This is an idea that occurred to me a while ago. The simple premiss is to build a community on Facebook of people then give them an incentive to sign up for a Threadless account and vote positively on your design. As far as that community is concerned, this is how the idea works (I have taken this directly from the group description):
you have an amazing idea for a tshirt design
you make the amazing idea and submit it to threadless.com
if it is approved, voted for, and approved again it will get printed
you get $2000 and a $500 voucher
Cha-ching!
but what if
You have an amazing idea but are not an artist
(the inspired)
or
You are an artist but do not have that amazing idea
(the designer)
I think you can see where this is going.
The inspired offers the idea to the designer.
The designer makes the idea.
Everyone in this group votes for it.
And… fingers crossed… it gets printed!
The inspired gets a free tshirt and a designer to work free of charge
The designer gets inspiration and the voting support of this group! (and a wee chunk of cash for the design)
Everyone wins! Yeay!
also, here's a link to threadless (self plug!): http://www.threadless.com/?streetteam=ijmccallum
The description makes the obvious intentions clear. The effect I hoped this group would also create was for more friends to sign up for an account on Threadless, which (importantly) you need to vote. Over time, as more and more sign up, this small community would slowly gain power in the voting. What I didn't expect was for 'the inspired' to see there ideas take shape in the form of a design on Threadless and then start publicising it like crazy to all their friends!
Currently the group is still small and has not got much influence on the voting. The key ingredient it needs is for graphic designers, illustrators, and artists (other than just myself) to add to the content. Their actions, turning the ideas posted there into finished designs will bring in more members, more traffic, more votes.
Also, just to make clear - although there has been little activity of late, this group has not yet died. Those members are still connected. Every piece of activity will show up on their news feed / alert thing. Some of those members have Threadless accounts and therefor voting power. If you have come across, read through, and are intrigued by this idea - join up, post your design ideas / take an idea already posted and create it then link to it in the group! The important thing here is to not spam this group with designs not based on their ideas or post half baked ideas - there is a forum on Threadless to help develop those ideas. The majority of people in this Facebook group are not designers, this is just a little fun for them that might result in a free tshirt. We don't want to spam them and cause them to leave.
So that's it! That's how you increase your chances of getting printed! Join up and good luck:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/425834147444551/