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Small Business, Trying to Grow

There are many businesses out there. Many are trying to find a way to grow. Merchandising is always a great option, but in many cases, very expensive. One option is that you wanted to get a bunch of shirts made with your logo or design on them, but didn't have the money to place an order large enough that you got into a decent price. Another option might be that you sign up with one of the "big name" screen printing shops where they carry everything and do all the work for you, but pay you very little in return. Bored in the Basement is starting a new option that is right in between those two options, with our new BitB WearHouse.

BitB WearHouse is a list of companies or individuals that are selling their own designs. The clients can range anywhere from an individual artist that wants to sell their designs, to bands that want a way to distribute their products, blogs or web comics that have a vision to share, or even a movie that will be coming out soon and wants to spread the word! Of course, that is not the limit of who can be a candidate for the BitB WearHouse... that's just who's signed on already!

Coming March 1st, BitB will be unveiling the BitB WearHouse. We hope that everyone will continue to come over to the site and take a look. The first couple of groups that have joined the move are YourMusicShow, 22Words (with their soon-to-be-released web comic), Wisconsin Sickness, and Pop Punk Zombies! Each will have an array of designs to choose from, and plenty of content within their own pages!

Here's a quick preview of what's to come:

We hope that you are all looking forward to this, whether you are a business, band, web comic, website, homeless guy in the street, movie, radio, alcoholic, or even a valued customer. Bored in the Basement is doing it's best to provide high quality, hand pressed shirts to it's clients and consumers

take care everyone!

Love,

Tom & Ant

BitB Crew

Bored in Wisconsin

Well, it's a new month and a new year. What better way to bring it in with an ode to Wisconsin! The Rose Bowl and Beer. That's the way it's done!

Bored in the Basement proudly presents Jeff R. as January’s featured artist.  We are grateful to Jeff, as he has played a very important role in helping Bored in the Basement develop as a company. After much anticipation, here is Jeff’s interview:

BitB: Tell us about your background, most importantly your art background and your love for the state of Wisconsin.
Jeff: I grew up coloring and drawing a lot. When I was younger, I wanted to be a “commercial artist”. That job evolved into a Graphic Designer in the real world. I studied Graphic Design in college. I have never regretted my decision to pursue art as a career.

Wisconsin…I have lived in several major areas of Wisconsin. I have also lived in Illinois, Minnesota, and Iowa. I have never felt more at home and more friendship than in Wisconsin…how can you not love this place?!?

BitB: When did you decide art was something you wanted to pursue, or more appropriately when did you start in the trade?

Jeff: I won a coloring contest at the local Super America when I was in 2^nd grade. I won a $20 gift certificate. That was my first payoff from my art skills.

BitB: Very interesting! Where do you get most of your inspiration?

Jeff: Pop culture. I continue to be amazed with the things people find amazing. Andy Warhol has been a huge inspiration to me since I first saw his work in 3^rd grade.

BitB: How about other inspirations such as music, photography, monkeys with coconuts, etc.?

Jeff: I am heavy into music, but visual art and music go hand-in-hand, in my opinion. Movies like 2001, Fight Club and others which make you think, inspire me.

BitB: How would you describe your style?

Jeff: An aftershock of the Warhol Effect on the globalization of techno America…2.0.

BitB: I understand that you went to school at UW-Whitewater. Did you plan on going to school for graphic design?

Jeff: It was always the plan. Although making the transition to web design only came on in my final semester, as web design was just merging as an offshoot of Graphic Design. I designed my first web page in Netscape Composer.

BitB: Pick an animal-which one would you like to be and why?

Jeff: A badger…that is the correct answer, right?

BitB: We are featuring many Wisconsin themed designs for your featured month. What is your inspiration behind these designs-a love for Wisconsin or to help promote your site, or both?

Jeff: Both, but my site promotes Wisconsin, it is a cyclical thing.

BitB: Tell us about your site, AsSeenInWisconsin.com.

