The Imaginary Foundation is a think-tank from Switzerland that has been pushing the boundaries of t-shirt design since 2002. Their uplifting designs - mostly brought to fruition by San Fran-based graphic artist Nick Phillip - rock our collective jocks!

An interview with the secretive Director of Imaginary Foundation by t-shirt journal T-World reveals why the label focuses on hope and beauty rather than irony and negativity:

"The Imaginary Foundation is future-focused, and always has been, so we're exploring what comes after we push through the darkness, we're already reveling in the beauty on the other side of the looking glass. And believe me, it's wonderful. Living creatively and joyfully, requires dismissing gloom, defeatism, and negativism. We acknowledge problems, but we do not allow them to dominate our thinking and our direction. So we prefer to be for rather than against, to create solutions rather than to protest against what exists. There are things worth believing in, there are things worth being passionate about and so our action must not be a reaction but a creation. For ideas catch the dewdrops and reflect the cosmos, so let those ideas be noble, let them be poetic and let them be beautiful."

The FABNOB Family is proud to support this amazing brand in Australia. IF's timeless t-shirts absolutely kill it!

And now we stock a range of limited edition Art Prints of some classic Imaginary Foundation designs...

These phenomenal Art Prints are printed on museum grade matte rag paper and are limited to 500 pieces worldwide. Each print comes with a Certificate of Authenticity and a numerical holographic security system.

They are perfect for framing and will become a collector's item once sold out. 

Let us know your faves!

Dance Party Massacre is a concept-driven graphic apparel line combining elements of horror with a fun edge. Designer Alex Dakoulas started the label in 2007 - well before vampires were TV cool.

Chatting to Alex about DPM and its continual growth proves that a concept is only ever as good as the people driving it.

Can you tell us a bit about Dance Party Massacre?

It's a graphic apparel line I started based a lot around fear and fun. A big idea that drives it is living while you can. It's meant to be fun and rebellious and possibly even a bit out there at times too.

Dance Party Massacre is an awesome name - how did it come to you?

Why thank you! Well I watch a lot of horror movies, and the Massacre names always stuck in my head. Slumber Party Massacre, Sorority House Massacre... they just seemed so ridiculous! I figured Dance Party Massacre was a fitting name for a line about taking horror elements and making them playful.

What came first - the goal of starting your own label or the DPM concept?

Oh, that's a good one. I'm not sure. I guess I wanted to start my own label before the idea of DPM was really cemented down. But I was always incorporating inspiration from horror movies into my design work too. Once I decided to start Dance Party Massacre it just seemed like a no brainer.

What are the main misconceptions people have about you? And DPM?

I think a big issue I try to overcome is the morbid nature of the line. I think people are often hesitant to wear the line, because it can appear to be so bloody or violent. I understand that, but it's meant to make a statement. On the surface the imagery may be too much sometimes, but I actually think it's just crazy and fun. DPM is also not just about horror. It's about nightlife, partying, pop culture, and music too.

Was your family supportive of you starting DPM or did they think you had lost your marbles?

I don't think they really thought about it, ha. My family is basically the most supportive family I could ever have. I don't think it came as much of a surprise considering I used to run horror websites, and I own like 100 horror DVDs. I was making t-shirts and selling them years before DPM too, so starting up a business based on that wasn't a new thing.

A funny thing too is I didn't even think the idea for DPM was out there until I started showing people the product and selling it. I guess I just view the horror genre a lot different than many people, but I hope that also brings something unique to the clothing.

What have been the biggest challenges to date?

I think the biggest challenge has just been carving our path and cementing our name. I have lots of ideas for DPM, and I can see it growing for a long time, but it needs to find an audience to sustain it. There's a lot of companies out there, indie or professional, vying for people's money and attention. The competition can be rough!

And the greatest achievements?

