“People still wear t-shirts?”

In a city of fashion trend forwarding, what you wear on your top-half of your body is just as important as how well groomed your hair is, right? Okay, for some it may not be your hair, but what goes on your t-shirt is important. People are constantly searching for t-shirts with the right design, and we’re focused on bringing that unique style because plain t-shirts are so yesterday. You see it on the streets, and you see it on the person next to you. A wide variety of t-shirts with awesome, weird, and questionable designs and phrases that gives you a reason to stare at her boo– I mean that awesomely looking t-shirt.

Yes, it has been a while since our last batch of t-shirt updates. We’re consistently looking for great ideas to entice the consumers in you, but alas– we need your help. Let’s look at the steps of making a t-shirt unique.

First off, printing the t-shirt is the easy part, but brainstorming ideas is not. Luckily, we’re not alone. Our team of designers come to work contributing their maximum brain power of performance, together, and that’s what makes us different. As a designer, you are the base of the system, and you want to be able to empower your creativity towards consumers. You thrive to see people wearing your designs on their chest. That’s just what it is.

As for our batch of t-shirts, we’re working on em’. There’s no set date as to what we’ll come up with next, but rest assured– there’s a possibility of it becoming the next line of meme. We’re doing our best to set ourselves apart from the others, and if you have ideas or something that you would like to see, let us know and we might make it happen.

The post Clothes are so Over-rated appeared first on Shop mon0r.

“You pay for what you get!”

I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but I now fully understand how production of materials are made. In order for /stuff/ to be cheap with a profit income, production of the material has to be reduced. Otherwise, there would be no profit if it were to be good material. Make sense?

A great example to represent this equation is Apple making their products in China. Since Apple is working its way to assemble and make their hardware in America, I’m probably guessing the price of the products will either raise or stay afloat. If that were the case, I’m not sure whether Apple would be making /as much/ profit as they would if they were making their products in China.

This could be compared to the production of the materials we use to make our t-shirts – being American Apparel. Now, American Apparel is really popular in North America and UK – the only two locations I know that wear these brands, so far. The quality of American Apparel t-shirts are super comfortable and remains great after a number of washing cycles. I’ve always been keen on bringing customers high quality t-shirts and print because it leaves a good feedback, but our company has been bitten by the “it’s too expensive!” bug. This brings me back to my quote “you pay for what you get,” and the meaning holds true towards everything else.

Let’s compare a random purchase about computers. Buying yourself a $300 computer laptop would only guarantee you a few years of good use out of it, unless you’re a hardware geek and can maintain it properly. Then, there is the $1000 computer laptop that would give you a long use of years from it. I’m not saying that the $1000 computer laptop can’t die in months nor the $300 computer laptop can’t last years, but people buy specific products because they want their moneys worth.

Of course I can’t be going on about comparing computers to t-shirts because hardware and materials are two different things. If you look at it this way, computer hardware is consistently upgrading and clothing materials never change but the common factor between these two – they both have different types of hardware/materials available for purchase. What I mean is that by purchasing the lowest end graphic card, you are asking for terrible graphics. By purchasing the lowest end material, you just flat out get terrible materials! Both giving you problems in the end.

A lot of people don’t understand that, and I’m not sure if its true but apparently cotton production is subsidized. Otherwise a t-shirt would cost like $80, but that’s just what I heard. I’ve asked a ton of people what they think about in regards to the current problem we’re facing – I guess you can call it a problem – and globalization was brought up. A lot of business nowadays are facing towards globalization for production materials. It’s basically the default answer for a key to profit, but what about jobs in our own nation? So much for recession.

Anyways, that’s not something that I will tread on. I’m writing this to tell you, our customers, that our t-shirt prices have been reduced and our materials, as well. Because a lot of people are complaining about our prices – even though you’re purchasing $50 imported t-shirts elsewhere – all our graphic t-shirts are now $19.99, and our typography t-shirts are $14.99. It hurts me to say this, but you have to do what you got to do.

The post Price Cut appeared first on Shop mon0r.

The post Impressions on Tales of Graces f appeared first on Shop mon0r.

“I can’t seem to wrap my head around on which pair to get.”

I’ve been thinking about investing into a solid pair of headphones after being left with a satisfied feeling from my last purchase of the Sony MDRV55R DJ headphones (http://ad.mon0r.com/MLhE), but I can’t seem to wrap my head around on which pair to get.