Jeff: The site is dedicated to hyper-local news and sightings in Wisconsin. The idea of the site came from a neighbor who had “fixed” their broken basketball rim by replacing it with a five gallon bucket. I thought this is what many of my fellow Wisconsinites see everyday. This is something others can relate to. From this, As Seen In Wisconsin was born.

BitB: Given the chance to be a super hero or a folk hero, which would you choose?

Jeff: Super hero…like Batman.

BitB: Aside from your work with the As Seen In Wisconsin crew, you also do web design and site creation. Tell us about some of your other projects.

Jeff: I have worked on branding and identity for major national organizations and websites which help people get their businesses jump-started.

BitB: You have had a very important part in the creation of BitB. Without your knowledge and skill, BitB would have not had a functioning site until this past November. Do you plan on sticking around and being a continued support and help through design, art submission, and general tom-foolery?

Jeff: Definitely. I really respect what the BitB guys are doing. They are super cool and fun to hang out with. Hoping I’ll be adopted into the family sometime soon!... as long as they stop trying to stab me...

BitB: This is Wisconsin, so you obviously need to answer a drinking question. You have been selected to go on an all expense paid drinking binge for three days with three people-a historical figure, an artist, a writer, and one free choice. Who are your drinking buddies and what are you going to do?

Jeff: Andy Warhol, Stephen King, and Walt Disney. We will crush a cup and discuss the internet, guilty pleasure movies, and takeout.

BitB: How do you bridge between the business side of designing and your artistic side?

Jeff: It is really about realizing who you are working for. You have to remain true to yourself, but also realize you are working for a client. At some point, you need to bend. If it is work what is coming directly from me and straight to the masses, then everything is fair game.

BitB: Favorite curse word?

Jeff: Farve.

BitB: What have you stolen/learned from another artist lately?

Jeff: Copy>Paste behind>Stroke

ON WISCONSIN!

We hope everyone enjoys the new year and the new designs,

as always,

Love,

Tom and Ant

BitB Crew

Umm... it's Marie.

Our Featured Artist for December is Marie Clipson, who has been a close friend to the Velure boys for almost eight years running now. Somehow, she still manages to keep partial sanity throughout it all. So we took the time out of our busy schedule (Call of Duty: Black Ops) to sit down and really pick Marie’s brain…

***Please note the words in bold have been changed for my own amusement during the interview***

BitB: How excited are you to be December’s featured artist?
Marie Clipson: Meh, obviously not as excited as you are.

BitB: How about you get us started with a little bit about yourself? How about a long list of things you like?

MC: It really sounds like you put no effort into preparing this… but let’s see… I like long naps at least one a day otherwise I get cranky. I enjoy my ribbon candy, plants, Koi fish, and dragons. I spend a lot of my time watching cooking shows however, I don’t like to cook and you will rarely see me cook. I also have a lot of respect for Life Alert and I really miss the good ole days.

BitB: Alright, that gives us a good base about the type of person you are, but how about some dislikes then?

MC: Well to start off I hate ketchup I don’t like being by it, don’t like the smell of it, and I don’t like being in eyesight of it. Only thing I dislike more than ketchup is clowns…  

BitB: Quick question then I will let you finish, what do you think of this picture of a clown juggling ketchup bottles?

MC: Ugh… Anyway I also dislike socks with holes in them, annoying kids in my yard, cooking like I said before, being too cold, being too hot, and technology.

BitB: You’re starting to sound like one mean, old lady… but hey who are we to judge am I right?

MC: No, you’re not right.

BitB: Can you trust a fart?

MC: I never trust a fart, especially if I’m the least bit iffy…

BitB: What sort of art do you enjoy?

MC: Well along with painting I get enjoyment out of making my own jewelry and glass fusing.

BitB: Who would you say influenced your art the most? Also, I know the answer to this so I’m going to go ahead and place your first two answers into the blanks here…

MC: Ughhh…. So the people who influenced me the most were Tom Velure, Ant Velure, and third artist not as good as Tom and Ant.

