CafePress in the News

"At the ad break, the top 3 were whisked backstage… Cory began handing out specially designed Danny Gokey t-shirts, his delivery procedure consisting of his asking who in the audience were Danny Gokey fans and then throwing said t-shirts at whichever section of the audience was the most deafening and/or contained Danny's most ardently adorable moppet supporters."

"…at the ad break, Cory worked through the leftover Danny, Kris and Adam shirts (all made, apparently, by fans via CafePress.com), and as the gaping hole where my eardrums should be demonstrates, the audience's desire for the Glambert swag quite handily won the day.

"Check out these cute and funny St. Patrick's Day t-shirts, and you can purchase them here from the company Cafe Press. On the site there's even merchandise for babies, dog t-shirts and supplies for the parade goers!"

"The PR team used guerrilla marketing to target CafePress influencers through giveaways, events, partnerships, and overall presence in Washington on January 20."

"CafePress partnered with Rolling Stone and Rock the Vote for two events, which had celebrity attendees like Adrian Grenier and Sheryl Crow."

"On CafePress.com., where user-generated content reigns supreme, political merchandise routinely makes up 20 percent of overall sales during election years.

This year, Barack Obama merchandise comprised 52 percent of all political sales."

"'It's become hip to wear Obama on your shirt, which is something we haven't seen in America.... It's almost as though he's reached an iconic or celebrity status,' Cowlin said."

"A love story with a powerful bite has lightened the retail gloom in the US this Valentine's day as products linked to the hit vampire movie Twilight fly off the shelves..."

"CafePress, an online retailer that lets users create and sell goods with their own graphic designs, has been selling 958 designs of Valentine's day cards linked to the film and its star-crossed lovers, with messages such as 'Bite me . . . You know you want to'."

"CafePress, an online customized-gifts retailer, offers anti-Cupid sentiments and lovey-dovey messages on clothing, mugs, stickers and other gifts."

"The groundhog who took a bite out of Mayor Bloomberg's finger has been elevated to cult status.

An image of the Staten Island Zoo resident, decked out in a Che Guevara-style beret, has been emblazoned on T-shirts, mugs and bags for sale online.

The design of the raucous rodent, who chomped on Bloomberg's left hand during a Groundhog Day ceremony Monday, was the brainchild of Brooklyn resident Devery Doleman."

"Doleman enlisted the help of her pal David Ahuja, an animator and designer, and initially thought it would just be a cool T-shirt idea for herself."

"Then she decided to post the image on the Web site cafepress.com - so all the world could share the fun."

"Many of you recommended CafePress.com as a place for campaign gear. Now the site has a load of inauguration items. You can pick one of their many designs, including 'Obama Mama,' 'Barack Is How I Roll' and 'Yes We Can' and have it added to everything from T-shirts to a throw pillows. The site also has a very artsy commemorative Rolling Stone inauguration T-shirt for $15."

"The San Mateo online retailer CafePress, which allows users to sell their own T-shirt designs and other merchandise, offers 3.3 million pieces of Obamabilia - with more than 6,000 items alone dedicated to terrier (the dog breed) support for the president-elect. The New York Times estimated that $200 million in Obama stuff had been sold by late November. Every day, it seems there are more television commercials, stores and street vendors hawking things Obama - hats, T-shirts, buttons, spoons - in every American city."

"More than 180 designs playing off the Blagojevich scandal are being offered on the CafePress Web site -- with slogans ranging from 'Don't blame me, I voted for Topinka' to 'Fitzie is My Homeboy.' The designs are available on T-shirts, tote bags, dog bowls and even thongs -- for more intimate political conversations."

"At CafePress.com there are 96,000 different Obama-related designs for sale, according to vice president of marketing Amy Maniatis. That includes a T-shirt that says 'Now I don't have to move to Canada' and a poster that says 'Once you go Barack, you'll never go back.' All the designs come from 'virtual shopkeepers,' who upload images to the site and then sell them on any number of stock items, splitting the profits with CafePress."

"At CafePress, a Web site that lets anyone customize and sell merchandise, users sold more than $100 million in goods in 2007-pocketing $20 million in profits-and overall sales are growing an average of 60 percent a year."

"Wearing a political T-shirt or button may be considered electioneering in some places," said Marc Cowlin, a spokesman for CafePress.com, in a Web video produced by the company, which lets customers upload images to appear on hats, mugs and other paraphernalia. "And that means your flair could cost you your vote."

"Sites such as CafePress.com offer members the opportunity to print an image onto any of around 100 items, from T-shirts to buttons to yard signs. 'Shopkeepers,' as members are known, simply upload an image, decide what types of items to print on, and set a sale price. Products are produced and distributed whenever orders are placed."

"At the CafePress website, users can design and buy custom-made T-shirts, many of which focus on niche interests, political beliefs, or strange combinations, such as donuts with robots or pink llamas. "We're a huge destination for self-expression," says Amy Maniatis, vice president of marketing. "There's a huge trend toward 'I want it my way' and 'I want something that's unique and right just for me,'" she says. The company refers to it as "me-tailing." CafePress was founded in 1999 after digital technology made print-on-demand T-shirts possible. Today, 40,000 new products are added each day. The company generated over $100 million in revenue last year."

"Longtime pollsters will tell you that predicting elections is a complex science built on years of population analysis and heady math. But according to CafePress.com, it is simply a matter of throw pillows."

