Tilteed

Tell us a little bit more about Jaden Kale and your day to day t-shirt life.

Well, I’m an East Coast girl, landlocked in the Midwest. I was actually born in Virgina, and lived for a few years in Hawaii before I spent the bulk of my childhood in Rhode Island. When my father retired from the Navy, we made the final move out here to where he grew up: Wisconsin, just before I started high school and I’ve been out here ever since. I would have to say I’m a fairly easy-going person. I’m always up for something new and exciting, and among other things, I’m an experimental foodie through and through. I am one of those people who will try new techniques or flavors while cooking, but rest assured, I’m not even close to being a candidate for “Worst Cooks in America”.

I frequently like to curl up in a blanket and feel all tucked in for the evening while I draw. I absolutely must have music on when working and it’s not uncommon to find me sketching in one of my books or, in a pinch, grabbing scrap paper and doodling to my heart’s content outside of the house. My sketchbooks usually travel with me. And if I’m in a particularly good mood, you’ll likely hear me singing along with my tunes. No worries… I can actually sing on key. On any given week day, I watch Woot, DBH, TeeFury and Threadless like a hawk to see what kind of new trends and styles are printing everywhere. I keep an eye on smaller sites like Goodjoe, and here at Tilteed, as well as others, because I want to see how new companies progress and fight it out against the big boys. And when I’m not doing that, I will check out artwork from any number of designers out there to see how they’ve progressed as well.

As an artist, how did you get into t-shirt design specifically?

A couple years ago, at the beginning of shirt.woot.com’s infancy, a friend introduced me to the craziness of competitive t-shirt derbies. I started them for fun that fall and by the beginning of March in 2008, I had my first print. I must say, it was a nice birthday present to have bestowed upon me. I’ve been hooked ever since.

As a Winconsinite, what’s your favorite cheese?

God, there are so many choices! I will first point out that, if you really want to try something cheesy from Wisconsin, indulge in beer-battered cheese curds. It sounds bad, but trust me, they are heavenly little melted balls of fried cheese. Since I have to choose one favorite cheese though, I’ll have to say garlic havarti cheese. It satiates my love of garlic while still getting that creamy, dairy product I’ve come to know and love.

Of the big kids, who do you own the most tees from: Threadless, DBH, or Woot?

Since I was introduced to Woot first, I believe they are the store I own the most tees from. And I’m not afraid to say, I own approximately 90 some tees (not including all the randoms I’m selling or trading off at http://www.TeeTrade.org) just from Woot alone. All in all, I probably own over 300 tees combining all from Woot, DBH & TeeFury, Threadless and all the smaller sites I frequent.

What kind of artwork are you looking for and what do you hope to accomplish as a curator?

I’m hoping to find a wide range of artwork. I enjoy the bizarre and the structured. The charming and the creepy. And artistic, artistic, artistic!! I like high amount of detail in what I decide on, and I’ll even consider a few pop culture pieces… provided, of course, that they are done well and are outside your traditional cheap joke tee. I can only hope I do Tilteed justice while I curate here.