urban outfitters
Studded Oxford Collaboration with Mr. Sohail Justin Akhavein
So I was recently approached by the wonderful Sohail, a fashion student out of Minnesota and all around awesome guy! After he found me through my Etsy store, he contacted me wanting a pair of studded loafers, which I just found out had been discontinued by the manufacturer. So he looked and searched until we found some gorgeous leather oxfords from Urban Outfitters that worked out perfectly. Check out the gorgeous end result in more detail below:
AND if YOU want a pair like these, or any other kind of studded shoes you can think of just contact me through my Etsy store or through my contact form on this site and I’ll work with you to make a pair of studded beauties for you!
Check out my Etsy Store here for all kinds of goodies galore!
two string jane featured post on CASH MONI
CASH MONI recently did a complete post on me with pics of my new white Studded Loafers and Carol’s striped faux fur vest after seeing my stuff on NOTCOT. Thanks so much to them for promoting my DIY studding abilities and repping my Etsy store!
Check out the original post here shoes on Etsy here and get a piece of history =)
Limited Edition Stuff: “Where The Wild Things Are” Pinstriping Tribute Art and Junk!
To honor the new “Where the Wild Things Are” movie, my fiance and I each used our separate creative powers to come up with our own pinstriped version of Carol! I’d totally put him on my hot-rod (if I had one)…
AND I also came up with a few limited edition clothing and jewelry items for you to check out in my Etsy shop! There’s the Faux Furry Striped Carol Racerback Vest, Striped Max “Wild Thing” Tee, and a Hand- Cut Leather “Be Still” Pendant. Take some furry “Wild Things” love home with you!
Striped Faux Fur "Wild" Carol Vest
BE Still Hand Cut Leather Necklace/Pin
"Wild Thing" Striped Max Crown Tee
LIMITED EDITION : Renewal Urban Outfitters Alyssa Zukas Artist Series Heart Deep V Dip Tie Dye Tunic Sweatshirt
Super cute remade renewal deep v neck sweatshirt has all the comfy funky flair you’ll ever need with a huge heart on the front! The fleece feels like it’s never been worn! This white and grey dip dyed deep v tunic sweatshirt features a tunic silhouette with banded sleeves, neckline and hem. It also features a tie at the drop waist with gold beads at the ends, a big red heart from my Urban Outfitters Artist Series Tee on it and roomy hidden pockets at the sides.
Brand: none
Size: Fits like M/L
Measurements lying flat:
pit to pit- 22-24″
shoulder to bottom hem- 24″
sleeve length- 29″
shoulder to shoulder- open”
bottom hem width- 16″
Another Day, Another Ripped Off Design…
You Thought We Wouldn't Notice
“There have been loads of copycats since this series of admittedly simplistic t-shirt designs, created by Alyssa Zukas, first appeared at Urban Outfitters in 2007. Most of the biters were clever enough to change things a bit, but not this time. They even had the nerve to use the original Urban Outfitters product photography, AND Alyssa’s name, all over their site. The original tees have “Alyssa Zukas” and a bio screenprinted into the inner neck tag area, along with Urban’s made-up store brand “Spark in the Dark.”
Yes, that’s right… my shirts have been jacked once again! Check out the “you thought we wouldn’t notice” post to see the whole article including comparison shots and get the word out there about crappy counterfeiting!
Urban Outfitters Lightning Bolt Shirt On Janette From SYTYCD
Lightning Bolt Tee on SYTYCD
Janette from So You Think You Can Dance was seen wearing my Artist Series Lightning Bolt Tee for Urban Outfitters in recap videos from elimination 8 of season 5. It’s the second time one of my tees has made it to SYTYCD and one of numerous times the Lightning Bolt tee has been on TV!
Like it? Get yours here!
Ebay Yard Sale: Snag My Stuff for Cheap
Hey everyone, I’m cleaning out my closet so if you want great deals on some of my stuff check out my Ebay store here! I have lots of Free People stuff from past seasons and a few of my own things with most bids starting at $0.99. Enjoy!
Look familiar? Strange, I didn’t think I worked with Kmart. (Counterfeit / ripoff alert)
Say what you will about Kmart… I didn’t think they’d stoop this low. Friends of mine were there earlier today and gave me a call to let me know that a t-shirt they saw there looked very similar to the Heart Tee I did as part of my Urban Outfitters artist series tees in 2008. A quick online search later, and lookie here… a bit familiar, dontcha think?
Alyssa Zukas ripped off by Kmart? You decide.