"Not just any throw pillows but ones with folksy political slogans like "Hockey Moms for McCain Palin." Or T-shirts that say "Obama is my Homeboy," or infant jumpers with groan-worthy puns like "O-baaa-ma" over a picture of a cuddly sheep."

"Could sales of such items predict who will be elected president? CafePress.com - a site that lets people upload their designs and then prints them on items - says yes, they can."

"So will any of Bush's potential replacements provide a similar windfall? According to CafePress, a San Mateo, Calif.-based e-commerce marketplace for independent retailers, sales of political merchandise -- both pro and con -- rise and fall along with public sentiment. "Merchandise sales are in many ways the best poll," says CafePress CEO Fred Durham. Earlier this year, sales of Obama products outpaced those of Hillary Clinton on the site, corresponding with wins in the Democrat primary cycle..."

"Cowlin is a spokesman for CafePress.com, one of the many online companies selling campaign garb. (For the record, Hillary Rodham Clinton is leading in sales of men's boxer shorts at CafePress, while Barack Obama has the lead in thong sales.)"

"With slogans like "Barack the Vote," "A Woman's Place is in the White House" and "The Mac is Back," online stores like CafePress have seen steady sales of campaign-related merchandise, mostly from the young people they cater to..."

"But if you're looking for attitude and satire, eBay or CafePress.com prevails. Just two days after Obama uttered "bitter," users of CafePress.com, a California-based Web site whose 6.5 million users upload and sell their own designs, posted a bevy of baseball caps, tank tops and other items with sayings like "Not Bitter, Better: Hillary 08" and, countering that, "Bitter Voters for Obama..."

"Hundreds of shops and thousands of supporters turn to alternative Web markets, such as Cafepress.com, which has tracked its voluminous sales of campaign-related items: more than 2 million so far from the top three contenders."

"The site has a running "meter" to measure how each candidate is faring. So far, it's Mr. Obama by quite a bit - nationwide and in Texas, where 65 percent are for Obama gear and 20 percent for Clinton stuff..."

"At CafePress, the best-selling Hillary Clinton tees on the site speak to her toughness: "Bitches Get Stuff Done" is a best-seller, as is a retro image of Clinton as World War II's "Rosie the Riveter" with the slogan, "Hillary Can Do It." The best-selling Obama T-shirt plays on the candidate's message of optimism, showing Obama's face inside a peace sign..."

"Items imprinted with Obama's name or face seem to be dominating election-related merchandise sales, according to CafePress.com, a popular online bazaar. Obamamania overran the field in a recent week and claimed nearly 60 percent ofthe presidential market. Since Nov. 4, when CafePress started its tracking, Obama represents 28 percent of candidate sales on the site. Huckabee comes in second with 22 percent and Clinton third with 19 percent..."

Save the date
"To keep those special dates in mind, why not supply your sweetie with an "I Took a Look at Katy, Texas" calendar, offered by Cafe Press and priced at $7.99. This is an easy-to-see calendar and a great addition for the office or the kitchen, and for fun, include something like tickets to an upcoming event or a coupon for dinner at a favorite restaurant or an evening on the town so he or she will have something to use their new calendar for immediately. To order, go to cafepress.com..."

"CafePress is one of the exhibitors at CPAC and according to them, "Voters are buying 56 times more anti-Hillary tees, buttons, bumpers and other products than all anti-GOP products...combined. On the Republican side, surprisingly, "McCain supporters outspent their Romney counterparts by double in the CafePRess.com Tee-shirt Presidential primary." On the downside, it looks like Hillary and Barack are way outselling McCain and Romney so if Tee-shirts actually predict anything, the GOP is in a lot of trouble."

"Another such company that takes a much edgier bite out of the anti-Valentine's Day market is CafePress.com, a Web site that enables artists and designers to post their creations for sale online. Here, artists offer everything from greeting cards and buttons that say "Valentine's Day Makes Me Want to Puke" to T-shirts and sweatshirts that feature more colorful sayings..."

"Wish You Were Here: Take a look at the fallen Cupid flat on its face with an arrow in the back at www.CafePress.com, an online marketplace with quirky and outrageous customized merchandise including mugs, T-shirts, sweats, boxers, hats. You will leave no doubt about your feelings with this Crime Scene design - a body outlined and the saying "Wish You Were Here." Available on a wide range of merchandise. www.CafePress.com. Search for "anti-valentine" or "crime scene..."

"Still others are cashing in on the anti-Valentine spirit. CafePress.com, an edgy Web site where independent designers can showcase their wares, sells dozens of anti-Valentine's Day T-shirts, mugs and pins. Shirts bear slogans ranging from the straightforward "Valentine's Day Makes Me Puke" to "Who Needs Valentine's Day When a Girl Has Batteries?" Prices start at $2 for pins and $20 for T-shirts..."

"More than 4.5 million people have used CafePress, the dominant online T-shirt-and-tote bag marketplace, to sell their shirt designs. And this year's presidential candidates have inspired hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of products. You can find it all out there -- even the folks who forgot to spellcheck (Barack has a "c" in it, people). Even the teeny-tiny interest groups ("Arborists for Obama"). Even the ones so harsh and obscene we can't talk about them in the paper..."

