October is a t shirt printing, screen printing, garment sourcing and embroidery supplier established in 1990. We source a wide range of clothing and accessories to fit the most demanding of specifications. Although we print and embroider for a variety of sectors, our speciality is fashion.
With this in mind we offer a full service including garment sourcing, graphic design input, range development, technical screen print and embroidery advice, label supply, re-labelling, bagging, swing ticketing and bulk distribution.
This isn't everything. That would just be too massive, but it is a cross section of all our favourite T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoods, polos, hats etc. It's what a pretentious bell end might call a curated edit. Feel free to call us with any questions, and let us know if we left anything out.
It all started 25 years ago. Paul finished a degree in obscure eastern religions, and was surprised to find he couldn't get a job. Not a problem, a friend had a sewing machine,
In spite of an allergy to truffle oil, coffee shop anxiety over what will happen if we order a ‘skinny ginger’, and a tendency to slap anyone uncertain on the correct use of ‘please’, ‘thank you’ and ‘excuse me’, October Textiles have opened a London Office, on Lots Road in Chelsea.
London customers visit the October factory most days, and there is no substitute for a good look at the full production facility when working on a new collection, but we understand, that getting trapped in the road network may mean you never see your family again; a train may require a re-mortgage to get you three stops down the line; and in the absence of a helipad at our Nottingham HQ, we sometimes need to come to you.
This will enable us to cover all the important considerations at the outset.
What will be the consistent graphic delivery values of that story, that enable us to create a recognizable, signature look?
Will we be heritage, or contemporary, street or couture?
How will we make our collection ‘look like a proper brand’?
Where will we market our range, and to whom? Internet, wholesale, or retail?
In a hugely competitive market place, do online sales generate good return for SEO investment?
How long do those sales take to realize?
Is wholesale a viable option, are independents supporting new brands?
Should we work towards opening our own store?
And how do we fund all of the above?
These and many more questions can be quietly considered at the edge of Chelsea harbour, before we then move onto the production detail…165 or 185 gram jersey fabric, loop fold, end fold or hot cut labels…a high definition badge, screen print or digital, water based, solvent based or discharge ink…and what about swing tickets, and packaging?
If that sounds of any interest, then we look forward to seeing you smoke side…you’ll know it’s us, we’ll be drinking English Breakfast Tea.
Screen print is important (We would say that wouldn’t we, after 25 years bang at it), as is the correct choice of T-shirt, the right garment labels, lovely swing tickets and interesting ink techniques.
But for us it’s always been about the story that we tell through the designs, where possible taking us on a journey of ideas to a special place, probably Narnia…the notion that good graphic design, is intellect made visible, without which we are merely a bunch of pictures. After many discussions in the back rooms of Clerkenwell, with the much bearded, drop crotch chino’d, and ballet shoe’d genius that is Dr Gregory White, we feel we have concocted a brand beverage packed with story, the Roux story….this takes time, and the commitment to not rush into worrying about garment cuts and print techniques at the outset…we will wait until we’re ready to take the right design direction – in this case to go on a trip where we are…
DONE (with the old designs)
This is the first collection of three designs, which refer to the story we are leaving behind. Expect to see screen print here which make reference to T-shirts we have seen many times before…a graphic representation then that metaphorically, we are ready to leave our old self behind, whatever that means to the individual and their own interpretation. There is no desire to criticise what was here, we love a little heritage print on a vintage T shirt, it is merely the idea that we are ready to…
CHANGE (we may lose a few of those old t shirts)
This is our next movement through screen print to a new story, where T-shirt designs will begin carry the idea that a Leopard can change its spots….we have not made this movement yet, but we are saying it can be done, there is encouragement to go in whatever direction you choose, perhaps good or bad…there is no preaching in this part of the story…we are trying to find the confidence to make…
MOVEMENT (through the magic of screen print)
A collection of T-shirt designs appear here that tell us we are on the move, we have not just embraced the idea that we are done, that we can change, but are doing something about it, we are on the road with Roux to a new story, and if we’re lucky we may arrive at a place where we say…
WE ARE ROUX (this is our new story)
Four screen print T-shirt designs in this section, to illustrate an arrival at a new story, whatever you choose that to be…we have decided that we are DONE with the old ways, we have taken on board the idea of CHANGE, we have made the MOVEMENT and…..WE ARE ROUX
October Textiles are pleased to screen print again for Digital Soundboy, and their major players Shy FX and B. Traits. Solvent based plastisol prints keep it sharp and clean onto American Apparel 2001 T shirts, for a nice soft feel fabric and semi fitted garment. The range features their screen printed classic logo T-shirt, Milky Bar T, and a bright floral print design now the sun has been bothered to turn up for a while.