MC: You do know this is why I can’t have nice things.

BitB: Dually noted. So if I was a mugger and I was to theoretically steal your purse off your arm on the street, what am I likely to find in it?

MC: Nothing you would want. Most likely my reading glasses, Werther’s Originals, some balled up Kleenex, and a copy of Murder She Wrote on Betamax.

BitB: Okay, so winter is on its way to Wisconsin and you got a plane ticket to anywhere within the continental United States where you going to go?

MC: Florida, it’s warm there.

BitB: How does it feel to know that by the end of this interview, if people take the time to read it, that most people will think your well into your 90’s?

MC: Well that’s because you changed all my answers you assholes.  So whatever, I’m writing my own bio then.

BitB: Well that’s all folks! Marie is 25 by the way!

Now that the interview is over, let's show the people what they came to see!

As always,

Love,

Tom and Ant

BitB Crew

November, the month of tattoo.

It's that time again-- Bored in the Basement has a new Featured Artist and some new super-exclusive designs for you to feast your eyes on, internet! Fair warning: if you're the type of person who is of the opinion that tattoos are for criminals and circus freaks, you might want to go ahead and just bypass this during your browsing. (Then again, if you're that type of person, you probably wouldn't have made it to this part of the website anyhow. My mistake. Please, carry on.)

If you've decided to stick around, then please allow us to introduce Mike Latessa-- tattoo artist and, lately, t-shirt designer extraordinaire! He's local to Tom & Ant so that explains how they managed to talk him into designing the shirts for this month, but since some of you guys might not know who he is we subjected him to a round of asinine questions and have compiled his responses in one convenient location for your reading pleasure.

You'll notice that Mike's t-shirt designs are very tattoo-esque, and if you head over to his Facebook or Myspace you can see more examples of similar types of art. Mr. Latessa says that he has always enjoyed drawing but it wasn't until he spent a brief period of incarceration that a tattoo artist (who was a fellow inmate) took a liking to his art and began teaching him how to tweak his style of drawing to make it a little more appropriate for tattooing. Mike says he knew he'd found his calling in life, and after his release he set about getting himself the proper training and guidance on realizing his dream of becoming a tattoo artist. (Coincidentally, it was also at this point that he actually got his first tattoo, which he tells us was a "13" on his right forearm.) He managed to get hooked up with Kevin Rehbein who, Mike says, taught him all the "tricks of the trade." Mike worked for another shop for a while that ended up closing eventually, at which point he figured that was as good a time as any to open up his own shop! Quite an accomplishment and commitment, considering that some artists work for decades before ever owning their own businesses. He does say that in time he wants to work at another shop again for a few days a week, as well as run his own establishment. We'd like to wish him luck with that, as it sounds as if he'll have a very full plate!

When you go and check out Mike's work. Because you are going to do that, right? Right. Ok. Anyhow. Like we were saying, when you go and check out Mike's work, tattoos and drawings alike, you'll notice that the majority of his work is done in black and gray. He says that this is because, while he has nothing against color drawing or tattoos, he feels as if black and gray allows for more expression of emotion and drama. (So you can rest assured that when you're sporting your new t-shirt, it will adequately express how you're feeling at any given time!) He tells us that generally he draws in pencil but has more recently gotten into using charcoal and paints and would like to eventually begin to use airbrushing to create his designs and artwork. We also wanted to know if he'd ever done any type of designs that were specifically for clothing before, and what adjustments-- if any-- he had to make to his unique drawing style in order to make the designs more appropriate for screen printing. Mike says that no, he'd never done any designs for any type of clothing before and that it actually was quite an adjustment he had to make, being that he's extremely detail oriented.. Some designs just do not translate properly into a medium like screen printing. As you can see, however, he still managed to create some pretty visually stunning stuff for us this month!