"One merchant benefiting from the anti-Hillary sales is East Bay resident James Gamble, 46, who owns and operates RightWingStuff.com, an online store that hawks pro-Republican merchandise. Bumper stickers from Gamble's store and Veer to the Right are sold at Cafepress.com, an online retailer with 4.5 million participating merchants"I would say that anything with anti-Hillary Clinton on it is a top seller," Gamble said..."

"Are they modest, or just smart? The creators of Fat Mudflap Girl prefer not to see their names in print, saying only they live in Austin, Texas, "home of BBQ, Tex Mex and fat chicks. Actually, not really. Most of the women are pretty hot here. Houston on the other hand ...' The image is available on shirts, caps, mugs, magnets, thongs - everything but mudflaps. Visit www.Cafepress.com/fmfg."

"The popular 'T-shirt Web site cafepress.com offers items with cynical slogans such as, "You'll do," "Of course I love you. Now get me a beer," and "I love my boyfriend and his wife..."

"When Patti LaBelle declared at a Luther Vandross tribute concert, "Diabetes doesn't control me, I control it," Vandross' assistant, Max Szadek, coined the word "divabetic."'. That was more than two years ago. The capsleeve T-shirt that says Disciplined-Informed-Visible-Active comes in three color combinations and five sizes. $15.99. www.cafepress.com/divabetic. The design also is available on other clothing items and on accessories like mugs and bags..."

"The political junkie will welcome gear endorsing his chosen candidate ? just in time for the New Hampshire primary. $14.95 and up at cafepress.com..."

Campaign couture
"Wear your politics on your sleeve -- or on your fridge, fender or Fido -- with an assortment of campaign season clothing, magnets, bumper stickers and pet accessories. The selections include "I love wiretaps" T-Shirts ($24 at www.rightwingstuff.com)..."

"For those who prefer wearing their opinions rather than sharing them over a glass of wine, there's a cornucopia of baseball caps, T-shirts, mugs, magnets, stickers and greeting cards with hundreds of slogans at CafePress.com, Short-sleeve T-shirts with the message of your choice (e.g., "I think, therefore I vote Libertarian") run about $23; a refrigerator magnet with the same saying is $6 (www.cafepress.com)..."

"Boy geek meets girl geek and they make ... baby geek? For the with-child set, a bib emblazoned with "my dad's a geek" or "my mom's a geek" should make a proud papa or mama. Want something a little, uhh, geekier? The "ctrl + alt + change me" onesie should do. CafePress baby clothes; $7.99 and up; www.cafepress.com/babysfirstsite..."

"Busy Bodies stick figure designs: From "I Program" for computer programmers to "I Dispatch" for police and fire dispatchers, nearly every profession is covered. Get the figures on everything from magnets ($1.49) to keepsake boxes ($21.99), and of course T-shirts ($12.99-$22.99) and mugs ($13.99) at http://www.ibusybodies.com..."

"There are any number of holiday gifts available for people who share their lives with the more common critters - dogs, cats, and horses. Several excellent pet stores and gift shops cater to animal lovers. But what if your gift giving requirements are more exotic? What if you need something for those folks who have chinchillas, rats, cows, goats, birds, turtles, ferrets, frogs and the like? Here, the Internet is definitely your best bet. One source of fun specialty pet-related items is CafePress (http://wwwcafepress.com/shop/pets) which offers t-shirts, hats, bags, buttons, tiles, ornaments, pillows and more. Subjects include fish, lizards, rabbits, rodents, ferrets, birds, frogs, and turtles as well as dogs and cats..."

"Cafepress.com will donate 40 percent of the retail price of all products sold through its Breast Cancer Donation Shop through Oct. 31 directly to Susan G. Komen for the Cure or another non-profit organization with a core purpose of raising awareness and funding breast cancer research and education. $22.09 at www.cafepress.com..."

"Runners looking to put a lighter spin on the extreme heat, water shortages and race stoppage that plagued the Chicago Marathon this month are doing so with everything from shirts to stickers. Runner Kevin Green, who eked out a 5:28 finish, added to his reserve of marathon T-shirt designs with one commemorating the day that reads: "I Beat the Heat!" Green's Chicago marathon shirts are among 50 such designs on shirts, coffee mugs, posters and buttons listed on California-based CafePress.com..."

"CafePress.com, a Foster City, Calif., company that sells customized T-shirts and merchandise via the Internet, says it didn't consider traditional franchising when it started operations in 1999. Instead, the company allows a network of artistic entrepreneurs to sell their own designs through its Shopkeeper program. Shopkeepers, who agree to a term of service, get a Web page within CafePress.com's site and sell their own designs; when an order is placed, CafePress prints the product and ships it and the shopkeeper makes a commission. Shopkeepers pay $4.95 to $6.95 a month for a "premium" shop, where they can sell multiple designs and products; a more limited "basic" shop is free..."

"DON'T TAZE ME, BRO' BECOMES AN INSTANT FASHION STATEMENT It was inevitable, right? But you can't help but be impressed by the speed with which "Don't Taze Me, Bro" merchandise became available. It's been just a couple of days since University of Florida journalism student Andrew Meyer was Tasered and hauled off by campus police during an appearance by Sen. John Kerry on the Gainesville campus - the drama recorded on a videocamera and promptly posted on YouTube. But cafepress.com already has everything from T-shirts and throw pillows to boxers and even aprons with the now-famous "Don't Taze Me, Bro" printed on the front. There's even an organic cotton T Check it out here: www.cafepress. com/bobmccarty/3696793..."

