Well, who hasn't had the thought, "That should be on a shirt." A very large number of people have thought about starting a "tee shirt company". It's not a new idea. The challenge is always coming up with more than one idea to run with.
For me the moment was in December. I was busy trying to perfect a new shortbread recipe that I had been obsessed with for the past couple weeks. My wife and resident taste tester was sitting in the adjacent living room watching A Christmas Story. Ralphie's dad has just received his brand new leg lamp and walked outside and across the street to see it through the window. Much to their Mother's dismay, Ralphie and his little brother are similarly enraptured by the light-up leg until she remembers to remind them that their favorite show is about to come on tv. The Narrator describes it, "She was right. Only one thing in the world could have dragged us away from the soft glow of electric sex."
It was the "electric sex" phrasing that caught my ear. I was shocked, not at the content, but at the fact that I couldn't remember ever picking up on that line, on that brilliant phrasing! I immediately had the idea to put the leg lamp, an already iconic image, on a shirt next to an electric font that spelled out "electric sex". So I whipped up a crude design on my ipad.
I started to try to think about other sources I could apply this idea to of taking an iconic image from a well-known piece of entertainment and pair it with a much lesser known or even unknown quote from the same entertainment. I was struck with the idea to have Max's "wild thing" outfit paired with the phrase "Wild Rumpus". Again, a crude drawing appeared. Suddenly ideas began to flow into my brain.
I kept drawing and refining, which didn't take too long or become too complicated because I'm not a strong graphic designer or visual artist. But I have plenty of imagination. So, for me, creating these shirt designs walks the line between "fun game" and "rather challenging" as I try to cram this stream of fun ideas into fairly simple drawings and designs.
I hope to learn and grow as a visual artist a bit so I can create more complex and visually interesting designs over time. I also look forward to the challenge of continuing to find fun ways to interpret popular culture through the tee shirt medium.
I think most of the time, our "that should be on a shirt" ideas are funny or clever, so I'll be trying to stick with those two elements and see what gets created. Thanks for checking out the brand.
Definitely not naked,
R