We don’t pretend to understand every beep and whistle, but as you can see, they surely do…
Shy FX’s debut record was “Jungle Love”, released in 1992 on the Permission to Dance label. Soon after, he signed to Sound Of The Underground Records (often abbreviated as S.O.U.R.) and in 1994 released the breakthrough ragga jungle track “Original Nuttah” (featuring vocals from MC UK Apache) which helped to cement his position as a mainstay producer of the jungle/drum & bass scene.
Throughout his career, he has collaborated with T Power, both as Ebony Dubsters and Shy FX and T Power; their 2001 breakthrough track “Shake Ur Body” with vocalist Di was a number 7 hit in the UK Singles Chart. Released on EMI subsidiary Positiva, it gained widespread support from both club and commercial radio DJs and helped to further popularize drum & bass as a mainstream music genre.[1]
The success of “Shake Ur Body” was followed by the duo’s album Set It Off, released in 2002 on Pete Tong‘s label F.F.R.R.. Several EPs and single releases followed; by 2005, Shy FX had made the decision to consolidate his releases onto his own label and founded Digital Soundboy Recordings. In collaboration with T Power, they subsequently released the albumDiary of a Digital Sound Boy on 17 October 2005, featuring the songs “Feelings”, “On The Run” and “Plastic Soul”. Shy FX and T Power also released “Don’t Wanna Know” featuring Di and MC Skibadee. The song was notably used on the UK television programmeSoccer AM as part of the ‘Skills Skool’ feature.
More recently, he produced “Raver” featuring Kano, Donae’o and Roses Gabor, plus the UK artist Yasmin’s first single, “On My Own”. He announced that his album, Larger Than Life, was originally scheduled for a 2011 release but has since been renamed Cornerstone and doesn’t have a fixed release date.
DJ Fresh’s single “Gold Dust” was re-released, with the Shy FX Re-Edit as a single, on 2 December 2012. The extended play includes multiple new remixes.
In 2013, he released a single called “Soon Come” featuring Liam Bailey, famous for his collaboration with Chase & Status on their track “Blind Faith“. The song reached number 55 in the UK Singles Chart.[4] He also released the single “Cloud 9” in 2013, a collaboration with Ms. Dynamite.
Digital Soundboy label
Williams and T Power (Marc Royal) started the Digital Soundboy label in 2005,[5] initially releasing their own material but quickly expanding to include the artists Visionary, Benny Page and Breakage. The label subsequently grew its genre coverage to the point where its discography includes electro, drum & bass, jungle, dubstep, house and UK funky releases from dozens of artists. All releases are observable as being in Digital Soundboy’s “house style”, as is the case with most drum & bass/dubstep labels.
Noted dubstep producers Skream, Benga and Caspa have all released tracks on DSB, as have drum & bass/dubstep crossover artists Breakage, Calibre, DJ Fresh and Redlight (a.k.a. DJ Clipz).[6]
B.Traits was born in Nelson, British Columbia.[1] In 2004, at the age of 18, she moved to Vancouver, where she started to make a name for herself at clubs such as Automatic, the longest running drum & bass club night in Canada, and soon began picking up regular bookings throughout North America and Europe. In 2006, she met drum & bass pioneer and founder of Digital Soundboy, Shy FX while on the World of Drum n’ Bass tour, and in September 2007, was recruited by Shy to become the first Digital Sound Girl.[2] On 23 March 2012, she released her debut single “Fever“, which features vocals from Elisabeth Troy. She went on to host her own monthly “In New DJs We Trust” show on BBC Radio 1.[3] Her first live show of the programme was on 3 May 2012. From 10 September 2012 she started hosting another BBC Radio 1 show which aired on Mondays, 2am till 4am, also simulcast on BBC Radio 1Xtra. From May 2013 until September 2013, she covered for Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1 on Friday and Sunday evenings, while Mac was on maternity leave.[4] Subsequently, she moved to her current slot on Tuesday mornings from 2am until 4am. As of September 2014 she will move to the Friday night line up on BBC Radio 1, 1am until 4am starting September 1st 2014.