"The owner of a capuchin monkey seized by Montgomery County police pleaded guilty yesterday to illegally possessing a monkey. An attorney for but Elyse Gazewitz , whose pet, Armani, was seized in May, said the plea in District Court was a way to get a "ticket punched" so the "complex and interesting" issues raised by the case can be aired in a higher court."

"Cafepress.com, offers T-shirts, coffee mugs, book bags, boxer briefs and even a thong with Armani's photo and the words: "I just want to come home." Gazewitz recently won a small legal victory when a Circuit Court judge said she should be permitted to visit Armani at the Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo in Thurmont. Their first reunion was Saturday..."

"With higher prices at the pump, back-to-school budgets are simply tighter this year for most families. Still, we found great bargains on fashionable school gear, at rock-bottom prices. T-shirt Layering is still a big trend for fall. Another trend is having a T-shirt with a message that matters. Print your own T-shirt at CafePress.com..."

"Gary, 16, who is autistic, fills his days by avidly creating colorful comic strips and cartoon-like characters. His father, Gary Sr., was so impressed by his son's artwork that he created a Web site -- www.cafepress.com/garyworld where people can purchase T-shirts, tote bags, magnets and coffee mugs that are adorned with his vibrant creations..."

"Bev Neely Bruce has come up with a way for residents throughout the region to brag about their community -- all while showing support for a children's charity. The Weddington artist is creating neighborhood-themed oval stickers -- from CON for Concord to ARBO for the Arboretum. Proceeds from Internet sales of the $3.99 stickers go to the new Charlotte area chapter of Flashes of Hope.

Bev Neely Bruce designed nearly 40 Cabarrus, Mecklenburg and Union locales for sale, plus additional ovals for other towns, like ROCK for Rockingham. Find them at www.cafepress.com/studiobev; click the OVAL sticker link..."

"Marilyn Naito has opened an online shop for folks supporting Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for president. You can buy shirts, tote bags, clocks and other merchandise by visiting www.cafepress.com/HillaryGoGirl..."

"A search for "Ron Paul" on the online marketplace CafePress.com, which allows users to sell customized merchandise over the Internet, results in 2,000 designs printed on 29,200 different products. The items range from bumper stickers to T-Shirts..."

"Incline Village's very own Santa Claus is finishing his 50-state tour of state capitols with an upcoming trip to Juneau, Alaska. The Bless the Children Tour, begun over a year ago with a trip to Carson City, has advocated for legislation on children's issues, particularly relating to foster children, child abuse and child obesity.

Additionally, Claus is the author of The Santa Claus Diet, a self-help book offering "a complete diet for physical, emotional and spiritual health" now available from CafePress..."

"EVERYBODY likes message T-shirts, but dog people are especially drawn to them as a fun way to broadcast their puppy love. For proof, look no farther than the staggering selection of breed-specific T-shirts available for sale online, including my personal favorite, I V My Pit Bull (at CafePress.com)..."

"Love Natalie project to help patient Moms offering Moms Support has raised more than $5,000 for their project Love Natalie. The project is to raise money for a Palm Desert girl who has brain cancer. The club has been selling hand-made logo shirts at www.cafepress.com/sashabug. They have more than 8800 in sales from the site..."

"Whatever your good intentions, beware. Before you reach out your hand to feel the belly of a pregnant woman, consider whether you need that appendage. You might just pull back a stump".

Turns out, most pregnant women don't want you to touch their bellies. In fact, they detest it.

"Some women look upon it as amusing; some of them are shocked," said Kathie Martin, president of The Etiquette School of Birmingham in Alabama. "But they certainly have a right to take that hand and remove it from their stomach."

So, moms-to-be, go ahead and tell that stranger, "Hands off." Swat away the unwanted touch. And if all else fails, try a T-shirt. Go to cafepress.com for the white maternity T-shirt that makes the message clear: "No Touchie..."

"Celebrate your independence all year with custom fashions tailor-made to show off your individuality.

Old Glory T-shirt is from CafePress, an online T-shirt shop at cafepress.com. The site contains millions of products, and if you don't see something you like, you can design your own. Pick from about a dozen T-shirt styles, including cuts for infants, toddlers, maternity, T-shirt dresses, regular women's tees, v-necks, fitted or loose guys tees or even a handsome tee for your canine. Not to mention the thong and boxer shorts, all from $12.99 to $32.99. The interactive site lets you upload your own image or chose from clip art and then add text to the front and back for a price similar to anything off the rack..."

"It is amazing where a picture can take you, even if you subscribe to the Chinese proverb that "one picture is worth a thousand words."

Back in January, Moira Guertin Merrill took a picture of her neighbor's tree at sunrise. Several people who saw her picture of the tree asked where they could get a copy of it as a poster, and The View from my Soul was born.

Merrill said she is very excited that her T-shirts, calendars and coasters were accepted by CafePress. This is a big help from a marketing standpoint, she said.

For more information on The View from my Soul and Merrill's products, go to www.cafepress.com/moiragm..."

"What are you planning for Independence Day?

July 4th T-shirt images from Internet retailer CafePress. Adult T-shirts sell for $15.99.

According to the National Retail Federation: More than 60 percent of consumers will be having a cookout or barbecue for the Fourth. 42.5 percent will attend a fireworks celebration and 9.7 percent will attend a parade. Aside from themed merchandise in stores these days, you can also design your own patriotic apparel to wear. Cafepress.com, an online retailer in Foster City, Calif., is just one of the companies that offer a huge array of patriotic designs and also allow you to create clothes with your own photos or logos.

