Friday, September 7, 2012

OBAMA BACK!


In 2006, I saw a Newsweek magazine with this light skinned brother on the front and it said he could be the next president. I did a double take, then a triple take, then flipped through and read about Barack Obama. I went online, watched his DNC speech, listened to his podcasts, read his memoir and wanted to do something to help. Together, Ning-Hsin Juang and I designed this shirt in 2007.


At first, people were hesitant to carry the shirts. I would go on the 6-train between classes and sell shirts out of a box. I'd sell them in the cafeteria, on craigslist, myspace, and donate 10% of proceeds to the Obama campaign. Then, one day, I got a call from Nima Nabavi at Digital Gravel, the first street wear online retailer. He had seen the shirts and told me he wanted every thing: 5 size runs of all colors and they sold out instantly on Digital Gravel. Eventually we had the shirts in 19 stores including the old Union on Spring St. which to this day is still my favorite brick and mortar boutique all time.

That decision to make these shirts changed my life. Not just because we made money, but because I saw how change happens. The day you find something you believe in and say I WANT TO DO SOMETHING instead of asking CAN I DO SOMETHING, is the day your life begins. Stop asking, start doing, and cop this shirt at Baohaus next week. 10% of each shirt will be donated to the Obama campaign. Not "proceeds", 10% off the top. WE OUT HERE. OBAMA in 2012, let's go family!!!

If you don't live in NY, they are available through Digital Gravel online: http://digitalgravel.myshopify.com/products/obama-dream-team-2012-t-shirt