Over the past month, I’ve been limiting my theme discussions in an effort to spend more time on hacks, news, tips, etc.   On occasion, though, a theme will really catch my eye and I’ll share it here.   This is one of those occasions.

If you are someone that enjoys a very flexible WordPress theme, you’ll want to check out the latest release from the team over at Woo Themes called Thick theme.  The first thing that will jump out at you is the color combinations available and the lifestream feature.  Want to display your latest “tweet”?  You can easily do that with your theme.

Here are the other impressive features you’ll get with this theme:

• 20 different styles & color schemes available – including grunge & clean, and light & dark designs (all included with purchase)
• 3 different widgetized spaces with oodles of custom widgets to allow you to move content around as your heart desires
• An integrated lifestream to publish all of your online activities elsewhere
• Two alternative header layouts for  you to play around with
• Integrated Theme Options (for WordPress) to tweak the layout, color scheme etc. for the theme;
• Automatic Image Resizer, which is used to dynamically create the thumbnails and featured images;
• Built-in Gravatar Support for Authors & Comments;
• Integrated Banner Management script to display randomized banner ads of your choice site-wide; and
• Asides / side blog functionality.

As great as that feature list is, in order to get a true appreciation for everything this theme offers, you’ll want to check out the Thick Theme demo.   Here is a screen shot of the homepage:

Despite all the extras this theme offers, Woo Themes has stayed true to their price, offering this premium WordPress theme for the same price as all of their other themes.   You can get a single-use license for $70.00, a developer’s license for this theme for $150.00, or if you have a large blog portfolio, you can get all of the themes from Woo Themes if you invest in their Theme Club.

Have you ever wanted to show off your design talents and participate in the making of a premium WordPress theme?   Thanks to the team over at Woo Themes, it looks like that is now a possibility with their new Woo Contest.

Here is the contest information for anyone that wants to participate:

• The design must be created in Photoshop, Fireworks or Illustrator format.
• The website container must have a width of between 940 and 980 pixels, catering for the average 1024 X 768 user.
• Entries must be submitted before midnight on 31st October 2008. That’s Halloween night!
• The entries must be submitted to the WooThemes Flickr pool in jpeg or png format and tagged “Woocontest”.

Your submission on Flickr must include:

• Your name and any URL you would like linked to in case you win.
• Any stock or source images you have used including URLs. Be sure to only use stock images that have Extended Usage licenses that allow for distributing the theme design once coded, otherwise avoid use of stock images.

Other Terms and Conditions:

• The theme concept submitted must be entirely your own work. As mentioned above if stock imagery is used it must have an extended usage license.
• By entering this competition you consent to your theme concept possibly being used by WooThemes and available for purchase on our site. First and second prize will, as already stated, be awarded a cash prize for their work.
• If any other theme concepts are used by Woo Themes the designer will be informed and a once-off fee will be awarded to the designer for the concept. The fee will be agreed upon by both parties. Sales generated off the theme will be kept by the company.
• The winning theme concept and the runner up may be required to mock up an inner page before payment is made, determined by an inspection of the design source file. A clearly noted grid structure is highly recommended.

Why should you participate?

In addition to all of the exposure you’ll get from Woo Themes, you’ll also receive a nice cash prize.  The winner will receive $2000 and a 6 month developer’s license of the completed theme, while the runner up will receive $1000 and a 3 month developer’s license.

I noticed some interesting news last night and contemplated whether or not to cover it here.   It looks like Micheal of Solostream has sold his premium theme business to Jigsaw Group.   I’ve always been a big fan of Michael and his work at Solostream, so I’d like to first start this post by congratulating him.  It looks like he will still be working for Solostream, so future releases should have a similar look and feel to what we’ve come to expect from the Solostream brand. 

So, on to the post.   Unless I am forgetting another acqusition, it looks like this is the first premium WordPress theme brand to sell?  If so, that is pretty big news for this market.  

According to the announcement, we can expect some big changes over at Solostream:

Increased product offerings.

Under Michael’s direction, our immediate plans include the production of many new templates, which incorporate new features/plug ins and exciting designs.  We will be sending out announcements to keep you alerted as we ramp up our production schedule over the next few months.

