Thread's Not Dead: The Designer's Guide to the Apparel Industry

by Jeff Finley

"The ESSENTIAL strategy guide for dominating the t-shirt design business."
~ Jeffrey Kalmikoff, former CCO of Threadless.com

What if the most prolific and influential people in the modern t-shirt design scene got together and discussed everything they wish they knew when they started?

That's exactly what we have here.

Thread's Not Dead is the essential strategy guide to the t-shirt design business. Written by successful graphic designer and diy entrepreneur Jeff Finley of the creative agency Go Media. Learn the secrets and strategies employed by the industry's most successful indie apparel designers and brands.

Whether you want to design merchandise for your favorite bands and indie clothing companies or start your own fashion brand, this book has it all. Its goal is to help you dominate the apparel industry. Key topics include design, freelancing, band merchandise, personal branding, marketing, sales, printing & production, retail, business strategy, and e-commerce. Featuring contributions from the people behind Threadless, Emptees, DesignByHümans, Big Cartel, I Am The Trend, Go Media, Jakprints, Glamour Kills, Paint the Stars, Cure Apparel, Fright-Rags, and more!

Genres: Business, Nonfiction

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2011

About the author

Ego identifiers: Artist, Designer, Author, Mystic, Starseed

Official Site: https://jefffinley.org

We Should Be Working Podcast:
https://we-should-be-working.simpleca...

Starseed Supply Co: Patches, stickers, pins, and other metaphysical accessories at http://starseedsupply.co

Starbound Renegade: I make electronic music with a twist of punk rock and retro video games: http://starboundrenegade.com

Merch design for bands and other creators at http://jefffinley.org/portfolio

Photos when I'm out in nature:
https://jefffinley.org/photography/

Books I've authored:
https://jefffinley.org/product-catego...

Maker/Mistaker Podcast
https://makermistaker.simplecast.com/

Reviews

[skullface · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only a few years after initial publication, this hasn't aged gracefully. I feel bad for anyone who purchased the hardcover version on launch and didn't take action right away. Many of the URLs don't go anywhere, 404, or are outdated in trend/style or information. Many of the links and references are for the author's old company's online marketplace of stock image/artwork resources and that kind of self-promo is not my style.

The first half of the book's information on breaking out into apparel design for designers/illustrators is a helpful primer for anyone unfamiliar. I'm not sure how successful they could be in 2015 & beyond with that information; only a select few of the literally hundreds of tshirt designers I knew before this was published are still in that game and making any decent money from it.

The second half of the book, focusing on creating your own line of tshirts, is where the book is most helpful as a reference. Again, much of the information doesn't hold up when it comes to specific companies and links. That's not the most confidence-inspiring thing, considering the book is only a few years old and you would likely hope your company would outlast that. If you've never considered how to get shirts printed or how many to order, this will tell you. But is that worth a $50 .epub as opposed to googling for a blog post somewhere else?

The best takeaway from this book are the case studies at the end. Reading about individuals, in their own words, making something from nothing and providing advice and tips that are full of insight and personality is valuable. I'd skip straight to that section if you already know what dye sublimation means and aren't really interested in getting your work on the wall of shirts at Hot Topic anymore.

[Anna Catherman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I rarely, if ever, review books I didn't completely finish.
But this book...I just have to.
It is, hands down, one of the worst books I've picked up, ever.

The content is meh - I learned a thing or two in the half of the book I did read, but nothing groundbreaking.
But the style - oh! Goodness me!
This book has terrible typography and design. Which, for a book about design, is not a great look.
And then, on top of this, there's hyperlinks on almost every page.
In a PRINTED BOOK.
Why???

Thread's Not Dead is basically a mediocre self-published e-book, but in print, so even worse.

The one good thing I will say about it - it gave a professor and I a good laugh.

[Bibliografik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by apparel entrepreneur, Jeff Finley, with contributions from other designers in the business, Thread’s Not Dead, focuses on the in’s and out’s of owning and running a successful apparel design business. With a multitude of topics ranging from freelancing, to contracting, to design fundamentals, and marketing, this book is written for the novice who is eager to jump into the industry.

I initially purchased this book from Amazon, but when I saw Jeff Finley selling it through his website, at a considerably cheaper price, I decided to reevaluate my purchase and buy straight from the author. I was excited because not only did I purchase a copy of the printed version that is printed to order, but I also received an ebook copy, along with a download pack consisting of photoshop brushes, a few fonts, and some license-free vectors to help start designing right away. To be honest, I don’t really need the vectors, brushes, or typefaces because as a designer, I have been accruing a lot of those for the last few years. But, for a person with little to know design experience, who enjoys Finley’s sense of design, and is eager to get down to business, this will certainly be worth it. Knowing I’d need to wait a week or so before I could begin reading the printed version, I decided to jump right into the ebook.

