Hi there Springleapers,

We have had so many amazing winners on Springleap, but which designs have sold the best in 2011?

I was pondering this question yesterday so I asked our fearless stock manager to dig up some numbers for me, thanks Lester, you rock bud!

So what is the Springleap top seller 2011?

1. Freedom Walker by Tu
2. eSempowenis by Wolfox
3. All we are is energy by Sebasebi
4. Evolution by Sebasebi
5. Got your back by CHUCKY
6. Killer Rabbit by Vcalahan
7. Green by Vomaria
8. I WANNA ROCK by Emberplastik
9. Illuminati Propaganda by Suburbanhijinx
10. Sailing on a Lotus Flower by Sebasebi

Hmmm, well I can’t say that I’m surprised with the top 3 spots. These designs have been consistent top sellers since they were first printed. However there were a few designs that I was pleasantly surprised to see had climbed up the list pretty quickly….which points to serious popularity!

The number 1 spot is taken by the hugely popular design Freedom Walker by the ever impressive Tu. This design has been around for ages and ages, but the concept and slick easy design is absolutely timeless. I have a feeling that this one will be sitting around the Top 3 for at least another year.
When it comes to super-groovy AFRO-FUNK there is nothing that quite ‘measures up’ to Freedom Walker. What is really interesting about this design is that it has done just as well with t-shirt lovers overseas as it has with South Africans. Maybe that shouldn’t surprise us…Mandela is the MAN!

Second place belongs to Wolfox with eSempowenis. This design has also been around for eons…in fact even longer than Freedom Walker. In the past this design sat comfortably in the number 1 selling spot. This is our most successful parody design thus far. Its clever African slant on the Simpsons was a stroke of genius and seems to be loved by people from all cultures. eSempowenis has been controversial at times, but without doubt a winner that has ‘stood the test of time’. I wore this to the recent Rocking the Daisies festival and got loads of positive comments!

The last designer I really want to mention here is Sebasebi. Not only did he slide into our third spot with his All we are is energy, but he is also our most prolific designer in the Top 10. This means that he showed up with more designs than any other designer.
We are talking about a whopping 3 designs: All we are is energy (3^rd place), Evolution (4^th place), Sailing on a Lotus Flower (10^th place).
The most interesting of these winning designs for me is actually Sailing on a Lotus Flower, because it is a very VERY new design. In fact it is so new that it is still only on pre-order. WOW that is massively popular! I couldn’t believe that one of our Top 10 could be selected on pre-buys alone. Intense! Great job Sebasebi.

Honestly all of the Springleap top seller 2011 designs are absolutely amazing!

Obviously the year is not quite over and there could be a possible fluctuation with the rankings, especially considering we will soon be hit with Christmas prezzie orders.
Yep, Xmas is just around the corner boys and girls….we can’t deny it any longer. What a whirlwind of a year!

Right now however Tu is our Springleap top seller 2011!
I highly doubt any design will be able to shake him off his throne at this late stage. Well done dude.

What do you think of the top 10? How many of these tees do you own?
I get a pretty solid 5/10 ;)

CHUCKY, Emberplastik, Vomaria, Tu, Suburbanhijinx, Vcalahan, Wolfox, Sebasebi….you are all LEGENDS!!!

With Battle of the Best 2011 coming up soon, it will be interesting to see what super cool designs these gurus come up with next. Can Sebasebi hold on to his title???

D

There are very few people who have not seen this well-known depiction of Obama by Shepard Fairey. It has become the most iconic image of Barack Obama during his election.

This patriotic red, white and blue Obama illustration is supremely optimistic! This illustration conveys the desire of Americans, disillusioned with their government’s failings, to create a new brighter future. The word "Hope" perfectly expresses this message!
Obama’s face alone concretizes the artist intentions; it’s as if he is staring off into the future with a look that is stead-fast and undaunted, ready for the challenges to come.

The National Portrait Gallery in Washington is the perfect home for this amazing illustration. Right in the hub of American politics, there is no better place for fans of art to gather in order to view this inspirational 6-foot work of political art.
HOPE is right at home in the proverbial ‘seat of power’!

The mega-popular Obama illustration was unveiled last Saturday (15 October) and has been placed in the new arrivals section. This will also become part of a permanent exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.

Nobody, not even the artist himself, realised that this illustration would go on to become so popular, but here it is, one of the most powerful political images to appear in recent years.
It burned through the internet at a frightening pace - spurred on by supporters and critics alike. The image became a tool for supporters to spread his message and capitalize on its brilliance as it became the face of Obama’s veritable social-media tsunami.

There has been a bit of controversy surrounding the image. Initially the design was spread without much thought, but was then picked up by one of Obama’s team who believed the campaign had the rights to the original photo. This led to the name being changed on the portrait from “hope” to “change”.

The design has since become a ‘meem’ that has been used in a million and one ways. Some intended to ridicule, some simply to make you laugh. Any way you look at it, this design has become an integral element of the Obama campaign and even the ‘soul’ of the election race itself. We will continue to see variations of this design for a very long time to come.

You can also see Springleap’s very own version of this design on our homepage.

Shepard’s Obama illustration is truly a window into the mindset, the hopes and dreams of the people of the time. It’s not very often that a new leader is burdened with such immense expectations, as Obama most certainly has been.

What do you thing guys and girls? Is this the most iconic political illustration ever?

D

If you are a fan of contemporary Japanese art and illustration chances are you would have heard of Yusuke Yamada…or as the rest of the world know him, CHICHI.

