What a year! War in Ukraine, an energy crisis, recession and inflation. 2022 has certainly had its challenges. Sounds like it might be high-time to talk about some nicer aspects of the last 12 months.
All about you!
Simply put, you make us happy. It’s an honour to work on the daily with such an eclectic group of creatives. So thanks to the loyal bunch of designers and illustrators who have stuck with us in 2022.
The magic of Marketplace wouldn’t possible if it wasn’t for you lot and your inspiring work. With Spreadshirt celebrating its 20th birthday in 2022, that’s now over two decades of collaboration!
Designers of the Month in 2022
January: Moonape
February: Anna Maria Jung
March: Ny Design
April: Nor wegen Liebe
May: Ina Worms
June: SteffsStuff
July: Rusty Doodle
August: Anna Zim
September: Sandra Mahn
October: Schlunz
November: Spontania
December: MadoDesign
To all the forum moderators and users
The engaging comment-posters deserve a nod this year, too. Your input, questions, suggestions and critiques are vital in our mission to deliver the best service possible.
An extra bit of Spreadshirt love goes out to Simsalapimp for her engagement and support.
2022 – The tough bits
There was not exactly a lack of horror stories cropping up over the last 365 days.
The war in Ukraine sent shockwaves through the world. While our influence is always going to be limited, Spread Group tried to do their bit by opening a Charity Shop in April this year. All proceeds went directly to Caritas Vienna’s Ukraine Aid.
It was another year of video-conferences thanks to the Corona Pandemic. This year saw most people catch the virus, but symptoms have generally become milder. Let’s hope this situation continues to relax throughout next year.
Respite was few and far between though, with an energy crisis, recession and inflation gripping the world. It’s hard to say at the minute just how deep the consequences will hit. In the meantime, wrap up warm.
In tough times creativity can blossom, offering an escape from the bleakness of world news. Which is why we’re especially grateful to all the designers that amazed us this year.
And Action…
Direct-to-film
The start of 2022 saw us using more and more of our direct-to-film printing machines. Product quality has increased.
A little bit better
In January we adapted our partner area, making it more user-friendly. Sales and profits can now be found on the dashboard. This coincided with other improvements to SpreadApp.
No more plastic, it’s fantastic
An important one for us. We announced in March that we will soon be using completely plastic-free packaging in Europe.
Cheeeeeese: Smiley fan art
Around this time we also kicked off our first ever fan art project. Designers from all-over created some grinning friends for a highly-needed serotonin boost. The project was a triumph and we look forward to something similar next year.
‘Rawr’ means ‘we love you’ at Spreadshirt
June saw creatives in one of our exclusive Facebook groups take part in a Jurassic design competition. Our inbox was soon flooded by sometimes terrifying – but mostly hilarious – depictions of prehistoric beasts.
Fear and Clothing in Las Vegas
Turns out the city that never sleeps is great at making T-shirts too. In August we moved one of our US production hubs from Henderson, Nevada over to Las Vegas.
Grab a dictionary
September brought in huge improvements to our Partner Area. We made it possible to sell your designs in other countries and languages.
A year of tips, tricks and tutorials
To make you and your designs get the right kind of attention, we’ve been busy over the past 12 months filling our blog with an endless stream of useful and inspiring posts on topics such as:
- Pixels
- Vector files
- Tools for keyword research
- Design creation
- Metadata & product creation
- Design inspiration
Well 2022, it’s been interesting. They say ‘if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all’. We don’t know who ‘they’ actually are, so thought we’d try and cheer you up with a little recap.
Have a wonderful holiday period and a happy new year. For 2023, all we can say is keep being you. Never doubt your creativity. No idea is too crazy to fit on a T-shirt, mug or hoodie.
The post Looking back at 2022: Another wild one appeared first on The US Spreadshirt Blog.
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