To begin wrapping up our interview, we implored Mike to answer a question that had been weighing on our minds: for a million dollars, would he cut off his bottom lip? With the stipulation, of course, that he could not use his million dollars to have the lip reattached or reconstructed in any way. Some people answer this question very hastily, jumping at the chance to become a millionaire, without first considering the myriad tasks that your bottom lip is actually involved in. Mike, on the other hand, must have pondered his response for a moment because his answer was no. As he so wisely reasons, there are plenty of ways to get a million dollars that do not involve the loss of a bottom lip. Touche`, Mr. Latessa. Touche`.

And for our final question, we couldn't resist tossing an age-old query out, hoping on a wing and a prayer that Mike would be the person who could finally answer it for the world. No, we didn't want to know how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop, and we were uninterested in whether the chicken or the egg came first. Nay, our question was a simple one... "Did that hurt?" We waited with baited breath for an answer that, alas, never came.

We thank you for your time and your talent all the same, Mr. Latessa. (Also for your tolerance for our interview process!) As for you, internet.. Well, we see what you did there, and we've got our eye on you.

Until next time,
RR

Halloween Costume Contest!!!

Hi everybody!

As you all know, it's that time of year, and costumes are abundant! I am looking for a few good contestants, and even more bad ones! We here at BitB love our contests and giveaways! This contest is very, very, very simple. All you have to do is send us a photo of yourself wearing your Halloween costume, and you are entered into our drawing. We are having a drawing instead of a "who's got the best costume", that way everyone has a fair chance to win! Depending on how many people play, we may even have multiple prize giveaways!

Take a picture of YOURSELF in your costume, if you have multiple costumes, feel free to enter as many times as you like!

Let us know who you are, just your first name, we want to post your name with your picture!

Send us your photo, you can Twitpic (or equivalent) and give us a link, or email the photo to info@boredinthebasement.com.

Hm... well. Those are some really easy rules. So, you've entered, what do you win? You win a t-shirt of your choice! Anything on the website is fair game! For every ten people that play, we will give away another tshirt! 1 in 10, those are some really, really good odds! If we get over 30 people, we will break the costumes down by category and give away another cool prize, not sure what yet... We will be accepting pictures starting as soon as this post is... um... posted, up until November 5th! We will conduct the drawing on November 7th, that way if we get any late entries they get fair viewing time for people to stare... I mean observe. I am really hoping for a big turnout for this contest, tell all your friends!

Thanks Everyone, our first year has been going very smoothly, and we have you to thank! Help us to continue in business and continuing having fun!

As always,

love

Tom & Ant

BitB Crew

We have our first contestant, Amanda!

We have our second contestant, Kissy!

We have our third, Tkdfool!

We have our forth, DJKamealon!

We have our fifth, Nate!

We have our sixth, Ant!

We have eight and nine, Casey and Jessica!

We have the tenth, Marie!

We have eleven and twelve, Josh and Tom!

We have our fourteenth, Kissy (version 2)!

We have number fifteen, Leah!

Say what? Ways to save money?

Because business has been booming, we have aquired a new vendor and a bigger volume purchase discount! What does that mean for you? Less expensive shirts, and better quality to boot!!!

as always,

Love,

Tom & Ant

BitB Crew

BitB Proudly Presents, Michael Borkowski!

Mike is one of those people for whom talent just seems to come naturally. After developing a love of drawing at a young age, he went on to take some college-level courses through the art program at his high school. Other than that, he says, he has no other "formal" training. He tells us that he was lucky enough to form a relationship with some professional comic artists while still a teenager in high school and that their guidance along with on-the-job training he got while working with them were, for all intents and purposes, his schooling. This is a lucky break for anyone but especially for him, because it seems that his main career aspiration prior to that was to become a 3rd baseman for the New York Mets. He made no mention of whether or not he has an actual talent for the game of baseball, but does say that at some point he realized that being an amazing artist was likely a more realistic goal to work towards. Not bad, really, especially since he says that from his childhood, he had also wanted to find a way to turn his art into something he could get paid for.