I’ve been toying with the Bose AE2i (http://ad.mon0r.com/MLfP) and Bose OE2i (http://ad.mon0r.com/MM1t), and I’ve grown to like both models very much. Disregarding the price difference between both, I got myself a chance to try these on while I was out searching for headphones the other day, and the Bose OE2i had a much better sound quality compared to the Bose AE2i, albeit they are both good, regardless. For a $40CDN price difference from $149.99 to $189.99, it could initially be a solid investment down the long run. Though, I’m still stuck deciding in-between and with many people recommending me to look into Sennheiser’s, you can imagine that I’m left with a lot of options to select except for the Meats by Dre– was never a fan.

So, here I ask, are you a headphones or an earphones person and what are you currently rocking? Comment and send some recommendations this way! At least, it can help me decide on my next headphone purchase.

The post Headphone Decisions! appeared first on Shop mon0r.

It’s happening. The Wii mini.

Shortly after the debut of the Wii U, Nintendo has slammed all rumours into the pit today with a confirmation of the Wii mini being released exclusively in Canada. Now, this does actually come as news because we start to question why Nintendo would even think of doing something like this shortly after the debut of the Wii U. What are they thinking aboot, eh?

Canadian’s will sure be happy to know that they are finally getting an exclusive system before America would. The only problem is that Americans are probably not going to buy it, anyways. So, why is Nintendo releasing this console system in Canada only? I can only think of two things and that’s probably because Canadians are nice and we like the colour red. You can argue that the Wii mini is discounted from the original Wii at $99.99, and it offers a chance to save on shelf space but is that really important now? I always thought that the Wii came in a compact size, anyways, and that the Wii mini should not be about saving shelf space– it should be about improving from the original.

Nintendo shouldn’t take all the blame, though. Other companies like Sony had a fair share of slimming things down like the PS2 slim. I’m guilty for purchasing the PS2 slim back in the days, and it did offer shelf saving space with a few hiccups that came along with it. However, Sony did release the PS2 slim during its prime phase when the PS2 was still going strong on the market. Wii mini? Your Wii is dusty, has old games with no new games to-be-announced, and with the Wii U out– there is no reason why you should even consider purchasing the Wii mini, aside from price factor. Overall, it is bound for death, right?

The Wii mini is slated for release on December 7th, and if you’re getting it, don’t expect to be reading this article on that console system you just bought because it comes with no internet connection. The online capabilities of the original Wii is laughable, but when Nintendo removes the online function on the Wii mini, that’s a huge step backwards. On top of that, it also rids of the ability to play GameCube games. So Canada, get ready for a smaller, less-featured version of a system you probably have laying in your dusty shelf, somewhere.

(source: Nintendo)
 

Stahp, Nintendo. Wat r u doin?

The post O, Wii Mini. appeared first on Shop mon0r.

You’ve heard it all before. Pokemon is washed up. Pokemon is using a dying game mechanic. There’s no way the new games are ever going to capture the magic of the first ones, and while it’s true that the game revolves heavily around the same basic concept of capturing Pokemon and training them in battles, the folks over at GameFreak have managed to spice things up just enough in the latest iteration of the brand to make it feel new and refreshing.

What’s that? Yes, you heard me. Pokemon Black and White 2 are a joy to play. I’ll admit, I was a skeptic too at first, but once I took the plunge and started playing, I had twenty hours logged on my save file. Damn. That was quick.

So without further ado, let’s jump into the review. Don’t worry, your eyes are safe. I’ll try to keep my mon0r reviews concise from now on.

Collecting At Its Best?

 
Pokemon Black and White 2 take full advantage of the Nintendo DS hardware and blast you with a beautiful array of 2D sprites and 3D structures. The trees are verdant and the towns look vibrant – this is definitely the best looking Pokemon game out there. In addition to that, a variety of new features like Join Avenue and the Pokemon World Tournament are sure to keep you busy for hours upon hours. If battling is your thing, you can also participate in online Pokemon battles with your friends or people across the world over Wi-Fi. You can also trade with a countless number of people so filling up your Pokedex is easier than ever before. Oh, and don’t forget Pokemon musicals or Pokestar Studios. You’re going to have a blast with them if side-games are your cup of tea.