Select the style and size of the apparel, choose a message or slogan and then download an image off your own computer. Short -and long-sleeve T-shirts, hoodies, tank tops, track suits, as well as hats, mugs and other products are available.

Most customized apparel is priced below $25. Contact the Web site cafepress.com or call 1-877-809-1659..."

"My 'Undisclosed Medical Condition' Didn't Get Me Out of Jail."

"Don't Hassle the Huff."

"I was drunk & bald way before Britney."

"Those are just a few slogans found in the increasingly popular novelty T-shirt industry that parodies politics, pop culture and everything else imaginable.

With the new developments surrounding Paris Hilton's imprisonment, release and tear - filled imprisonment, T-shirt makers expect a sales spike.

CafePress.com - an online clothing company founded in 1999 that claims to offer more than 32 million shirt designs - sells thousands of celebrity-themed T-shirts created by "shopkeepers," regular people who sell their own designs through the Web site.

"We as a company don't come up with the designs for the shirts," says Marc Cowlin, CafePress' public relations manager. "These are people pretty much anywhere in the world expressing their ideas."

Shopkeepers, who add a fee to the site's set price for each design, constantly monitor the news and post fresh designs within hours of a breaking story, Cowlin says..."

"Because in the world of political fashion, Barack Obama, the untested United States senator from Illinois, is a hit. A big hit. That is, if the 200,000 Obama products currently for sale through Foster City-based CafePress.com are any indication. "

"It's all truly democratic. Everyone has access," says Jennifer Bechtel, who lives in Champaign, Ill. and sells "Obama is My Homeboy" shirts through CafePress. "Everyone can put what gets them excited out there, everyone has the opportunity to get what they have to say out there. It's at the core of what America is supposed to stand for. It's cool."

"Today's dose of humor only a Web monkey could love is brought to you by Bob McCarty. The online entrepreneur—also of BugsGoneWild.com fame—has come up with a "My Name Is URL" line of shirts and other assorted items... "

"The logo comes emblazoned on long sleeve and cap-sleeve shirts, plus tank tops, hoodies, boxer shorts, bumper stickers—and yes, even doggie garb. Let's hope Fido appreciates Interweb humor."

"Polygamy has proved a hot topic for online marketer CafePress.com.

CafePress.com, launched in 1999, is an Internet-based company that lets clients share their bumper sticker-style wisdom and images with the world. Creators can join a basic shop or, for a 5 fee, set up their own online store to sell custom images and messages printed on clothing, cards, cups, etc. CafePress.com sets a base price on products and handles printing, packaging, payment processing and customer service; sellers decide how much to mark up items. The concept is popular. Here are the numbers: 800,000 shopkeepers; 1.4 million shops; 36 million products - including 71 designs offered in the polygamy category.

"It's something anyone can do," said Marc Cowlin, CafePress.com spokesman. "Everything you see is designed by a user."

That's what initially pulled in Troy Soukup of Thousand Oaks, Calif., too. "Initially, it was only an experiment, an exercise in creating designs I found humorous or clever," said Soukup, whose creations include "1+1+1...Polygamath" and "Polygamy - not just for the Mormons any more."

"I understand that they're not for everyone - and that some are very politically incorrect," he said. "It's all in good fun, and I hope that no one takes them too seriously."

Still, Soukup can't wait for the day he spots someone walking around in one of his shirts."

"Not long after puny Pluto was stripped of its planethood, Janis Robinson started selling $25 "PLUTO IS A PLANET' T-shirts on the Internet.

Robinson is hardly alone. Scores of Web-savvy sellers hoping to support, and cash in on. Pluto's demotion to a "dwarf planet" bombarded the Internet hawking Pluto memorabilia worthy of a presidential candidate, from T-shirts and mugs to bumper stickers and mouse pads.

On CafePress.com, a San Francisco-area Internet company that prints T-shirts and other merchandise, an explosion of Pluto inventory popped up within 24 hours of the news. By Friday, the site featured 200 designs on more than 1,500 products.

CafePress.com spokesman Marc Cowlin said the Pluto items are "hot" but it's too early to tell how well they will sell. "Pluto is a planet we've known all our lives, and suddenly it's not. People are taken by surprise."

"Weird sells, especially when you can get it delivered to your home the next day. CafePress.com - an online marketplace based in Foster City that allows people to create, buy and sell custom gear has built a big business enabling people to quickly print opinions and art on T-shirts, mugs and other merchan dise. Now, the 7-year- old business is about to get bigger.

"We have half a dozen (customizers) making six-figure incomes and lots and lots making in the five digits," said Durham, noting the top earner on his site did $1 million in revenue last year. "The fun part is seeing how quickly something goes from hitting public awareness to a design appearing on our site. It takes minutes."

From Mel Gibson's drunk-driving episode, to Vice President Dick Cheney's hunting casualties, designs with snarky commentary pack the CafePress shops.

Now 35 million products strong, the offerings range from obvious to bizarre.

"We deal in the weird. We live and swim in it," said Durham. "Americans will not run out of opinions any time soon. When they see one opinion they think of their own."