Enhanced customer service.

You will continue to receive the same high levels of service that you have come to expect from Solostream.  Plus, we are adding personnel to our customer service team and creating a new forums area where you will be able to search for answers to your questions.

New innovations throughout the company.

We are also going to dedicate time and effort to improving communication and assisting the members of our Affiliate Program to generate new sales.

It looks like Solostream is moving more towards a business model that mirrors what Woo Themes (formerly Premium News Themes) has become.   A team of designers and developers that will work on creating new themes at a much more rapid pace.   It also allows for collaboration and improved innovation in themes.  

I think this has potential because buyers of their premium WordPress themes will get more than just the theme with their purchase.   The become part of a community, get forum support, etc.   Like I mentioned above, the business model has already found some success and I think it will here to. 

So, what do you think of this?   How will this affect the premium WordPress themes market?  Will other people sell their businesses as well?  Will the teams forming muscle out some of the individuals trying to start up their own businesses?   Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Back when WooThemes was announced last month, the team announced that they were planning on a regular new theme release schedule possibly as often as once a month.   Well, it has been about a month now and true to their word, they have released their next theme, named Papercut.

Here is what you get with the papercut theme:

• Five eye-catching theme styles to pick from that include the default, newspaper, red print, wood and floral prints.
• An unique homepage layout, with a beautiful grid structure that keeps your content looking fresh and appealing.
• Beautiful comment styling and unobtrusive advertising banner placements.
• A completely widgetized sidebar with custom widgets included in the theme packaging. No third party widgets required.
• Integrated Banner Management widget to display banner ads of your choice site-wide.
• Integrated Theme Options (for WordPress) to tweak the layout, colour scheme etc. for the theme.
• Automatic Image Resizer, which is used to dynamically create the thumbnails and featured images.
• Custom Page Templates for Archives, Sitemap & Image Gallery.
• Built-in Gravatar Support for Authors & Comments.
• Integrated Banner Management script to display randomized banner ads of your choice site-wide.

And of course, here are the screenshots:

Papercut Homepage

Papercut Gallery Page

As with all their other themes, you can pick up this work of art for $70.00 (single-use license) or $150.00 (developer’s license).

After speaking with my good friend Adii of Premium News Themes, it looks like he has made a bold, yet wise decision to move his Premium News business to the new domain Woo Themes.  Obviously moving your website to a new domain can be a big hassle (I’ve done it 4 times in the past year for a few of my websites and it was a lot of work), but in this situation I really think it was the right and necessary move for the growth of his business.

So, why did Adii move his online business to a new home?  One very important word…brandability.  When he launched Premium News Themes, it was originally to sell one theme, the original Premium News theme.  Since then, his business has expanded drastically, and that domain was limiting him to releasing only news WordPress themes.

So, now the Premium News Themes can be found over at Woo Themes.   What other changes were included with the domain transfer?

1. Woo Themes Team Grows – The Woo Themes team has added a new member named Elliot Jay Stocks.   I’m not familiar with Elliot’s work, but more people probably means faster theme production and more choices.
2. Woo Themes Club – This is an interesting idea for a subscription-based WordPress themes club that appears to be set to replace the concept of an All-Inclusive Package we’ve seen other designers do.  The cheapest membership is $150.00 quarterly, but that gives you access to all existing Woo Themes as well as any new themes.
3. Regular Theme Releases – The Woo Themes team is committed to releasing at least 1 new premium theme each month, with many months have 2 new premium themes.
4. Two New Premium Themes – You can now purchase two new premium WordPress themes.  They are VibrantCMS and ProudFolio.
5. New Prices - All Woo Themes (previously Premium News Themes) are now available at premanently reduced prices.  You can get a single license for $70.00 or a developer’s license for $150.00.

Overall, I am impressed with the new setup and I think it will be interesting to see how this changes the premium WordPress themes market.  How will having a team instead of an individual improve both production and support?  Will their price reduction force the competition to reduce their prices?  Will their twist on the theme club idea take off?

Check out the new and improved Woo Themes.