CUSP Magazine: Winter Issue 2014

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BUSINESS FEATURE//THREADLESS At first glance, the headquarters of Threadless, located on 1260 W. Madison St., looks like an urban art gallery rather than a booming business. Colorful graffiti line the outside walls and tall windows give a tiny peek into the growing company. Once inside, the flamboyant colorful array of art takes a second to fully grasp. Hundreds of Threadless t-shirts hang from the ceiling, and huge installations of robots and cats stand guard. There is a ping pong and foosball table, as well as a photo shoot set up, where all photos for the website are taken. More graffiti and art cover the otherwise white walls as a receptionist greets you.Welcome to Threadless HQ, a unique business headquarters that mixes business with pleasure and is artistic in everything they do. They are best known for their artistic t-shirt designs and are growing in numbers. With over tens of thousands of visitors to the website daily, and 1,000-3,000 pieces of art submitted each week, Threadless has made a name for itself in the Chicago tech, art and fashion sphere. I was able to chat with Marketing Coordinator, Kyler Geib, along with founder and CEO, Jake Nickell, about the success story of this booming business. “Our motto is ‘make great together’ because it’s really a combined collaboration between the artists and ourselves,” Kyle explains as he walks me through the vast warehouse, full of thousands of t-shirts in all colors and sizes. I was able to chat with Marketing Coordinator, Kyler Geib, along with founder and CEO, Jake Nickell, about the success story of this booming business. “Our motto is ‘make great together’ because it’s really a combined collaboration between the artists and ourselves,” Kyle explains as he walks me through the vast warehouse, full of thousands of t-shirts in all colors and sizes. I was able to chat with Marketing Coordinator, Kyler Geib, along with founder and CEO, Jake Nickell, about the success story of this booming business. “Our motto is ‘make great together’ because it’s really a combined collaboration between the artists and ourselves,” Kyle explains as he walks me through the vast warehouse, full of thousands of t-shirts in all colors and sizes. The headquarters also operates as a retail store from 9-5; patrons use computers near the front desk, order from the website, and someone brings the order out from the warehouse. 46 <strong>CUSP</strong> MAGAZINE WINTER ’14 ISSUE

Couches and comfy seating are spread out everywhere on the first floor, as a creative thinking space for Threadless employees. This is where we sat to talk about the multi-faceted business model that is Threadless. “I really like this,” I said, holding up a soft pillow with a rainbow design and a cheery, smiling rain cloud. “That’s actually one of our t-shirts,” Kyle said. “Mostly everything around here is art that has been designed by Threadless artists in one way or another.” I felt like I was in a hip gallery instead of the lucrative headquarters for a creative business, but that’s the great aesthetic that Threadless emanates. The story behind the business and the creative collaboration on all levels is what makes Threadless on the cusp. <strong>CUSP</strong> MAGAZINE WINTER ’14 ISSUE 47