"Following the trend of fun, quirky and expressive design, Veronica Marie Designs brings a little psychedelic cheer to stationary. As Veronica Marie puts it, her designs are "in vogue with visual joy by using distinctive patterns and colors. Stylish aesthetics and serious eye candy."

Veronica Marie, designer and editor-in-chief of SheUnlimited online magazine is also a personality in the Hive under the Hive name of "SheUnlimited". At her CafePress store, she offers tshirts, sweatshirts, tanktops and mugs with her funky patterns."

"The Hall of Fame at Hopelands Gardens is one of an estimated 2.5 million members who use CafePress. com to peddle their wares. The based Internet company, founded in 1999, allows small businesses and nonprofit organizations to sell their signature merchandise through the website without investing in piles of gear that might take weeks, months or longer to disap pear from traditional shelves.

"One of the major advantages of the CafePress service is our ability to print on demand," said Marc Cowlin, public relations manager for CafePress, in an e-mail. "Nothing is printed until an order has been placed. Once an order is placed, CafePress handles the printing, pack aging, order processing, shipping, and customer service. The shopkeeper then earns a commission for each item sold."

"The goal of CafePress is to allow people the oppor tunity to express themselves through merchandise and make money along the way," Cowlin said. "We believe this extends well into book publishing and music CD creation."

"Support for the Alex De Vinny Memorial Fund has gone worldwide...The event became global, Flynn said, when members od the Two Peas community heard of the run/walkand the DeVinny's family's goal to edcuate others about anorexia, which Devinny suffered, The Two Peas then decided to help out in their own way.

A very talented bunch of women from around the world have gotten together to do a fundraiser in conjunction with this walk. They've designed T-shirts with an 'A' logo being sold on CafePress (http://www.cafepress.com/foralex) to raise money. They've also upped the ante by telling anyone who purchased one of these shirts should in a picture of themselves wearing the shirt, and they'll be entered unto a raffle."

"It's "Star Trek's" 40th anniver sary, and Captain Kirk and the Starship Enterprise crew just got new life in the publishing world.

Foster City-based CafePress.com signed a deal Tuesday with the creators of "Star Trek" to print in book form all the scripts of the "Star Trek" television series over the next three years. Cafepress' publishing partnership is with Roddenberry.com, the leading online source for "Star Trek" merchandise, which was named after the TV series creator Gene Roddenberry.

"This is a tribute to the 'Star Trek' fans," said Eu gene "Rod" Roddenberry, chief executive of Rodden berry Productions and the only son of the creator of the TV series. "This is like archiving a piece of his tory." Previously, the scripts were only available on paper, designed to be thrown away after reading.

"We think this is a big deal for us," said Marc Cowlin, spokesman for privately held CafePress. Each month, CafePress will roll out a new book of script episodes.

Each volume will include a unique picture of Gene Roddenberry along with memorable quote. Previously, only one image of the creator has been available."

"Heidi Panelli of Fridley and Gretchen Fleener of Bloomington have two successful businesses. Through the Internet, the sisters - who once reached out to the crowds passing by their fair stand - are now reaching out to the world, and the world seems to be reaching back.

"Panelli's business, Busy Bodies (www.ibusybodies.com), specializes in depicting stick figures in a variety of careers and activities. There are 160 designs to choose from on the site, ranging from a stick figure with a chef's hat and a cookie sheet that states 'I bake,' to a stick holding a Bible and vestal garments stating, 'I preach!' The stick figures have their genesis in the designs that Panelli airbrushed onto T-shirts at the Dakota County Fair and Valley Fair in Shakopee.

"'The stick figure is universal,' Panelli, 29, said. 'They have no gender. Plus, people like them and they were easy to paint. They're kind of timeless...'"

"When prices at the pump surpassed $3 a gallon near her home in Massachusetts, Wicked Trendy T-shirts owner and designer Tamara Cressley got fed up.

"It seems like every time somebody sneezes gas prices jump up," Cressley said.

She went to work designing T-shirts to express her frustration with slogans like 'pumped dry,' which she offers through cafepress.com, an online retailer.

The $14.99 shirts are selling very well she said, 'it's something everyone can identify with.'"

"With a new line of scrapbooking gifts added to the BusyBodies line of gifts, scrapbookers can now display their passion for scrapbooking by wearing a BusyBodies "I Scrapbook." T-shirt. BusyBodies Unique Apparel & Gifts is a new online store that sells T-shirts, mugs, caps and other fun gift items featuring a silly cartoon stick person doing all sorts of hobbies."

"A few years ago illustrator Daniel Davis came across the image of a luchador and has been smitten ever since. Not only does he look to vintage Blue Demon and El Santo movie posters and trading cards for inspiration, he inks his own version of the masked fighters... 'The masked luchador was just too cool to ignore,' says Davis, 37, of Peoria, who sells his lucha libre art on T-shirts, tote bags, mouse pads and buttons. 'Seeing huge men wearing sparkling capes, throwing each other around the ring is priceless. Add the masks and you've got pop-cool culture.'"

"Stacy Bias, the founding designer of DykeTees.Com, the Web guru behind TechnoDyke.Com... voice of FatGirl Speaks, the nation's largest fat activist event, has been a queer activist for six years and a fat activist for three.