Acme Whistles are the oldest and most famous whistle manufacturers in the world.
They have been designing, innovating and producing their wares since 1870. Originally started in the back yard workshop of founder Mr. Joseph Hudson’s end-terrace home, today they are nestled in the heart of Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter. In the days when a whistle was the most effective way of communicating from a long distance Acme quickly developed a reputation of creating the best products on the market, In some cases completely creating the market. The Policeman’s rattle was replaced when Hudson invented his ACME Metropolitan, the first Bobbie’s whistle in the world.
The archives house more than 40 patented designs developed over the company’s illustrious history. With specific designs for the Police, train guards, scouts, shepherds, bird callers, hunters, people hailing a taxi and for us, most notably referees.
1884 saw Hudson’s Acme company launch the first whistle aimed at sporting referees, the ACME Thunderer. Before it’s release, referees would shout their instructions to the players across the pitch. With the power and precision of the new whistle, it quickly established itself as the referee’s weapon of choice. Since inception the Thunderer has been used everywhere from Sunday league to the World Cup.
In 1966 a Swiss referee, by the name of Gottfried Dienst, used the ACME Thunderer N58 model following the famous words ‘they think it’s all over’ to signal the end of the World Cup Final between England and West Germany. This sporting heritage and that specific whistle were the basis of this season’s collaboration project between Peaceful Hooligan and The ACME Whistle Company.
The limited edition collaborative series of 4 illustrated t-shirts are inspired by Acme’s extensive archives and sporting heritage, referencing vintage advertising, catalogue artwork and 1960s branding. Together with the t-shirt, which is hand screen printed in England, the pack includes a bespoke dual branded replica of the 1966 ACME Thunderer N58 whistle and a presentation drawstring bag.
This collaboration series will be available exclusively online from peacefulhooligan.co.uk on Wednesday 11th June. Sign up to the mailing list at the bottom of the page and ‘Run With Us’ below to make sure you don’t miss out.
October screen print for action fashion brand Stupid Clothing. Stupid was founded in the mountains, to voice the same unifying attitude that runs through like-minded idiots around the planet, across snow, surf, street and beyond, supplying them with a quality casual fashion product that promotes their beliefs and way of life. October, equally famous for anything completely Stupid, have helped the cause with screen printed T-shirts, hoods and sweatshirts.
T-shirts designed and developed by the people who truly represent the action sports lifestyle
With over 10 years of sharing their time between streets, slopes and shores, the designer t-Shirts Clothing collection includes original casual fashion screen printed products, hoodies, sweatshirts, tee’s, tall tee’s, decks and other items that truly promote the attitude of the wearer, whether on the streets or out in the elements.
Stupid Clothing, in line with one of October’s key brand values, actively promotes the standpoint of never taking life too seriously, wearing your heart on your sleeve with a boldness, confident lack of fear, to go headlong 100% into everything.
Partying hard, screen print hard, t-shirt wearing hard and riding even harder; Welcome to All Things Stupid.
We have always loved David Hockney paintings, but David Hockney T shirts?
It’s not just David Hockney’s painting techniques, his swimming pools; portraits of friends; his open exploration of gay love etc, but now a t shirt, based on perhaps less widely seen (unless you happened to attend) stage designs for the Royal Court Theatre, La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera and Glyndebourne. It is for the latter that October came in, to all over print limited edition David Hockney T-shirt, to commemorate his set designs at Glyndebourne, specifically for The Rake’s Progress….’a fable’.
The story centres around decline and fall of Tom Rakewell (Rakes Progress Fable),
who deserts his woman, Anne Trulove, and heads off for some fun in London with a bloke called Nick Shadow, who turns out to be the Devil. After several sticky moments, all concocted by the devious Mr Shadow, Tom ends up in Bedlam, a hospital for the ‘insane’ in the City of London, not good.
So the moral of the story is: “For idle hearts and hands and minds, the Devil finds a work to do.” Which is why we keep screen printing.
(this T-shirt print was very limited edition and just to commemorate the Rakes Progress…see if you can find one!)