This amazing Japanese designer has a style that incorporates a sultry mix of Western and Eastern influences, which mainly centres around female figures and natural elements.

While he first started out as a traditional artist, painting everything by hand, he then spent many years in the States, returning with loads of new skills to power up his craft.
He now blends modern digital design into his work but does not allow himself to rely solely on these new-tech methods. CHICHI spends laborious hours painstakingly creating artwork which is described as “dot to dot and line by line on a miniscule scale”. Now this is a designer who puts in the time and in doing so creates some of the most visually striking illustration to ever come out of Japan.
What you put in is what you get out!

This is perhaps the main thing that I like about his design ethos. He is willing to use new digital design, but he is not willing to fully relinquish his roots. It sounds like his fear is that while computers give the freedom for anybody to express their artistic talents on a new level, there is the danger of imitation and saturation….in essence watering down original artist’s hard work.

CHICHI has since made a name for himself all across the globe. From Japan to the US, he has held immensely successful exhibitions, bringing the flavour of Japan to the world in a new and exciting style.

 These days CHICHI is highly sought after and his amazing works adorn businesses across Japan. I would kill to get my hands on some of Yusuke’s work. I seriously need to order one of his prints.
He has also started up his very own apparel label called Visible Elephant 47, which seems to be doing pretty well and sells on an international scale.

What I would really like to get my hands on is his Line Drawing CHICHI artbook, which is jammed packed full of his best work. While this may seem like a perfect coffee-table book, I think I’d rather lock it away safely in a vault. Too precious to get pawed by people with sticky fingers haha.

CHICHI really gets my creative juices flowing…I just wanna go home now so I can start sketching hehe.

Thanks ;)

What do you guys think of this super talented Japanese designer??

Jeremy Loops is one of those musicians that have the ability to create music which is fresh and uplifting, with his unique blend of audio madness.

Perhaps it is the nature of his music, which is created ‘on the fly’ and incorporates various musical instruments and styles.

This music is an adventure which will never sound the same at any 2 live gigs. He also uses what is known as a loop pedal, which allows him to generate ‘multiple riffs’ and loop them on top of each other seamlessly. It’s like transforming yourself into a one man band that sounds like at least 5 members are jamming.

Personally I have never enjoyed the harmonica, but Jeremy Loop really makes it work with his music. Impressed!

This man is certainly one of the South African music industry’s best kept secrets.

Well, I’m not sure “secrets” is the best description, as it seemed that I was the only person at his Rocking the Daisies gig who was oblivious of the fact that he is a spectacular musician.
What can I say…I usually listen to much heavier music.
This is no excuse though, really wow wow wow!

It was great to see that loads of fans were going nuts in the crowd.
My buddies and I were speechless after his performance last weekend…well almost, hehe.
SCREAM SCREAM CHEER!!!

Jeremy planned his new EP launch to coincide with the Rocking the Daisies weekend, nice move, talk about the perfect place to strike!
I’m sure that he has earned himself a boat-load of new fans, I’m one of them.

This insanely cool EP was put together by the super powerful Vangers and Jollers design team. This also includes the slick, very memorable logo design. I really love the disjointed style and cartoon theme, very well executed. That little goat at the top of the design is crazy-cool, so fun and quirky.
I would like to get my hands on one of these just for the design alone, never mind the hot tunes inside ;)

Unfortunately for me it seems it was a Limited Edition EP, so chances are all the marauding collectors and cool kids have already seized these precious lovelies!

For those of you who have as yet not heard Jeremy Loops in action here are some of his tracks which I found on good ol’ Soundcloud, enjoy.

Power - Jeremy Loops by Jeremy Loops

Gypsy Opera - Jeremy Loops by Jeremy Loops

Also, here is a clip of Jeremy at Assembly performing ‘My shoes’.
Hopefully they will have some videos of his performance at Rocking the Daisies up soon.
I will add them ;)

Hi there guys and girls .

Its time for another thrilling Springleap OPEN THEME competition!
NO specific theme , only regular guidelines apply! You know the drill NO OBSCENITY, NO HATE SPEECH…all that jazz.

This is your chance to show us your creativity on your own terms. Don’t be shy – just put it out there! Let the world be your inspiration. We wanna see what lives within your artistic mind.

You can submit up to 5 designs so go wild! The more designs you submit the greater chances you have of winning!

So, get designing peeps. The time is now to show us what you got!

One winner will receive

… 4 printed t-shirts, a cash prize – US$500 (R4000)

DATES TO DIARISE:

Submissions for designs open: 10 October 2021

Submissions for designs close:  25 October 2021

Voting starts: 27 October 2021

Voting ends: 10 November 2021

Winner is announced: 14 November 2021

You could be the next winner on Springleap.com and gain exposure for yourself! You also stand a chance of winning amazing prizes and loads of cash .

Winners will now be chosen using votes as an indicator. The top 10 voted designs will get the golden stamp of approval and go in for review . The final verdict will come down to our esteemed design panel here at Springleap . For those that don’t win, you still stand a chance to have your designs printed! We’ll be keeping all top 10 designs in our re-seller catalogue and who knows we could be printing and selling your designs nationwide!

Everyone WINS!!

In order to get started on your designs download the Springleap t-shirt Submission Kit and get started right away!

Confused or uncertain about anything?

Post your questions about the OPEN THEME competition below or click our online support button to the left of our header.

Good Luck and Happy Designing!

The Springleap.com Team