"'I became an activist in the areas I need the most help and support in,' Bias says. 'If I need it, probably others do, too. We are taught from the earliest age to be dissatisfied with our bodies. Baby fat, right? And this is enforced and reinforced every single day by the media, by pharmaceutical companies who sponsor medical studies, whose skewed results are then sensationalized by the media, which in turn gives the diet industry ... the perfect platform from which to torment the public into self-loathing. The 'war on obesity' is very lucrative. Self-loathing is very lucrative.'"

"At about $40 apiece ($30 in the first week of release), Straczynski expects $1.5 million in total sales from the 14 planned volumes.

"A large chunk will go to CafePress the company that prints and ships each book. Still, Straczynski says he'll have a terrific return on the $500 he spent to set up www.babylon5scripts.com, the website for his sales.

The economics work because technology now enables printing decent-looking books one at a time for about $9 each. That's three times the $3 for volume publishing, but 'you don't have the remnant, the 1,000 left over that I'm going to donate to the Army,' says CafePress founder Maheesh Jain.

"He says it's perfect for writers with small but passionate audiences. Among his top sellers: religious books, specialized reference books and inspirational books about illness survivors."

"Let turnkey companies like Cafepress.com handle ordering and printing, says Rodney Blackwell, who runs t-shirtcountdown.com. Odds of Making Money: Huge if you're a savvy marketer..."

"If you become a member of Cafepress.com, the company agrees to print your artwork or slogans on products like T-shirts, mugs and tote bags in return for receiving a percentage of the sale. The products (which retail for about $10 to $25) are printed only after an individual order; say, for two coffee mugs is placed. The company takes care of billing the customer and sending out the merchandise. It's so simple that Cafepress.com, which launched in 1999, has 2 million members worldwide. Says Maheesh Jain, co-founder and vice president for business development, 'It's becoming easier and easier to create artwork and designs with your computer.'"

"The Web site offers answers to frequently asked grilling questions, along with recipes and tips on everything from marinades to smoke chips and grill cleaning. It's also a merchandise mart for the black and red Grilljunkie logo-emblazoned clothing and accessories line Tomaino designed himself... Tomaino has a procurement company, California-based CafePress, that fulfills online orders; Tomaino receives a cut of each sale. A local vendor, Chelmsford-based EmbroidMe, supplies local retailers."

"If you don't mind the thought of friends and strangers squinting at your chest - if you relish the thought, even - check out the pre-pixelated clothing available at www.cafepress.com/ironicsans. The blogger who developed the line was inspired by reality television, which routinely blurs the logos on clothing worn by its participants because of trademark concerns..."

"Another popular site, www.CafePress.com, offers a similar service. It also lets amateur designers upload their custom T-shirt designs and sell them online to CafePress.com visitors."

A sample of U.S. Rep. John Sweeney memorabilia.

"This is another one of those "bound to happen" kind of things. I'm always amazed by how quickly these folks move, and also by the sheer number of items on which embarrassing images/slogans can be emblazoned.

(Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing this one out).

The reproduction here isn't fabulous. So in case you can't read it: "I got ripped with John Sweeney. Alpha Beta Booze."

"When I was a kid, I figured that blurred-out slogans or pictures on TV meant I shouldn't see them. Naturally, that made me want to know why.

"Just go to www.cafepress.com, type 'ironic sans' into the far-right search engine, and voila! You're given a colorful menu of different pixilated images, which you can put on anything from ringer tees and sweatshirts to trucker hats and barbecue aprons. Prices range from $12.99 for a basic tee to $29.99 for a hooded sweatshirt."

"With slogans ranging from 'If you can't read this, you don't belong in this country!' to 'Prosecute Criminals, Not Harvesters,' CafePress.com has distinguished itself as a one-stop shop for buyers of virtually every political view. With a staggering 22 million products - including scores on the immigration debate - this online retailer offers buyers and designers 'print on demand' merchandise on everything from cats to cooking to campaigns.

Anyone with a computer can create a design and upload it to CafePress; the site will put it on its digital shelves. Nothing is printed until someone orders the shirt, so designers can make a statement without worrying about inventory or brand failure."

"Web sites selling original T-shirts have exploded, the shirts often made by people who don't consider themselves designers but just someone with a good idea. CafePress.com a site that creates T-shirts for creative types and allows them to set up individual shops for their wares with little financial obligation, reports growth over the last few years has been "crazy."

"There is now an on-line store (http://www.cafepress.com/anybodybutcapri) where you can buy various merchandise emblazoned with slogans opposing Democrat Capri Cafaro, the young shopping mall heiress from the Youngstown area who is spending millions of her own money to win a crowded Democratic primary in the 13th U.S. House District."

"Want to make some money? Head to www.cafepress.com a site that helps you create - and then sell - photo merchandise."

Using CafePress TopicAds, Webmasters and bloggers can choose to have ads for CafePress products targeted based upon the tags on their content. When a visitor comes to a page, the CafePress servers analyze the tags on the page, rank them by relevancy and timeliness of the topic, and serve the most appropriate ad, according to Maheesh Jain, CafePress co-founder and VP of business development.

"We've always wanted a custom T-shirt embla zoned with unicorns but were too embarrassed to order the thing in public. So we were delighted to learn that ArtMuvz Illustration of Winter Haven is now online at www.cafepress.com/artmuvz."

"Amateur artists, aided by illustration software and the Internet, are hitting eBay and CafePress.com, the biggest online instant T-shirt company, with scores of punchline products keyed to the vice president. They're trying to catch the wave of interest in "Quailgate," as one tee dubs it, before it expires."