And some more that may have been… oh… lightly “inspired by” my original designs:
Kmart Goes Too Far—these tees were NOT designed by Alyssa Zukas. Caveat emptor.
I guess imitation is the highest form of flattery and yadda yadda. On the bright side, it looks like my stuff has caught on so much that big-box stores want their little piece of the action. But I’ll be honest with you—it’s not like I’m making bank on my designs… I still rely on every single item I sell to make ends meet.
What do you think… outright theft? Or [gag]… fair use? Sound off in the comments. I’m pretty P’ed-O and I could use some moral support.
Stinky 70s Mushroom Stool on Apartment Therapy!
Apartment Therapy Post!
YAY! Thanks again to Apartment Therapy for all the love on my DIY Before and After Projects! Check out the post here…
Find My Tees on TV and I’ll give you $5!
I’ve been hearing a lot lately that my tees have been seen on all kinds of shows but since I’m not much of a hardcore TV watcher I’ve never been able to find out which, where and when… and that’s where you come in!
Here’s a list of the shows/episodes I’ve been able to track down:
The Hills, Episode 412: “I Want You To Be With Me”
Project Runway, Episode: “College-Age Women” Challenge
America’s Best Dance Crew, Season 2, Week 1: worn by “Fanny Pak” dancer
SO… If you’ve seen any of my tees (you can find them all on “The Goods” section of my site) on TV, or in print somewhere (like a magazine, etc.) send me a message with the show, title, episode, article etc. AND have a screenshot or picture of the shirt on the show or in print and I’LL GIVE YOU $5 towards your next order for any of my tees in my Etsy shop!**
(**Submissions will be judged on a first come first served basis. Duplicate submissions will not recieve $5 credit. I reserve the right to reject submissions for any reason. Rejected submissions will not be used and $5 coupon will not apply. Offer void where prohibited.)
Etsy YART Sale: Artist Series Tees Sample SALE and more!
Hey everyone… I will be participating in this year’s Etsy YART sale with a Sample Sale of my tees and any other items I can find!
STARTING TOMORROW, make sure to come check out my store for great deals on some Urban Outfitters Artist Series Tees and much more! The sale will be on from June 10th – 14th so get em while they last…
***6/23 UPDATE*** there are still a few tees left so I’m leaving them ON SALE in the store until they’re all gone!
The Silver Baroque Chair on Apartment Therapy!
The crazy silver chair made it on Apartment Therapy’s Blog yesterday! Check out the comments below their post… most seem to like the makeover.
Thanks for the love Apartment Therapy!
Apartment Therapy Post
Urban Outfitters Pillows on moseyblog!
Thanks so much to moseyblog for the stellar post about my Artist Series Pillows for Urban Outfitters!
New Pillows are Up Online!
The new pillows made it up on the website and they look totally amazing! I wanted to make some pillows with some 70s flair and handiwork and Urban Outfitters did a great job working with that vibe. AND you don’t have to worry about that “grandma’s couch” straight out of the 70s smell! What more could you ask for…
Check them out here.
- Heart Pillow
- Star Pillow
- Lightning Pillow
- Heart Pillow Detail
- Star Pillow Detail
- Lightning Pillow Detail
- Heart Pillow Side Detail
- Star Pillow Side Detail
- Lightning Pillow Side Detail
- Heart Pillow in its Natural Environment
- Star Pillow in its Natural Environment
- Lightning Pillow in its Natural Environment
Urban Outfitters Pillows by Alyssa Zukas
- Urban Outfitters two string jane pillow collection, designed by Alyssa Zukas
- two string jane heart pillow
- two string jane lightning pillow
- two string jane star pillow
- two string jane star pillow detail
- two string jane heart pillow detail
- two string jane lightning pillow detail
- two string jane logo detail
- button detail
Urban Outfitters just sent me production samples of the pillows I recently designed for them based on my t-shirt series. I’m really happy with how the crewel embroidery came out!
Before and After – The Silver Baroque Chair
- Before
- After
- Detail
Can you believe this crazy silver chair was destined for the dust-bin?
THE BACKSTORY: One day, while working the morning shift at Urban Outfitters, I saw my co-workers dragging this out into the back to the trash. This chair was part of a “found furniture” shipment that came all the way from Urban’s Philly Headquarters for the opening of the Del Amo store and had been sitting in the back for years. Thankfully they let me save it and I schlepped it home.