October screen print t shirts for Laid Bare clothing
“Founded by two fresh, young designers, Laid Bare Clothing is an independent British unisex clothing brand, based in leafy Surrey. All of our screen print designs have a British influence and are carefully honed by us and brought to life exclusively for us, signed off with our stitched trademark brand label.
The Laid Bare Clothing brand is inspired to deliver…
the best of British, whilst always being honest, open and true to our customers, who are always at the heart of our business… hence ‘laid bare’ ”
2014 is an exciting year for Laid Bare Clothing…
seeing the launch of our first collection. The Laid Bare Clothing brand is inspired to deliver the best of British, whilst always being honest, open and true to our customers, who are always at the heart of our business… hence ‘laid bare’.
We are proud to work with a carefully selected group of British suppliers and manufacturers who share our brand vision for high quality, bespoke, Britishdesigner clothing and collectively we shall always strive to produce articles for you to wear and use with pride. We really are worth every penny…
Over the coming months we will be working closely with the Laid Bare Clothing family to grow our unisex clothing brand and there are many things in store, so keep in touch to see what’s new.
There are many ways to get an image onto a garment — screen printing of course, but also digital printing, litho transfers, and screen printed transfers…they are all available from October.
Digital is fine, but with size restrictions (14 x 16”), and available from most online providers…it is what it is, just another digital print with no options to add a variety of textures, mixes of inks, brighter colours, and the personal touch that you will need to make your brand stand apart from the others.
Litho and screen printed transfers…offering a nice high detail, but not our favourite as they provide a slightly papery finish, and again, how can we make you different by perhaps having the texture of a solvent based ink, next to a lovely soft water based print, with a sneaky touch of 3D high build…maybe even a gloss, a metallic, or foil?
Screen printing is really what we’re about – there are a lot of decisions for us to make around artwork films, screen meshes and tensions, we’ll talk you through that, but your main choice is what ink to use…
The UK Cycling industry has experienced unprecedented growth in recent years; one of the most active ‘demographics’ driving this growth has been the MAMIL (Middle Aged Man inLycra)…you will have seen them on the urban commute, the weekend country lanes… and in the cycle shops!
T-shirts Printed for the discerning cyclist
Chic Mamil is the only consumer brand dedicated to this mature, discerning and engaged cohort of enthusiasts. We address our audience through our website, newsletter, blog, guest writing, social media channels…and a range of casual apparel; get an insight at www.chicmamil.com
Chic Mamil printed t-shirts…cycling with Style and Wisdom.
Mission to delight Cycling enthusiasts
To act as a ‘virtual common room’ for the growing legion of Middle Aged Men in Lycra; sharing our common interest in the delights of road cycling enjoyed at a leisurely pace. Every MAMIL knows that much of the pleasure is derived from simply being out in the countryside, enjoying the views, the company and the feint sense of accomplishment. Company Overview www.chicmamil.com a website and accompanying social media dedicated to the Middle Aged Man In Lycra. Offering news, views, opinions, humour…and a small range of very stylish, casual apparel. Personalised Printed T-Shirts by October Textiles Limited
It might be a new year, but that doesn’t mean Paul Stephenson is going all ‘futuristic’ on us as he wades into the digital debate.
I’ve got an XL Tom Tom, a five mega pixel camera and an iPod. I put a sleek black Samsung next to them on the desk and engage Bluetooth — that should impress them. The door opens and three young men who I suspect live with their mothers, read horror novels and have a shampoo allergy shuffle silently in; they are here to talk to me about spiders, of the Google variety. As they begin mumbling into their bum fluff about string queries while staring at their Clarks, I find that all I can hear is the server’s incessant dirge, punctuated by the occasional ping pong of an email as it falls onto my virtual doormat… and in my coat pocket I feel the presence, of a Blackberry.
It’s all progress of course, but when I’ve gone a bit heavy on the cré¨me de menthe I’m occasionally visited by my old friend Ben Kenobi who reminds me, ‘You’re more machine than man now’, and when I wake at 4am to see the kettle spinning around on the record deck I think, it’s inevitable isn’t it, you can’t hide from the future? Face Space, My Book and Grebo… complete strangers email me and ask if they can be my friend. I’m English and polite and so naturally I say ‘Yes of course old chap, I mean dude, lovely to hear from you’. They then reply asking who the hell I am and telling me to clear off their friends section. I want to write back and tell them I’d rather drop my undercarriage into a jar of African killer bees than be part of their social network but I can’t, because I’m English, and polite, and so I apologise.
