Ever wondered how a t-shirt is printed?  I'm in Dallas for a majority of the summer working in house again with the print shop my brother and I started a few years ago.  I always get asked how t-shirts are made and it's not a question I can answer with a simple 1-2 sentence answer.  So I filmed this video at our shop to demonstrate the process and give you an inside view as to how a t-shirt is printed.  Keep in mind, I sped the video up to 2000%x the actual speed.


Check it out… 
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To most people the designs from series one look no different then that of any shirt you'd find in a mall.  Though to me, they have a deep meaning.  It's weird how  something so simple can have so much meaning to a person.  So here's the meaning behind each Noah design… 

Change is Courage - Meaning:
After parting ways with my girlfriend at the time and also moving away for college, I was laying in bed thinking about all the change going on in my life.  I was scared to move to a city where I knew no one, as well as wondering if breaking up with my girlfriend was the right choice.  After a while it just kind've hit me, 'change is courage'.  It is self explanatory and applies to everyone.  For me, it was saying enough is enough and cutting ties with my girlfriend at the time and moving on.  And also with me moving to Austin. I was really scared of the task.  I didn't know anyone in Austin, I found some random roommate on Craigslist.  Both situations were hard for me and the phrase means a lot to me, I had the design as my background for a while.
I even addressed it in this blog.

Lonely Are the Brave - Meaning:
Towards the end of high school my best friend got involved in a serious relationship.  Up until this point we literally spent every day together.  I'm the type of person who all they need is one BEST friend, and that's all.  You could even say I chose having one best friend over 5-6 'good' friends throughout high school.  At this point I was also coming out of a long ending, rough relationship of 3 years.  My motocross career was also pretty much coming to a halt with injuries.  So for 10-11 months I pretty much sat at my house every night, including weekends.  I felt like I had lost everything: my best friend, my girlfriend, and the love of my life (motocross).  I could've gone out, partied.  But I wasn't really into the small town party scene, playing beer pong in the shed with 20 dudes who graduated two years ago and then 10 freshmen girls. hahaha.  Of course there was also a good amount of jrs/snrs but for some reason the old and young always stood out.
One night I was flipping through tv channels and I saw a movie called 'Lonely Are the Brave'.  I watched about 5 minutes then turned it off.  Although the movie didn't interest me, I always held onto the phrase 'lonely are the brave'.  It's kind've just always been planted in my head from high school to college.  The first 4 months of college I lived with a complete stranger I found off Craigslist.  In the 4 months we spoke a total of 50 words to each other and I still don't even know his last name.  But I was so determined in moving forward, I didn't really care.

Serving Hope Daily - Meaning:
This is the epitome of Noah, serving hope daily.  Sending a positive message and helping others.  Through our mission of doing the one shirt for one week it's an ongoing mission of helping others.  Because essentially it is helping people, daily.  It's helping people improve and better their life, drastically. 
And then also through our blog.  I've been blogging the last two years and have built up an audience through it.  I can't express the joy I get from receiving emails/comments on blogs and hearing people tell me how much it helped them.  It is by far one of the greatest feelings I've felt.  


So there you have it, the meaning behind the 3 designs.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
www.noahapparel.com
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Noah Apparel 05/06/2012
 
is live.

http://www.noahapparel.com

http://www.noahapparel.com

http://www.noahapparel.com
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The time has come.  I've slowly put the bits and pieces together over the last two years prepping the brand to my vision.  I now feel comfortable and confident to release, Noah.  

The summer collection consist of 6 shirts and 2 cut & sew tank tops (most comfortable fabric in the world!).  All of the work, including the cut & sew, was produced here in Texas.  I made it a point with this line to go all out; using the highest quality fabric for the tanks, discharge inks, the most comfortable shirt blanks I've ever used, and even custom mailers! 
Paperheart will be the blog for Noah, as it will be a BIG part of the brand.  I've added a tab above that links to the Noah site and there will also be a link to the blog on the Noah homepage.  

Also, the mission behind the brand is something not to be overlooked… 
one shirt = one week.


05/06/12
www.noahapparel.com
A special thanks to everyone who helped make it possible: 
JoJo, Matt/LegacyMerch, Mom (helped TONS behind the scenes), Tessa (photos), Samantha and Leslie (modeling), Loc, Jim, Juliette, Tyler, and everyone else who I bounced ideas off of! 
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The first design I ever put together was on a trial version of Photoshop while lying on the couch in 2007, recovering from a broken arm.  I had no idea how to design nor what style I was going for.  I knew little about the apparel industry.  My dad had a clothing brand back in the early 90's and I knew I wanted to revive it.  I had a vision, but no direction.

About 6 months later I finally had my first line of shirts printed.  I sent off the worst artwork ever created to the printers with dreams of magical shirts arriving weeks later.  I remember opening the boxes after receiving, and the disappointment of the shirts.  The actual designs were tiny on the shirts and the inks were so thick you would start sweating after putting a shirt on.  I was pretty embarrassed after telling all my friends about this amazing line I was working on, then I had these shirts arrive.   (5 of the first 12)
At this point I was torn between keeping the brand or letting it die out.  After designing more and some sparks of excitement from others around me, I decided to pursue putting out a second line.  This time I found a new printer, 5 states away.  He sold me on the fact that water based inks with large print quantities were the way to go.  I also decided to sub out about 90% of the designs to actual artist.  