THE PROCESS: It didn’t have anything structurally wrong with it but the upholstery was full of holes and there were multiple coats of paint on the frame, including gold underneath the silver! To spruce it up we used heavy duty enamel paint from Sherwin-Williams in a deep chocolate brown and found this awesome fabric at ReproDepot. The upholsterer replaced the grass stuffing in the back and finished off the edges with a lime green gimp braid.
After working at Urban for two years I’ve managed to save this chair, a Victorian style sofa used as the shoe couch (complete with used gum stuck to the bottom), a 5×6 foot gold frame that used to have a full size mirror, and 2 marble tabletops… all of which I have yet to do anything with so stay tuned!
Shirts on TV… again!
My sister gave me a heads up that another of my shirts was sighted, this time on “The Hills”… We got a screenshot of it so check it out! Pretty awesome… I sure am getting a lot of free press from MTV! I think it’s on Episode 412: “I Want You To Be With Me”
Urban Lightning Bolt Tee on MTV
Cottonable: “Urban Outfitters’s 8 Sexiest V-Neck T’s This Summer”
Cottonable's Picks
So I was checking out my usual “morning coffee” of blogs and found this. According to Cottonable, the Alyssa Zukas Heart Tee is one of their picks for Urban Outfitters’ 8 sexiest v-necks of the summer. And it’s right up there in the number two spot (not that they’re in numerical order or anything but i’ll just assume they are, wink, wink). Pretty sweet!
They Like Me, They Really Like Me!
The infamous post
So I just came across this awesome post on Urban’s Blog! Someone tipped me off that they’d seen some of my jewelry on Urban’s site and I was like “whaa”! Pretty sweet that they not only think my tees are cool but that the copious amount of silly projects I’ve managed to amass over the years have some merit in the world.
Posted in their post is a pic of a necklace that I mass produced a while back for a holiday boutique.
Check out their super nice comments about my stuff.
Thanks for all the love Urban!
Urban Outfitters Artist Series Tees
My Artist Series t-shirt designs are now available at Urban Outfitters in stores and online. There are a few shirts that are only available in stores that aren’t posted online so make sure your check out the nearest Urban to see the others. And if you really like my stuff leave a review on the Urban site!
- Alyssa Zukas Urban Outfitters Artist Series Tees - Heart
- Alyssa Zukas Urban Outfitters Artist Series Tees - Star
- Alyssa Zukas Urban Outfitters Artist Series Tees - Lightning Bolt
- Alyssa Zukas Urban Outfitters Artist Series Tees - Moon
- Alyssa Zukas Urban Outfitters Artist Series Tees - Black Hearts
- Alyssa Zukas Urban Outfitters Artist Series Tees - Clouds
- Alyssa Zukas Urban Outfitters Artist Series Tees - Dino
Custom Sweaters Featured in Urban’s Weekly Empoyee “SLANT” Newsletter
Urban SLANT Employee Newsletter
Just found out that my sweaters were picked to be featured in the Urban Outfitters Employee SLANT Newsletter that goes out to all the Urbans in the country! Even put a nice little bio in there too.
I can’t wait to see what all the other artists did with their sweaters!
Urban Outfitters: Urban Renewal Sweater Project
Just finished up customizing a big heapload of sweaters for the Urban Renewal Sweater Project along with a bunch of other great and talented artists. For my modifications, I decided to take off all the buttons on the front and add crazy colored zippers, add a faux sewn pocket on the front, hand stencil one of 4 animals: squirrel, ostrich, sparrow and bee, and sew on some crazy ribbon. It took forever but I they turned out great! And I even managed to get some cute custom tags made with my name and site on them.
Check them out in select Urban Outfitters stores soon!
Here are a few pics of a select few sweaters before I sent them off…
- Alyssa Zukas Urban Outfitters Urban Renewal Sweaters project - Squirrel detail
- Alyssa Zukas Urban Outfitters Urban Renewal Sweaters project - Tag detail
- Alyssa Zukas Urban Outfitters Urban Renewal Sweaters project - Black
- Alyssa Zukas Urban Outfitters Urban Renewal Sweaters project - Squirrel on black
- Alyssa Zukas Urban Outfitters Urban Renewal Sweaters project - Stitch detail
- Alyssa Zukas Urban Outfitters Urban Renewal Sweaters project - Bird on white closeup
- Alyssa Zukas Urban Outfitters Urban Renewal Sweaters project - Bird on white
- Alyssa Zukas Urban Outfitters Urban Renewal Sweaters project - Bee on black
- Alyssa Zukas Urban Outfitters Urban Renewal Sweaters project - Ostrich
- Alyssa Zukas Urban Outfitters Urban Renewal Sweaters project - Bee close-up