I'm always thinking of what else I haven't done with DPM, or whatever is up next, but when I think back on what I've been able to achieve it really is pretty cool. Being featured in publications, being interviewed, sold in stores, speaking at schools... the line has allowed me to experience and achieve a lot things that I wouldn't otherwise.

I'd say I'm still waiting for something HUGE to happen, but as of now the collectiveness of it all adds up to something I am really proud of.

You currently work as a Footwear Designer for Converse. Do you pull anything from this job - apart from money - that enhances DPM?

I think that I do. I don't often separate my life from my work. If anything my life inspires my work. Converse is a great job, because I feel like I connect with the company and the brand. I think that I put part of myself into what I do there, and it also feeds me. I feel the same way about Dance Party Massacre, and I also think Converse and DPM have similar parallels.

Has living in Boston influenced the direction of the label? What makes it such a cool city to live in?

It totally has. If horror movies were one big inspiration, Boston partying and nightlife was that other. The city is great, because it's big, but it's small. You feel like you're a part of it, and that gave me strength.

It's such a young town too, but it doesn't really feel pretentious to me. Much of my experiences with the city come from going to school there, so it basically is a place in my mind where I found much of myself. That sounds really serious, but it's a place of good memories.

Is it weird to know your t-shirts are sold in Australia?

It's not weird, it's cool! I like it. DPM is starting to get carried in more places around the world, and it's cool to think people as far as away as Australia are getting behind it.

Have you met any Australians? What do you know about our fine country?

I don't meet many Australians in The States, but when I was travelling in the UK I met quite a few. I thought it was weird until I found out how easy it was for Australians to work and visit England because of the history between them. Explains why I can't tell the accents apart that much either!

I'd love to visit. I hear there's some good street fashion happening, and I would try to stop by in New Zealand too! I wanna see some mountains and beaches.

Talk us through the best-selling Vampire Grill design. It's a classic!

I can't remember anymore exactly where the idea came from. I think I just thought grills are so over-the-top and funny, that if vampires wore them who are already bad-ass then it opens up a whole other level of ridiculousness. Then I found out people actually make and sell vampire grills! I knew I wasn't alone, so the design idea became something to print up.

How important is it for a clothing label to have a unique voice?

I think it's important just for a label to HAVE a voice, and a unique one is even better. I'm definitely a fan of authenticity, and if you have no story, backbone, or reason behind what you're selling why should I care as a consumer? I like to relate to what the company is about, not just what it is you're selling.

Have you been surprised by what sells and what doesn't? How do you balance what moves with what you want the brand to represent?

Seeing what sells is an interesting part of creating the business. I'm never utterly shocked by how well or not well something does, because I'm usually prepared for both outcomes. However, there are designs and pieces that I wish had caught on more.

What other labels do you respect and why?

Being in Boston I basically was able to watch Johnny Cupcakes grow, so that was a unique experience. I still catch up with the line, because of my connection that way, but he also is really good at branding everything. I think 410BC has created a really nice style in the past year, and the times I've spoken with them they seem like really good people. I also like to watch Seibei and check in on Fright Rags.

I guess there's a lot of entrepreneurial clothing lines, and I end up being a lot more interested in those than larger companies.

What does the short and long term future hold for DPM?

Short term is diversify the product, advertise more, get into more stores and publications, and reach out to more people.

Long term would be setting up a sweet office - possibly with a storefront, getting at least one permanent employee, and in my dreams having this make enough money to be my only job!

Any brand or artist collabs in the pipeline?

This is definitely something I am working on and have been talking about for a while with some friends and artists/designers. This year should see the release of limited series of tees with the artist in the spotlight. I am excited to do collaborations, because I think it'll be fun to see the style and ideas of an artist melding with what DPM is about. That interpretation should be unique, and I also like the idea of promoting and publicizing people I believe in.

Thanks Alex. Goodluck for the year ahead!

2009, thanks for brining your A-Game!

The annual tradition continues as the FABNOB Family presents our Top 10 Juicy Moments of 2009! Enjoy!

1. Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin jumped security screens and ran into the crowd at Sound Relief in Sydney. Amazing...
 

2. Home and Away stars Jodi Gordon, Todd Lasance, and Lincoln Lewis found themselves in deep media shit for incidents involving sex, drugs, and videotape. Stone the flaming crows!

3. Fat Boy Slim is Fucking in Heaven Rehab! Yes, the British DJ and producer checked himself into rehab after his second-rate performances at the Good Vibrations Festival.

4. Gordon Ramsay made some sexist jokes about A Current Affair host Tracy Grimshaw at the Good Food and Wine show in Melbourne. Grimshaw bit back with a prime-time spray at Ramsay; "I'm not going to sit meekly and let some arrogant narcissist bully me."

5. Karl Stefanovic hosted The Today Show intoxicated after the Logies. His incessant laughing and slurring became YouTube gold and lead for calls for him to get on the wagon more often!
 

6. This isn't it. Michael Jackson's comeback tour became "the greatest concerts that never happened" when the King of Chimps and Underage Boys Pop bit the prescription drugs bullet.

7. Richard Heene and Mayumi Iisuka falsely claimed their six-year-old boy had floated away in a homemade helium balloon. The ratings-hungry broadcast media lapped up the drama and almost seemed disappointed when the balloon was found empty.

8. Kevin Rudd told The Chaser comedy group that they should "hang their heads in shame" after their unpopular Make a Realistic Wish Foundation sketch. Yet another reason to dislike our 'comment on everything' Prime Minister.
 

9. Will the real slim Andre please stand up? Andre Agassi released a soul-searching autobiography where he admitted tanking games and lying to tennis officials about his use of crystal meth.

10. Tiger Woods did a bad, bad thing. Several times. With multiple women. Including porn stars! WTF?!? Tiger's dirty double life / car came crashing down when his golf-club yielding wife chased him from his Florida mansion. 

Let us know the moments we missed!

Sir James Dyson, you just might be our favourite billionaire!

SOMEBODY refers to the English inventor of the Dual Cyclone bag-less vacuum cleaner.

His philosophies on inventing are really quite profound...

"You start with a problem that you're having to solve. And you start building prototypes. Hundreds of them. Perhaps even thousands of them. And very often the original idea or the original problem doesn't look anything like the final solution. So the important thing is this journey...from prototype to prototype. And during that process you get hundreds or thousands of failures. And the failure is the starting point...because when something fails you understand why it fails...and then you start to think of ideas and ways to overcome that failure."

Indeed, it took Dyson 5,127 failed prototypes over 5 years to perfect his top-selling masterpiece.

And thank God he took his sweet-arse time!

The FABNOB Family recently acquired a Dyson vacuum cleaner. It's efficiency picking up dust and feline fur defies belief.

Even emptying the cleaner is a joyous experience ("I can't believe ALL THAT came from there!"). Yes, Dyson has changed our collective hatred of vacuuming forever.

Moving beyond the vacuum Dyson recently released a hand-dryer called the Dyson Airblade.

You may have seen these revolutionary things starting to pop up in universities, airports, and sporting stadiums.

The Dyson Airblade uses sheets of purified air travelling at 640km/h to literally scrape water from your hands like a windscreen wiper. They're efficient too, using up to 80 per cent less energy than a warm air hand dryer.

But wait, there's more...

Dyson has now released the world's first bladeless fan.

The Dyson Air Multiplier has no visible moving parts and has a smoothness of airflow never seen from a fan before. It's awesome!

And what about comments that Dyson's products are aesthetically displeasing? Dyson has a phenomenal retort...

"A product is only truly beautiful if it works well. It's the performance of the product that counts."

Keep it up Sir James Dyson. You rock! 

And the Empire (of Good Taste) Strikes Back...

Australian dance music festival Stereosonic got their PR groove on this week when they announced plans to enforce a strict 'Tops On' policy at their upcoming events.