I’m told it’s inevitable that I must blog every move of my fascinating life — I noticed some clown on a T-shirt site recently describing a particularly interesting cloud formation he’d just seen. In the same way is it inevitable I wonder, that we must turn to digital print?
The advantages are obvious I guess. No messy inks mean no plastisol on the mother in law’s new Axminster — no bad thing when your mother in law’s got a pierced nipple and has lost all her front teeth to pork scratchings (no offence Doreen). And as for digital print quality, you can pick out the hairs on a gnat’s todger in glorious Technicolor without a single screen, so no carry on with the old four colour process inks, no setup costs, BINGO! And onto black garments I’m told.
It’s also easy to operate — apparently even embroiderers can work the kit. This is a huge advantage in the modern labour market. As we all know the ability to read, write, spell and do basic maths are now optional extras for most school leavers… and yet strangely they all emerge with 50 GCSE’s and a bucket of A levels; presumably some of these are in knuckle scraping and gurning. Off the subject slightly — Me? Never! But if you’re ever feeling a touch under par just advertise for a fictional job vacancy — I had a candidate recently inform me that he was suitable for screen printing because in a previous job at the abattoir, he’d been in charge of burning off pig hair. Fairly sure if I‘d been doing that for seven years I’d keep it quiet.
So you don’t need to train a young Paduan screen printer for five years before they’re ready to take the trials… which not all will survive — you just put young Trevor in front of the digital printer and tell him to shout you if it catches fire. And the digi-bonuses continue — the equipment doesn’t take up much space; it doesn’t fill the room with smoke; I guess it’s eco friendly (?); you’re not standing up spinning a carousel all day until your feet look like a pair of Quavers; and the blow dried salesman in comedy socks informs me that production times are just getting faster and faster. It’s a ‘no brainer’ they say — put that squeegee down and call your first child Epson!
But you know what Mr Stephenson, head of the Luddite Print Company is going to say don’t you? And it’s predictable isn’t it, because I still listen to Muddy Waters, Sonny Terry and blokes whose first names are Blind or Howlin’ (what were their mothers thinking?) I’m going to take the stairs and not the elevator, use the map and not the sat nav, I might even write someone a letter one day soon, in ink, and I’m not going digital just yet. There’s a reason, maybe not a great reason, but here’s the thing.
Don’t digital prints pretty much all look the same? Now I know we go to some stupid lengths at our place to try and do different stuff. This culminated recently in a bunch of screen printers standing in a field shooting sweatshirts with 12 bore shotguns — well how else to you get an irregular distress in a thick fleece? For any loons interested enough to know we reckon the optimum distance is 12 feet — any closer looks like a post office raid gone wrong. Do not attempt without a licence and permission of the land owner though; although consenting, the farmer in our case viewed us with the kind of suspicion I imagine he usually reserves for gay communists.
This excursion was not helped a few days later by the lads at work catching me distressing individual water based prints with sand paper — but this plot loss aside, go digital and I’ve got no expanding bases, no discharge, no suede effect, no high builds, no sprinkled glitters, and what about pressure distressed water based? You know, where you just feel that wood in the palm of your hand, press a bit harder and then ooooh just ease off there a touch tiger and lift the screen and yes, oh yes indeed ladies and gentlemen, that print looks a hundred years old — in short when it comes to digital, it’s printing Jim, but not as we know it.
Cheers,
Paul
The Hemp Trading Company came runner up in the 2006 Observer Ethical Awards for ‘Best Fashion Product’, and was also shortlisted for ‘Environmental company of the year’ at the ‘Re:Fashion Awards
The Hemp Trading Company’s CEO Gavin Lawson was also listed in the ‘Future 100’ social entrepreneurs of 2008.
