Shameless PR: embroidery, hats, tee's, jackets, shirts....stickers....buttons
Jeff Potter
the bushel any longer.
Probably everyone but me has already franchised and I'm way behind the
curve, but anyway...
Around here in the semi-rural midwest, I see everyone wearing
prosports apparel and corporate logos. I'm just ITCHIN to jump out
there with my own stand-up line-up.
Some of the stuff looks pretty nice actually---like the jackets,
shirts, hats with the embroidery stuff on the front/back.
I see quite a few folks do this for the place where they work or for
their union as a more normal kind of pride statement.
The prosports and big corp (vehicle) stuff is way so generic that it
loses all meaning.
But some of them work like walking business cards or just statements
of expertise. I kinda like that.
If I was a foundation cement contractor, I'd like to have a jacket
with a big loader emblazoned on the back and a small tasteful one on
the front with my company name and city and heck maybe even website.
I like some of the military ones, too, where people have wild jackets
that say what outfit they're in--the Fighting Sea-Bee's with a big mad
hornet or flaming jet or whatever.
The funny thing is that I can't make myself wear any kind of word or
advertising on my clothes. But I think I could wear MY OWN SCENE on
them. Or I could wear stuff about something local that I'm involved
with. Like I'm involved with the tiny zero-image local push to get
biketrails and greenways....that would make a great tee-shirt and
bumpersticker project. (Hey, I'm going to get right on that right
now!)
We made some great tee-shirts for the only family run indy theatre in
the area. They charge $2 for firstrun movies, 50¢ for pop and popcorn
(together). It's a big classic old place. Everyone knows everyone who
goes there. So we made some cool artwork of the front of the theatre
and showed the owner and asked if he liked it and he said Yes and
bought a few and that was it. No one really cared about it even though
the moviehouse seems to be one of the key places that tie our little
town together and make it the only actual town in the area. He shoulda
used it as a uniform or kept it out on display more. Well, we sold
dozens and they're out there so that was fun. I hope it helps people
have some more pride in one of their only remaining vestiges of public
culture. I think the artist types bought them, but the "locals" prefer
their prosports/trucks shirts. Sigh.
I think something fancier than a tee would be good for one's business
cause, even if it's just a hobby. It would be a way to show an
alternative to prosports/corps. We can co-opt (some) of their methods,
especially where it's most needed, such as what gets paraded out
before the public/civic eye.
What's neat to me about my OYB projects is that they aren't against
the rural/populist vibe. "OutYourBackdoor.com" would look fine on a
feed hat or camo hat---and still promote a subversive DIY anti-corp
message. Maybe I could make a collage of non-consumer outdoor family
activities for the back of an embroidery jacket--to go with a sneaky
subversive DIY slogan for OYB...one that implicitly says you don't
need corporations or permission: DIY! --Only it would be suitable for
the family atmosphere which prevails in any rural area.