When we asked about what other types of art Mr. Borkowski enjoyed creating, he told us that he really doesn't have much time for anything outside of the art he creates as his job. (Well, besides showing his loyalty to the Syracuse University sports program through his art.) Since he was gracious enough to take some time to create a few designs for Bored in the Basement, we figured we'd try to keep things as short and sweet as possible so that he could get back to entertaining the masses.. As opposed to humoring our ridiculous inquiries. We tried to get all of the important stuff out of the way first, so if Mike got tired of answering questions at least we'd have all the pertinent information. And since he knows more about himself than anyone else does, we're giving you all of his important answers uncut and unabridged, straight from the horse's mouth.

BitB: What changes, if any, do you have to make in your drawing style when switching from still art like Iron Man to animated stuff like the Venture Brothers?

MB: Basically everything I work on professionally isn't my personal style at all, whether it's animated or not. I need to make sure everything I draw for animation or the Iron Man books is "on model". It has to look like the reference material I'm given since I'm not the only person who works on these projects. Of course, some of my personal style does come through a bit. That's almost unavoidable.

BitB: With well-established and highly recognizable characters like Scooby Doo and the Gang, Iron Man, and Wolverine and the X-Men, when you first started did you feel like you were under a lot of pressure to live up to previous artists? Like maybe some nerd somewhere was going to cause a ruckus because Wolverine didn't look quite right when you drew him?

MB: Well, I have to draw them specifically how they're supposed to look. And in animation no one is really going to see my exact drawings. But I do feel pressure to make an action sequence as cool as it possibly can be.  Or pressure to make a gag as funny as it needs to be (or funnier). Or something scary or intense, etc.

BitB: Do you still feel any of that pressure now?

MB: Of course.

BitB: You did your first work on a major motion picture last year, for Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. What were some of the big differences, if any, between animating for a movie and animating for a television show? Was it a fairly easy transition for you?

MB: It was a major difference and, no, it was not an easy transition for me. Thankfully I was surrounded by ridiculously talented, helpful and supportive people at Blue Sky Studios.

The main difference was the scope of the project. In television you basically stick to the script and board what's there. On Ice Age there's a little more freedom and time to explore each scene. There's also a lot of technical things that are done differently that I had to learn on the fly.

BitB: How did your partnership with Cartoon Network come about? Any plans to do art for other shows sometime in the future?

MB: I don't really have a partnership with Cartoon Network. I was hired by World Leaders (then Noodlesoup) to work on The Venture Bros. and by Warner Bros. to work on Scooby Doo. Cartoon Network airs those shows but I've never actually worked for them.

BitB: We don't want you to give away any secrets or potential future plans, but if you had the opportunity to do your very own TV series.. you know, complete and total creative control, what would it be like?

MB: I struggle with that. Sometimes I'd like to do a straightforward super hero show. Other times I'd love to do a whacked out comedy. Maybe a combination of the two?

BitB: What heroes/idols of yours have you gotten to meet over the years?

MB: A few. I was a big fan of Bart Sears when I was younger and he's actually one of the guys who took me under his wing. I try not to look at people as heroes or idols anymore, though. I've realized that we're all just people trying to do some stuff. Of course I still admire people for who they are and what they do. I just don't hold anyone up to such a standard as maybe I once did.

BitB: What is your favorite work environment, or the one in which you feel you're most productive? Do you have a home office set up? Do you listen to music to get the creativity going, or do you prefer complete silence? If you do listen to music while drawing, what's your favorite genre/band to listen to?

MB: I do have a home office. Usually I listen to music. I love Ben Folds, The Rolling Stones, Jenny Lewis and stuff like that.

BitB: Do you ever participate in any charity work, such as auctions?

MB: I did some sketch cards a few years ago for the March of Dimes.

BitB: What was your first paying job?

MB: My first paying job was helping out on a Namor toy design. Basically I just tightened up the drawing done by my bosses.

BitB: You're a big sports fan. Favorite teams? Are any of them more of a loyalty thing as opposed to how good the team actually is? (No offense meant!)

