Let me introduce teepay.com (brought to you by the people behind howies). They are offering a cool spin on the ongoing design contest theme which is not only a great idea but keeps things fresh for both designers and tshirt lovers! I was able to ask David Hieatt, founder of teepay a few questions on his latest exciting project (the answers to which you can check out below!) But first…What is teepay all about?
The official descriptions is: “teepay is a place where you can buy, design and make money from T-shirts. We set it up because, like you, we love T-shirts.” So basically anyone in the world can submit a T-shirt design. The teepay “communitee” then browse through the submissions and place an order for their favourite designs. If within 14 days a design gets over green print quantity (a certain number of definate orders), it gets printed and sold in teepay’s online store. The designer is then entitled to a percentage of the money from sales of his or her design. All designs are printed on 100% organic cotton T-shirts and cost £25 for mens and £20 for womens. The tshirts they use are some of the best out there, I can personally guarantee.
Please find Tee Hunter’s mini-interview with David Hieatt, founder of teepay below.
TH: What is the story behind the launch of teepay?
DH: The world has changed. The internet has leveled the playing fields, the customers run things now. The customer participates, the customer drives. We get that. That’s why we have built a platform for them to profit as well as us.
TH: What inspired the way in which teepay operates, in terms of how a design is supported by consumers and once it reaches a certain number, will be produced?
DH: I like the fact we don’t know exactly how teepay will work right now. Will it be used by un-signed bands to do their t-shirts?, will it be used by students to pay their way through uni?, will it be used to fund a good cause?, Or will it just be used by designers who have a bloody good t-shirt idea? time will tell. The important thing is to get great t-shirts up because we can sell them.
TH: What are your long-term hopes for teepay?
DH: My long-term aim for teepay is that it becomes an amazing way to raise money for your cause, your charity, for yourself, for your band. That it becomes a new kind of business model. A new kind of bank. And the nice part is the better the t-shirt design, the more it sells. It’s a meritocracy too.
TH: Is the association with the main howies brand going to be loose or will there be crossovers and collaborations?
DH: The aim for teepay is to have a broader stance than howies. howies is about sport, and making people think. howies will focus on that. Teepay can have a bit more fun. But yeah lots of collabs.
Big thank you to David for his time and best of luck to teepay in it’s first few months of operation. I foresee big things! You can buy and vote shirts on teepay.com and purchase staff picks over at howies.co.uk
Written by Sergiu
Hi, I'm Sergiu. I run TeeHunter. I make sure our team of t-shirt addicts have everything they need to bring you the best t-shirts out there.