The Hemp Trading Company is a member of Ethical Junction http://www.ethical-junction.org
The Hemp Trading Company also use Bamboo:
Some of the THTC range is made from 70% bamboo, mixed with 30% organic cotton. The company we source our bamboo fibre from has Oeko Tex 100 certification, which is an internationally recognised standard in sustainability. Bamboo is one of the few plants that grows faster than hemp, and as it comes from an interconnected subterranean root system, the plant is not killed, just the shoots harvested. The supplier is internationally recognised for its sustainable processes regarding not only harvesting but also production of the organic bamboo. The fibre is a bamboo viscose (as is 99% of the bamboo fibre found in the textile industry) meaning that it is an extruded fibre made in the same way as other viscose fibres, so there is a chemical and energy footprint, however the raw material is bamboo cellulose which is very sustainable
The last range of men’s bamboo t-shirts have been sourced from Continental Clothing, a London-based supplier. Continental have full certifications of all their fabrics on their website, which can be found on their website:
All factories that THTC uses comply with ISO 9000 standards — (international organisation of standardisation) The hemp is trucked to the mill for de-gumming and processing into fibre. No caustic soda is used during this process, keeping it as environmentally sound as possible.
The clothing is manufactured by people who receive full safety training, and belong to a labour union. The minimum age of employees is 19, the maximum age being 54. They work 8 hour shifts and have weekends off – (That’s more than us at THTC central!)
All our Hemp is grown on small family farms in North Eastern China. It is and always has been grown organically.
All our certified organic cotton is also grown in China. This is a fledgling industry that THTC supports and saves the energy and expense of shipping in from Europe or India.
The Hemp Trading Company now uses water based inks (comply with GOTS) with a discharge screen printing process for almost all new designs.
Eco Paper is used for poster printing, and will soon be used in all THTC flyers, swing tickets and catalogues.
Currently, THTC is working endlessly in order to join forces with the Fair Trade Foundation. Although already doing so, attaining the Fair Trade Mark will signify the THTC products as an independent guarantee that disadvantaged producers in the developing world are getting a better deal.
For a products from the The Hemp Trading Company to display the FAIRTRADE Mark it must meet international Fairtrade standards.
Guy Bourdin is arguably the best fashion photographer of his generation. He has set the standard for today’s fashion image styling and his flair for creating drama in stills is a testament to the power of the image capture.
His settings use the mastery of colour like a Matisse with the energy of a Punk Rocker. He forces the viewer to engage intimately with the subjects and teases the eye. Considering many of the photos are of fashion it is sometimes surprising how little of the garments are actually seen yet fashion is still the dominate subject.
Many of the photographic images that we see young fashions designers adopting owe a big-up to Guy Bourdin. For those of you who do not know who I talking about here is a bio and an image slideshow. Enjoy.
Guy Bourdin (born December 2, 1928 in Paris, died March 29, 1991 of cancer in Paris) was one of the best known photographers of fashion and advertising of the second half of the 20th century.
He worked for Vogue magazine from 1955 onwards for roughly 30 years.
His work for Vogue, together with another Seventies famous fashion photographer, Helmut Newton defied the standards, ideas and theories about fashion photography in general.
Both used strong themes, including themes such as sex, death, violence, glamour and fear, to provoke a new way of looking at man in general.
During their working years for Vogue they were given unlimited artistic freedom.
Guy Bourdin did advertising work for the Charles Jourdan shoe company. His quirky crime scene ads were greatly recognized and always muchly awaited by the media.
In the last years, Guy Bourdin has been hailed as one of the greatest fashion photographers of all time and his son, Samuel Bourdin, released a book with the finest prints of his father’s work, called “Exhibit A”.
He has been an influence on many artists, and continues to be so until this very day.
Madonna’s 2003 music video for Hollywood was greatly influenced by the photography of Bourdin, so much so that a lawsuit was brought on against her by Bourdin’s son for copyright infringement.
A fantastical biographical documentary program was shown for the BBC in 1991 (Dreamgirls: The photographs of Guy Bourdin). So few fashion icons like Helmut Newton and Jean-Baptiste Mondino played a crucial role talking about the way that Bourdin managed his own way to do fashion photography. In this program the spectator also can grasp the complex universe around the pictures of Bourdin.
In spite of an allergy to truffle oil, coffee shop anxiety over what will happen if we order a ‘skinny ginger’, and a tendency to slap anyone uncertain on the correct use of ‘please’, ‘thank you’ and ‘excuse me’, October Textiles have opened a London Office, on Lots Road in Chelsea.