“Anyone inside the event not wearing a top will have their wristband removed and will be ejected from the event,” the Stereosonic website reveals.

It's a move designed to stem the oiled up tide of topless male beefcakes roaming around music festivals thinking that their shit / sweaty bodies don't stink!

Dissidents of the Tops on policy claim it goes against the core values of an outdoor party. There have even been suggestions Stereosonic should have introduced a 'Beefcake Bunker' rather than banning the Shirts-Off Brigade altogether!

The FABNOB Family applauds the stand taken against these narcissistic visual polluters.

Nobody wants to be enjoying some afternoon summer tunes in an overcrowded mosh-pit and be pressed up against topless roid-boys, giant gym-junkies, disillusioned scrawnies, and mardi gras wannabes. It's a jungle out there!

No word on whether the policy will expand to include anyone wearing Ed Hardy in 2010!

Sometimes the Americans do things better....

SOMEBODY refers to Beauty and the Geek Australia - which fails to deliver relative to its US predecessor.

The main problem lies in the casting.

Apart from Xenogene the geeks aren't that geeky... and apart from Emma and Jenna the beauties aren't that beautiful! How did man-features Kimberley make it on? WTF!?!

And even worse - there seems to be a fake geek.

There was something fishy about Corin from the very first episode. His glasses seemed oversized, his sighs seemed dramatic, and his comments felt way too witty for a bona fide geek. Comments to the media from host Bernard Currie that "Corin may have been pulling the wool over our eyes" along with revelations that he has a five-year-old daughter have confirmed SOMEBODY's suspicions. Imposter!

Corin's presence - including his budding relationship with Emma - annoys the crap out of the FABNOB Family.

But there are further concerns....

Bernard Curry is overly slick and smarmy. His ultra-preppy outfits suggest he has spent way too long in the wardrobe department. He also says the word "ladies" with a glint in his eye that says "bring on the wrap party, girls!" His self-assured vibe has struck a chord with some of the female contestants who affectionately refer to him as "Bernie."

And then there are the challenges - which for the most part are directly lifted from the US series. Such lazy (cost-saving) production!

Beauty and the Geek Australia has provided some redeeming moments, such as the 'Fashions on the Field' challenge where Paul made Elise a hilarious hat featuring an action figure and a miniature disco ball!

Xenogene's 'Makeover Transformation' (far right) was also TV gold...

Clearly Jeremy (far left) isn't going to become a poster boy for the spray tan industry!

The bond between Jenna and Toby also rocks. They're A1 awesome.

So will there be a second season?

Let's hope so. Although Beauty and the Geek Australia is a step below its US counterpart it shits all over most of Channel 7's other shows.

Purveyors of quality artists rejoice - we now stock limited edition gear from Jeremyville!

Jeremyville is an Australian "artist, product designer, animator and human." His unique, honest and playful characters have adorned toys, books, posters, magazines, walls, snowboards, skateboards, sneakers, bags, hats, kettles, and more! He's also done some awesome collabs with Geoff McFetridge, Converse, MTV, and Kidrobot.

Check out some of his amazing work...

The FABNOB Family is stoked to be stocking Jeremyville - including a range of limited edition Sketchel bags. These laptop friendly shoulder satchel bags are made of premium black vinyl and feature original Jeremyville art behind a thick PVC cover. They rock!

Stay Furry!

DJs aren't rock-stars. But they sure as shit want to be!

SOMEBODY refers to the recent spate of DJs performing on live TV.

Exhibit 1: French DJ / Producer / Tosser David Guetta playing his crossover hit When Love Takes Over on the US version of So You Think You Can Dance.

And by 'playing' we mean pressing play...
 

 
Guetta tries to convince us that his superstar efforts behind the DJ decks are somehow enhancing his pre-recorded audio output.

The 'button-synching' charade unravels when the pointy-nosed Parisian struts away from decks and tries to steal the limelight from singer Kelly Rowland.

WTF?!?

Sorry David. The love is gone...