For a lot of people, the Pokemon battling and collecting have been the main draws for the series. GameFreak and Nintendo were smart enough to leave the fundamental aspects of these two things intact and instead focused on improving its presentation rather than its implementation. Gone are the gyms of old with their drab hallways and long corridors. Now you’ll be scaling the backs of gigantic dragon statues and whizzing across water on lily pads. Speaking of foliage, there are also things called Hidden Grottoes where you’ll be able to catch unique Pokemon with different abilities and higher levels. The only caveat is that they’re hidden – you’ll have to keep your eyes peeled to the screen to spot them. What’s more, you won’t be stuck wondering where to catch certain Pokemon now thanks to the brand new Habitat List. It tells you where Pokemon live – a vital tool for completionists. Also, you won’t be limited to Pokemon from the Unova region since all five generations will be represented in some form in Pokemon Black and White 2.

The story aspect of Pokemon games, though, has always been something of a weak spot. The plot lines were all fairly generic and followed the same structure without fail: get starter Pokemon, beat gyms, meet evil team, beat evil team, beat Pokemon League, catch Legendary Pokemon. Rinse and repeat. So while Pokemon Black and White 2 don’t necessarily shake the foundations of the literary world, they do take a step in the right direction by acknowledging what happened in the previous games and incorporating that into the story. It also starts to focus on heavier themes than what’s typical of Pokemon. Themes of control, and grey areas of morality? That kind of stuff belongs in a Bioware game! Nevertheless, the story was enjoyable this time around and I found myself reading the text boxes instead of skimming through them like I used to. It serves as a fitting conclusion to the Unova region’s story arc and is a promising sign of what’s to come.
 

What I think.

 
Is Pokemon Black and White 2 the definitive versions of the Pokemon brand? The simple answer is a resounding yes. Pokemon Black and White 2 take everything that people love about the Pokemon series and turn it up a notch. New locations, gripping battles, plentiful Pokemon, and a better story. If this still doesn’t compel you to buy the game, then you’re missing out on one of the year’s deepest and most addicting turn-based roleplaying games. If you want my advice, buy it and don’t look back. Trust me, you won’t regret it.

The post Pokémon Black/White 2 Review appeared first on Shop mon0r.

Recently, our team ventured out into the Graffiti Alley located in Toronto’s Fashion District, which runs south of Queen Street West from Spadina Avenue to Portland Street, for a photo shoot of our latest Autumn line-up. The Graffiti Alley has about a kilometer’s worth of wall space of varying art, and the best part was that we had the opportunity to do our photo shoot of our latest Fall line-up of sweaters and t-shirts!

“Bulbasaur! Use vine whip! Not in that kinky way!; Will you be my Baby Princess?”

As part of our photo shoot, we introduced our new Autumn line-up of newly designed cross-over t-shirts such as our notably popular National Pokémon Association (as seen above), and our Yoshi Island / Jurassic Park parody (as soon above). We’ve went as far as to introducing alternatives for both Yoshi Island / Jurassic Park parody and our National Pokémon Association shirt! Our NPA t-shirt can be printed in the standard Pikachu print, but it can also be printed with your favourite Pokémon from the first and second generation, and our Yoshi Island / Jurassic Park parody t-shirt can be printed in either Baby Mario or Baby Princess.

“Moe Moe Kyun vs. Love is War.”

Along with the newly introduced cross-over t-shirts, we’ll be updating our inventory of sweaters to prepare for the cold weather ahead of us. The first two designs to be sold in sweater form will be our Moe Moe Kyun and Love is War. Both of these popular designs are based off the classic “RUN DMC” but transformed into our own unique and original idea. We have tons of new and upcoming designs based off this, and we’re proud to call this our exclusive “mon0r design”, the best design to ever happen to design. Apple reference, laugh out loud.

To wrap things up, we invite you to change your mind on where your next t-shirt will be purchased, and as always, we make sure we deliver good material clothes and design for everyone.

The post Autumn Line-up 2012! appeared first on Shop mon0r.

Here’s to another year, since our 2011 launch in February, and let’s hope that with this year, we can make a bigger name for ourselves. Of course, with the help with our fans, we’d like to thank you for your great support because we have just added another successful child onto our growing family tree.

Sincerely,
Founder, Icky.

PS. Happy shopping.

The post Grand Opening! appeared first on Shop mon0r.