As soon as I started to read this book, I knew I would be able to read it fast without putting it down. Finley’s writing is so casual, yet professional, that I could read his writing all day long. This makes sense since he’s been maintaining, writing, and curating his blog for quite some time. I also knew reading this would go by fast because none of the information goes too in-depth, allowing for no need to include technical jargon. By glossing over a lot of the technical aspects that mostly deal with manufacturing, Finley is able to discuss about the core responsibilities and duties that a designer will be doing, such as: freelancing, finding work, promoting their business, receiving criticism, deciding on different types of printing and inks, discovering trends, and fulfilling orders and shipping. Although these are some of the main topics he covers, there is so much more that he discusses. Finley also includes tons of information and resources from other designers, blogs, and tutorials that are all hyperlinked throughout the ebook. This is extremely useful because I don’t have to leave the book, and do my own research while reading; I just need to simply click the link and I am taken to whatever he is referencing immediately. Although some of the hyperlinks weren’t linked properly and some of the pages were expired, it is still a nice usability consideration when the links do behave the way they’re supposed to. Another positive to the ebook is the design felt great. It had relatively nice readability, and the typography and the layout were easy to navigate.

Due to all of these positive aspects about the book, I became even more excited to receive the printed version. But as soon as I got it I was extremely disappointed; there was nothing different between the ebook and printed versions of this book. Usually there’s not many differences except for a minor things to help improve readability and legibility that may get lost while crossing platforms. But no one accounted for this. The typography was huge and bold making reading for long times difficult, the layout became bland as it was the same grid layout throughout all 200 pages, and Finley didn’t even bother to remove the underlines from all of the hyperlinked resources that are scattered throughout the book. When it came to the software tutorials in the printed version, it was just a list of underlined tutorial titles. It wasn’t even until many pages later that it mentioned to visit his website to check out the links. To be honest, this kind of bummed me out a bit. I just got finished reading Finley advising to take every detail into consideration and to provide a fantastic brand experience, but then he completely disregarded all of these details. The most upsetting part is if I just ordered the printed version of this book, I would have not realized that these are all supposed to be hyperlinked, resulting in a huge usability fail.

I understand that Finley is not a graphic or interactive designer, and I understand that he published this book through his own design company, but that begins to lower the reputation of the concept of self-publishing. I absolutely love that Finley disregarded submitting this to a publishing house and had it published anyways. I think self-self-publishing removes a lot of the elitism and gate-keeping that can get caught in the way of publishing for everyone, and that is revolutionary. Due to Finley’s experiences of being a significant player of the apparel design business, his extensive list of well-known clients, and the amount of time, writing, and dedication that he put into his blog, I know he is an expert and is able to explain everything that he needs to fantastically. That’s why I trust all of the information in this book, but I still think that this book should have received a little more design attention before being submitted to the printer. I do think that the design of this book does have an impact on the authority and expertise behind this information.

All of this being said, I do think this book is one of, if not the best book of its kind, and any aspiring apparel designer should pick this up and read it from cover to cover. But, if you are not interested in, or only slightly interested in joining this industry, then I don’t think it is worth the money. The whole set cost around fifty dollars (USD) and that is too expensive to justify the cost of the ebook, printed book that is just a printed pdf of the ebook, and some generic vectors, brushed, and fonts that any experienced designer would probably disregard using. This book was also published in 2011, meaning that a lot of the trends, techniques, and marketing schemes have changed since then. Especially the use of social media in apparel marketing, which this book covers lightly, and mostly discusses using Twitter and Facebook. I do think that if this book was updated with more current information, updated resources, and a better designed book, then it would be well worth the fifty dollars.

[Brent Galloway · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for any designer! I've read through this book three times now and I'm still picking it back up to pull resources from it. If you're at all interested in the apparel industry or even freelance design, I highly recommend Thread's Not Dead!

[Sophia V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thread’s Not Dead: The Designer’s Guide to the Apparel Industry
By Jeff Finley