"Cowlin's firm's sales of politically themed goods are up 72 percent since last Sunday, when the White House acknowledged that Cheney had accidentally hit a fellow quail hunter on a ranch in southeastern Texas. Currently, CafePress has more than 800 Cheney-themed items in production."

"CafePress allows you to create customized t-shirts, bumper stickers and other items in quantities as small as one. For very small businesses, this is an easy way to create just a few marketing items with your logo or slogan."

"Angst comes more naturally to graphic artists than industrial designers or architects. Thus CafePress.com, a site that lets people design their own T-shirts and mugs, has come up with 3,374 designs inspired by the response to Hurricane Katrina."

"The company is actually an on-demand press that can put phrases and images on a variety of products. It lets visitors submit artwork and prints the material onto the appropriate items customers pay through its online payment system."

"One of the most intriguing experiments has been CafePress, a company that has been around since 1999 and allows anyone with rudimentary command of a computer the opportunity to, as the site says, "make your own stuff." That is, you can place your own designs or slogans or what ever onto a variety of commodities provided by CafePress: T-shirts, hats, teddy bears, coffee mugs, pillows, clocks, mousepads and so on."

"Submit your story as a PDF, and CafePress will produce high-quality copies, plus manage all your online sales. The company caters to geeks: Some of its most popular titles are graphic novels and bound editions of blog musings. One week turnaround makes it a great choice for last minute gifts."

"Another Such company, Foster City's CafePress, said it has seen the number of bloggers using its services double since 2004.

Using such services, anyone can upload art or text for printing on merchandise, then offer the product for sale."

"Meanwhile, other sites are building instant business on the backs of third-party merchants such as CafePress.com and Spreadshirt.com, which create custom T-shirts and other merchandise on the cheap for companies that submit designs. About 1,000 merchants per day have opened shops on CafePress this year, a 40 percent increase over 2004. It's one of those great 'just because you can' moments in the online world, says Reinier Evers, founder of Amsterdam-based marketing agency Trendwatching.com."

"Self-expression is helping put Bobbi Barbour through college. The 22-year-old Torrance resident tried making handbags and selling them through her website, Dollfacepunk.com, but the work wasn't worth the meager revenue. Last year she found CafePress.com, a service that turns people's ideas into merchandise. She designs the T-shirts, and the Web Company does almost everything else in exchange for a cut of the proceeds."

"These websites let users create custom T-shirts, mugs, posters, stickers and scores of other objects. Each is emblazoned with an image or slogan dreamed up by a wide range of creators, from budding designers to mid-size apparel businesses to massive media companies such as Walt Disney Co. Sellers simply upload an image, and these businesses do the rest Create a listing page, process the order, print the T-shirt or other product, ship it and handle returns."

"Chances are that a guitarist specializing in Chinese flamenco hip-hop isn't going to sell a lot of records. Companies such as CDBaby.com CafePress.com and Lulu.com are changing that by making small-time sales profitable. Their business model: take thousands of titles and sell a few hundred of each, adding up to lots of little sales."

"Earlier this year, a similar company, CafePress.com, in San Leandro, received $14 million in a second round of funding led by Sequoia Capital."

"These two firms are part of what analysts sometimes call personalized commerce. The idea is a cross between eBay's online marketplace and FedEx Kinko's, the chain of copying and printing stores. To get started, users create their own designs for products including T- shirts, posters and greeting cards. The Web sites then handle the printing and shipping. Many people simply use the Web sites to make gifts for family members and friends. Others earn royalties by selling their products or designs to shoppers on the sites."

"And, increasingly, people are parading around in shirts that say 'Dork Pride!' among other things. Such items have gotten so popular that CafePress.com, an online merchandiser, has created a special category for shirts and other items celebrating geeks, dorks and nerds."

"Other Webby winners included CafePress, an online marketplace in San Leandro, in the retail category."

It's not hard to make money on T-shirts. Mr. Mowry, the accidental T-shirt merchant, often gets his shirts from CafePress.com, a San Leandro, Calif., company that prints designs on shirts and other products and even ships them directly to a Web site's customers. CafePress charges a vendor like Mr. Mowry a base price of $8.99 for a T-shirt with a customized logo printed on it. Mr. Mowry then charges $19 or more for the finished product. That leaves him $10 per shirt in pretax income. Using a local apparel printer, which charges him only $5 for a basic T-shirt with printing, Mr. Mowry's profit

"It's never been easier to wear our hearts on our sleeves, chests and dogs. Maheesh Jain, vice president of marketing and co-founder of the bipartisan CafePress.com, says the huge amount of political gear is a natural offshoot of the Internet's increasing role in the electoral process. 'The amount of communication of the Web this election has made the Web a really rich place with regards to the political conversation,' Jain says. 'That translates into more people buying, selling and creating these political products. That wasn't there as much in 2000. It definitely wasn't there in '96.' Jain says cafepress.com saw its political gear sales increase a few weeks before the election, spike dramatically the day after the election and decrease in the weeks following."

"Computers now empower people to create professional-grade music and movies, said Maheesh Jain, 31, co-founder of CafePress.com. Why not let them sell and distribute those products just as easily?

Founded in 1999, CafePress.com already enjoys a loyal following. It hosts a little more than 1 million stores, some of which have sold one or two products, but there are others that will sell hundreds. This year, CafePress.com will shop nearly 2 million items."