Every T-shirt, sweatshirt and hoodie in the shop is screen printed by hand by me, Christian, the creator of The Life of Sharks.
I print them in my small studio at home in Northern Ireland, one garment at a time, on environmentally friendly, ethically made Stanley/Stella garments with water-based inks. I make the mugs myself too.
The studio
This little outbuilding is where it all happens. It’s where the drawings from the comic become screens, and where every garment is printed, checked and packed before it’s posted to you.
How a shirt gets made
- The drawing. Each design starts as one of my Life of Sharks illustrations.
- The screen. The design is turned into a screen: a fine mesh stretched over a frame, with the artwork as the only part the ink can pass through.
- The print. The garment goes on the press, the screen comes down, and I pull water-based ink through by hand with a squeegee. For designs like Fin Fan, several colours sit side by side on the screen so they blend into a rainbow fade as they’re printed.
- The finish. Each print is cured so it lasts, then checked, folded and packed for you.
Kinder to the planet
I print on garments from Stanley/Stella, who make their clothing from organic cotton and recycled materials, and are a member of the Fair Wear Foundation, which works to improve conditions for the people who make our clothes. I print them with water-based inks. So your shirt is good for the people who made it and gentler on the oceans our sharks call home.
No two quite the same
Because everything is printed by hand, every shirt is slightly different, especially the rainbow designs, where the colours blend a little differently each time. Each one is made by me, for you.
Mugs
The mugs are made here in the studio as well. I print and press each one myself, so the same care goes into your morning cuppa as into your T-shirt.
Books and calendars
The hardback books and calendars are printed for us by local printing companies, so they’re made close to home too.