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

I've been interested in getting into the T-shirt industry for years (I actually designed the logo for my brand four years ago!). It's only recently that I took the initiative actually take the plunge and do it. I've been doing a lot of personal research over the years, learning things on my own, visiting forums and chatting with others, etc, but I have to say, this is the best all in one source of information I've come across so far! Who better to give advice than individuals who actually have experience in the field themselves. The book is laid out beautifully, and it keeps on giving. The resources and information it provides are crucial. Even if the book doesn't completely explain a topic, it points you in the direction to find this information. For example I saw one review on here about how the book doesn't talk about the process of screen-printing, but rather discuss what is involved. Well, even the author points out an entire book on it's own could be written about the topic,(I myself, have a book, a 6 hour dvd, and a 2 hour dvd just about water-based inks!). The book discusses what needs to be discussed, and again, provides other sources that goes even deeper into the topics. Anyone who is interested in starting there own clothing/T-shirt brand needs to get this book. It will certainly set you upon the right path! I thank the author, and all those involved for giving us this gem.

So a buddy of mine asks me to start a tshirt/clothing company with him... Its something ive always wanted to do but have never pulled the trigger... so we decide that we are going to just go for it... but where do we start??? so i begin to research and i find a video on youtube of Adam from Iamthetrend talking about a book by Jeff Finley called, Threads Not Dead... ordered the book... and its simply amazing... Somewhat of a blueprint, a road map, an insiders look into the industry of where it has been and where it is at present time... Like Adam said in his video the first half of the book talks to the graphic designers in us... and the second half of the book talks about the business aspect and starting your company... the cool part about the ebook is that he shares all sorts of links to different companies and stuff that he uses or has used in the past... he also shares extra reading with more pertinent information which are also linked through the ebook... I also enjoyed the last part of the book which he interviewed a bunch of friends/colleagues and they basically share their stories and also give advice and tips and inspiration to us... Just like anything in life... you can learn on your own through trial and error, making a ton of mistakes and costing yourself time and money, while you learn... Or you can find a mentor or pro at the subject and learn from one of the best in the field... If its starting a tshirt/clothing company, here is our mentor... Jeff Finley. Jeff, I appreciate that u took the time to write this book and share your information with us... With your guidance and knowledge i have a clearer understanding of what im in store for. :) Much Love and Peace. Respectfully, Patrick Corpuz

This book was stab in the dark for me. I purchased with little exposure to the author, his blog, or his work. Ultimately it was very helpful in setting up my shirt company. There were sections that didn't apply directly to my company or target audience but I read them anyway for the information. Highly recommend this book. Only negative for me was the amount of time the author spend espousing participation in the indie clothing scene. This was only a negative because, as I found when attempting to follow the advice, not all target audiences and the associated aesthetics are appropriate on nearly all of the forums he suggested. Reviews were luke warm at best on these sites for my work but were received extremely well on forums that specifically apply to my target audience. My target audience was the hotrod/gearhead community which generally has very different aesthetics and ideas on things like brands. -Zombie Jake

If you are thinking of getting into the apparel/t-shirt business, I highly recommend this book. As a newcomer to the industry there are a thousand questions one has to have answered. Thread's Not Dead is a perfect combination of practical advice, links to helpful resources and inspiration from artists, designers and entrepreneurs who've been there already--and are succeeding! It is a bit on the pricey side since it is POD but i found it to be worth every penny! It has been the single most important factor in bolstering my confidence that this CAN be done!

So I got this book a couple days ago, and I must say that I am very impressed with Jeff Finely's work. First off, the quality of the print is simply exceptional. But secondly, and more importantly, the content in this book is unmatched for people looking to break into the apparel industry, or even for people already in it looking to grow. Threads Not Dead goes in depth about many subjects including; The background of Jeff Finley, Freelancing, Designing for Tees, Design Techniques & Tutorials, Printing & Production, Branding & Marketing, Sales & Fulfillment, Going Big-Time, Conclusions & Next Actions & (My Favorite) Case Studies & Interviews. Each category or chapter, has many sub-chapters and goes into great detail of each subject. There really isn't many questions (if any) that will go unanswered in this book if your looking to start your own line (but even if there is, in my dealings with Jeff, he will help you out). The case studies is my favorite chapter. This section goes into the stories and personal thoughts of some of the greats in the apparel industry. Contributors of this fantastic book including the great people from Threadless, Emptees, DesignByHumans, Big Cartel, I Am The Trend, Go Media, Jakprints, Glamour Kills, Paint the Stars, Cure Apparel, Fright-Rags, & more. So all in all, I highly recommend this book if your looking to break into the Apparel Industry. There is no need to do it trial by error if you can already learn from the mistakes the best in the industry have already made. If your interested in buying it, you can buy the hardcover here on amazon, or the ebook comes with lots of goodies like an audio book, and over 60MB of vectors, textures, etc on threadsnotdead.com.

The book was pretty good. Alot of the info was new to me. but a lot of the info just seemed like common sense. I think it was worth reading but it was not spectacular.

I loved the way this book takes you to understanding not just Apparel Insdustry but many Insights apply to any other Industry that deals with creative production as well, It will take you from the baselines, with many examples, links to go deeper on the chapters, examples from others designers or experience, a case study that may give you hope or surprise you. I also loved how specific and clear-to-the-point the book was, not some dull language, Jeff kept it simple, clear, easy to get it, this way made it even better and more enjoyable. It's a guide, if you want to go deeper on the topics it offers you ways to get to know them.

This book is a great high quality hardcover book for the coffee table... and bonus, it is also informative. I am always looking for interesting, high quality books to put out as conversation starters, and this one joins the list with other art related books like Alternative Movie Posters: Film Art from the Underground, Crazy 4 Cult and Star Trek: The Art of Juan Ortiz. I stumbled upon this gem, when I was doing research for some new edgy t-shirt designs for my film festival. I was originally just going to get the digital version for the information, but I ordered it because it look like another beautiful art book... and it is. This is a great find that didn't disappoint me, but it might not have enough detail on the t-shirt industry for some.

O conteúdo é bom, porém mais de 70% dos links com informações que completam a leitura e a compreenção do livro, não funcionam mais. Infelizmente a amazon não reembolsa livros do kindle. Perdi meu dinheiro.

This is hands down one of the best industry-how-to books with genuine realistic advice from seasoned leaders in fashion, worth the buy, for anyone looking to to build a fashion brand.

Although I am still reading the book, but now it's impressive.

Soy diseñador de camisetas y adquirí este libro para tenerlo en mi biblioteca y así inspirarme en sus historias y recomendaciones, ademas de inspirarme en algunos de los trabajos incluidos en el.

Very cool but if you are a complete beginner, its a bit of a fast class of hey google this and that about this topic coz we have a lot to cover in here. I own but its really useless to beginners, the very people it was created for. the contributions by the artists in there were very much like do it our way but seriously you need to do your thing. what!!, paradox and really demotivates you because they talk about you should go through what they went through to establish themselves. Scre* you Finely, im doing this to make money selling T-shirts not being selling drawings