Visiting Threadless

I got out of work a bit early today, and met up with Liz in the afternoon. She recently got some shirts from Threadless, but a few didn’t fit right. Instead of sending them back via mail, we decided to just drive on over to the warehouse (they’re based in Chicago)… which is surprisingly close to us.

On walking in, I was impressed with the interior and started taking pics.

The main entrance is huge, with incredibly high ceilings (it’s a warehouse after all). Lots of custom art along the walls, and a ton of games in this area.

Same wall, a bit farther down.

Camera guy and beetle-jaw girl.

Front desk and entryway.

Super slick chairs for…

the super slick entertainment center.

Lots of vehicles inside the place. That go-cart looks like a blast.

I just got this. Pool shark.

Mmmmmmm. MAME cabinet.

*drools*

Sadly, I didn’t poke around beyond this main area. I would have loved to have seen the other work areas (saw tons of iMacs, and a bunch of sweet dual displays). But for the most part, I felt overly self-conscious, taking pictures.

Even though customers are welcome here, I had this unshakable feeling that I was somehow intruding, interrupting. I also felt like I wasn’t quite cool enough to be there, for some reason. It’s possible this feeling was due to the fact that I had on a plain, solid color Hanes t-shirt; it’s also possible that I was simply seething with jealousy that these folks created a viable business out of what they love to do.

Here’s one neat thing we found out: those two iMacs on the right there? You can browse the catalog, place your order, and you’ll get an option to “Pickup your shirts at the Warehouse.” Essentially, you can get the shirts right then and there. No waiting, and no shipping charges.

Sadly, the option to pick up your shirts is only available through these on-site computers. Most of what I was looking for were already out of stock (they’re having a huge sale at the moment). But when I go back, it’ll be great to get that instantaneous satisfaction and pick up the shirts myself.