MB: I am a massive Syracuse University sports and New York Mets fan. I am a fan no matter how good or bad they are. In my mind, your team is your team through good and bad. If you can't be a fan through the bad times, you shouldn't be allowed to be a fan in the good times.

Now.. While all of this information is certainly compelling, we all know that there other things to life besides paying jobs and charity. For instance, erotic art. Who doesn't enjoy that? When asked if he'd ever been requested to create any art of this fashion, Mike tells us that although he has been commissioned to do some pieces that "got a little nutty" (his words), nothing that could ever really be considered erotic, like.. Oh, say, Wolverine in a g-string (our words.) Imagine our disappointment at this news. He did, however, make us feel a little better when he mentioned that he sometimes gives actual pen (or pencil) and paper sketches away on Twitter! If you would like to be privy to the next time he starts feeling generous, you can follow him at twitter.com/MBorkowski. He also does sketches like that at conventions sometimes, so if you keep up with his schedule on www.michaelborkowski.com and you're in the neighborhood of his next one, you should most definitely stop by and tell him that you'd like a sketch of Wolverine in a g-string.

We have saved for last a word for word transcription of Mike's response to our most important question, one that you readers should also ask yourselves sometime. The importance of preparedness in situations such as the one presented in this question cannot be stressed enough.

BitB: Your entire family has been massacred by the mob. Through careful surveillance and recon, you've managed to discern the location of their secret mob hide out. What song plays as you're busting through the door, ready to take bloody revenge on those who have wronged you?

MB: For some reason I keep thinking of "Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones.

After you've broken your brain trying to come up with the perfect answer, go take a look at the sweet designs Mr. Borkowski came up with for us as October's Featured Artist. Stay classy, internet.

                                                                        -- RR

Oktoberfest!

Just as another friendly reminder, we do custom work for those of you that like to make a statement when you party! ...or do charity stuff... or anything really...

Anywho... it's that time of year, and people will be getting their drink on! We had another repeat customer come to us with some requests for shirts for the Oktoberfest celebration in La Crosse, Wisconsin this week! I want to point out that I was going to use another, more German, font, but they requested this one. Either way, getting custom shirts for your event not only makes you stand out, but it helps you find the rest of your party if you get separated! Lord knows we always do...

As always,

Love

Tom & Ant

BitB Crew

Comics, Cartoons, Illustrations, and just really cool stuff!

If you are following our site, or blog, you may know that we are very honored to have the chance to work with Michael Borkowski. He has worked on many many projects and shows such as Scooby-Doo Mystery Incorporated, The Venture Bros, and Dragon Tales, just to name a few. Michael is a very talented illustrator and artist as well. If you go to his website, he currently has his first sketchbook up for sale! Buy one, we did. Each sketch book comes with a personalized sketch of any character that you would like him to draw! Ok, where am I going with this might you ask, well, Michael is our Featured Artist for the month of October, and a few of his designs have been trickling in. I just figured that you may want to see what will be offered up for sale coming October first. Now, as always, these are just preliminary sketches, so they are subject to change. However, I think that you will be getting a good idea of what is to come!

Take a minute to click through the images, then leave us a note of what you think. We are also curious to see what you guys would like to see this printed on, cause you all know the winter chill is starting to approach. Wouldn't you like to see a hoodie with some of these amazing designs on them!

All images Copyright Michael Borkowski, 2010.

Stay tuned for more updates!

As always,

Love

Tom & Ant

BitB Crew

A Few New Shirts

We have been asking around for a few more artists to design a few shirts for us... and we have gotten a few bites. We have been looking to expand our selection and really trying to expand what we offer. With our featured artist of the month section, we are showcasing artists big and small, known and unknown. We are hoping to expand our designs from novelty to fully artistic and everything in between. The BitB crew would like to know what you, the customer or viewer, would like to see come to our website!

These two designs were created from a friend in Virginia, we love to support "internet" local artists!

Please stop by and take a look around if you haven't been by recently, we have had a few new artists!

as always...

Love you guys!

Tom and Ant

BitB Crew