00 UTC

I found this interview with Aldous Huxley the other day in which he talks about the ecological problem of an accelerating population and a limited environment.

For the relevant part of the interview, go to about 8mins onwards. Thought the rest of the interview is also interesting (if thats your cup of tea).

Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) was very clever. If you aren't sure about who he is, then you should probably look him up!