I read the book Thread’s Not Dead by Jeff Finley; it was an amusing yet inspiring and educating book. In fact, I respected it tremendously because it taught me about being true to my own style and not always going along with the existing trends. “Take the things that make you unique and magnify them,” (page 189). It also made me understand that once you start, you must stay humble! Being humble keeps you focused and not just a flash in the pan because it makes you someone who people find it easy to work with, meaning more opportunities, and it also brings a healthy relationship between you and your costumers. This made me feel fearless and made me realize the key ingredients to start a brand since the mistakes people have made in the past were clearly laid out for me.
The book starts out incredibly friendly, as if a stranger is kindly introducing him or herself to you. The author tells you what you are getting yourself into and makes you feel welcomed by giving you a background on him. The book then kicks into the dream aspect of the whole idea that a reader might have developing in his or her head. It also gives you an over view of the graphic designer side of things such as designing for bands and snagging “big clients”. Soon the author begins telling you about printing and production, he also explains in detail about getting yourself into the public’s eye and presently starts making it clear that you must be original and being someone who keeps costumers happy is usually an extremely superior feature. The main character is Jeff Finley who is also the author of the book, along with other great apparel designers such as Rob Dobi and Marc Ecko. The book focuses mainly on the struggles and key ingredients to success in the apparel industry as well as the bare essentials to starting out.
I learned a range of lessons from this book as well as many key basics to being successful. A dream is not just a vision but to make it reality you must be aware of your surroundings. Once you accomplish this, you need to find your own style and simply start! The author stresses the fact that many people wait too long to start because they are caught up in silly things such as getting a trademark or having one of their ideas stolen. After this, all you need to focus on is working hard on self promotion and getting through to the right audience. The theme statement I would choose for this book would be fear because, like I said before, most people get caught up in silly things. They spend way too much time upsetting themselves and destroying their self confidence over little things; or some are even simply too afraid of being themselves. This book gives the reader a clear idea that there are so many people out there that you will find your fans sooner or later. That is one of the great things about selling through a website; you can always join communities online and get feedback even before you start! The author shows this theme exceptionally by giving examples of driving your way through this obstacle instead of avoiding it and being someone who sacrifices their own originality, “some of the best and long-running brands that have been doing this for years and years have their aesthetic, yet still roll with the times, never straying from their own unique style and vision for their brand” (page 211). Another example the author gives, of the theme fear, is when he shows how being your self is an important aspect, “I truly feel that in order to stand out and move from a side project to a brand, you have to stick to what you’re passionate about and engage your customers” (page 209).
My favorite part of the book was the moving forward yet being incredible aspect of it. The author defines the apparel industry to be a consistent and never stopping type of industry yet he takes his time explaining that hard work is only a portion of success. Having a unique and approachable brand will do miracles for you! Think of a famous brand at this very moment, do you see diversity in that brand or maybe a story behind it? This is the soul of that brand; it is so successful because of its individuality and approach to its consumers; not because a man sat at a computer for hours and hours designing it, that is only a portion of the journey. On the other hand, if you would ask me what I didn’t like about this book, I would say that the author could work just a bit on pulling the reader in. Unless someone is absolutely, a hundred percent, familiar with the idea that they are more than willing to start a brand, they will easily put this book down. Otherwise, more things I loved were how many characters were introduced to me, such as “Marc Ecko”. I have been buying his products for years but I have never actually looked into the real man behind it all. He started his business in his basement and learned how to print shirts from a stoner. He started off spray-painting t-shirts for his high school before that, this was his part time job, and his brand is still this way to this day; his clothing still focuses on spray-painted designs, he remained true to himself.
I would recommend this book to anyone who needs confidence in themselves to start a brand or someone who needs more info on the do’s and don’ts of starting a brand. Although, I do believe someone with patience and a lot of passion towards this topic of the apparel industry would do better with this book because the author does not draw readers in very well. This reader would probably also enjoy Marc Eckos’ book, Unlabel: Selling You without Selling Out, because it is also about key points to success in this branch of design. I would recommend the book Threads Not Dead because it is a book based off of true experience and is very inspiring yet educating. It has a clear layout of info so you wont have trouble finding individual subjects if you aren’t looking to read through the whole thing. Overall, it is simply just a great book because of its truth and bare facts of the whole branding process. It filters out most of the unwanted stress and instead gives you confidence by telling you that you just need to be your self! That is what I think is the most important thing I will take away from it; if you really think about it, a real person wouldn’t be living without a beating heart so how would a brand be successful without that beating heart, in this case, an individual approach with uniqueness and dedication.

[Natty Peterkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for learning about the apparel design industry – I would have given this 5 stars except for the fact that, for a book about design, the page layouts are conspicuously lacking in effort. I think this book was designed as an ebook, as there are also hyperlinks in the text; perhaps it was printed straight from the digital version, but the overall impression the book makes would have been that bit better if someone had gone to the extra effort of properly designing a print version.

[Naved · Rating 3 out of 5]

the book that helped me a lot during the very early and hard days of GuruTee (http://www.gurutee.com)
must read for every artist who wants to get into this business, includes very good resources and insights related to t-shirt design and its marketing as well.

3stars for the obvious reason, i was expecting a lot more, but still its a good read with useful insights.

[Abe Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. Started my own small profitable apparel company handsinapparel.com because of this book.

[Melissa Michaels · Rating 5 out of 5]

A necessary book for designers.