I was in California training for motocross when a friend living with us called and said he came home from work and couldn't even walk on the front porch because it was covered in boxes.  I came home a few days later to about 3,000 shirts.  I was motivated and convinced that I could sell them all, quickly.  The problem with water based inks is, after you wash them once, they fade. badly.  

To promote this line we sponsored some of the top amateur and pro motocrossers and other action sports.  We also set up at Surf Expo (Orlando), Surf&Skate Expo (San Diego), Bamboozle West (LA), Bamboozle East (NJ), and a handful of other motocross and music events.  We even had some of our riders wearing the clothing on national tv, multiple times.  As well as on the cover of/in magazines with over 1.3 million monthly readers.  We even did a few collabs with Rockstar Energy Drink.
One of the last major events we vended at was Bamboozle West in LA.  At this point I was starting to lose hope, the shirts just weren't moving off the shelfs as quickly as I imagined.  I had spent pretty much every dime of my imaginary budget promoting and doing events, but the results weren't so generous.  

My dad had always tried to convince me from day 1 to purchase screen printing equipment and learn the business so I could print for myself and even others.  But, I was young and stubborn so I would always tell him no and hire out printers to do the printing.  Yet, with each printer I ran into different problems, that majorly affected my lines.  I couldn't find any good quality printers who specialized in printing for brands and bands, that genuinely cared about helping create my vision.  It was somewhere between explaining this to my brother and watching the bands/brands at Bamboozle have the same problems I was having with printers that the idea of a print shop was born.

We had a 24 hour drive ahead of us from L.A. to Dallas.  During the trip we plotted out our idea for a screen printing business along with some names in an old notebook.  It was at this point that I saw my focus shift from running a brand, to running a print shop.  

Legacy Born.

We started the business in Matt's 12x20 garage with some small equipment and little hands on experience in the print world.  Through spending countless all nighters printing for clients and 80+ hour work weeks we quickly learned all the ins and outs of the business and spread ourselves thin covering every aspect between the two of us.  

It was a painfully amazing process to watch the business expand enough in 4 months for Matt to quit his 9-5, to print full time.  Months later Matt and Rachel's house was overflowing in boxes, inks, and printing equipment.  Therefor it was time to find an actual space.  6 months after printing our first shirt we were signing a lease to a warehouse/office.
Now within 2 years of opening our doors, and over 300k print impressions later, Legacy employs 5 people.  We're a tight knit team of young, motivated, and passionate individuals.  Though we're still young as a company, our prints are of the highest quality.  Since day one we've prided ourselves on quality screen printing, something that will always be our primary mission. 

This is our Legacy.
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Last month I went to Dallas to print the first set of Noah shirts at my brother's print shop and also visit some family for a few days.  I recently read an article about how Shepard Fairey created a mural project about a month before in downtown.  For those who don't know, Shepard Fairey is a Los Angeles based street artist, mostly known for his Barack Obama HOPE campaign posters.  Anyways, the mural project can be found scattered around the West Dallas area.  


The first mural is on the wall of the Dallas Contemporary Museum...
The next 3 murals are on Singleton Blvd...
And the last mural is on the corner of Fort Worth and Sylvan Avenues, in front of the Belmont Hotel…
The photos really don't do much justice as to actually seeing the murals up-close.  If you live around the DFW area I would definitely recommend checking them out.  Just do a quick Google search and it'll pull up all the locations.

*props to my friend Tessa Linscheid for taking all these photos
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Updates. 04/05/2012
 
I really need to do some updating.  Ever since SXSW (I REALLY need to do a blog on that entire experience, I spent the week with Grimes and Born Gold) I've been super busy.  From working on multiple site designs, branding packages, a full time school schedule, and tackling every aspect of launching my new brand - Noah.  Hectic is an understatement.  

Few updates...

As we speak the sewing is being done for the tank tops and all the shirts are already printed.  I'm planning two photo shoots for the end of this month, one in Dallas and one in Austin.  I'm hoping to throw a big release party in downtown Dallas (most likely) or Austin early June.  Keep your fingers crossed!

Also, a few weeks back I did an interview with one of the largest circulating college magazines in the country.  The issue is slated to come out in May and will feature a full Q&A with myself along with some photos.  SUPER EXCITED for it!

One last thing, shout out to my friend Jo Jo, he's been helping a lot the last few weeks with Noah stuff.  I really appreciate it and it's awesome having some one to bounce ideas off of.

With all that being said, I plan for Noah to officially launch the first week or second week of May (during finals, haaa).  



The last few weeks in photos:
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Introvert. 03/27/2012
 
I stumbled across a blog a while back written by Adam Young about the phenomenon known as the introverted human being and it struck a chord with me.  After reading through, I felt it described what I've tried to explain to so many people.  As an introvert (more so as of lately then ever) myself, it's refreshing to come across this blog.

So here are a few common misconceptions about introverts:


Myth #1 – Introverts don’t like to talk.

This is not true. Introverts just don’t talk unless they have something to say. They hate small talk. Get an introvert talking about something they are interested in, and they won’t shut up for days.

Myth #2 – Introverts are shy.

Shyness has nothing to do with being an Introvert. Introverts are not necessarily afraid of people. What they need is a reason to interact. They don’t interact for the sake of interacting. If you want to talk to an Introvert, just start talking. Don’t worry about being polite.

Myth #3 – Introverts are rude.

Introverts often don’t see a reason for beating around the bush with social pleasantries. They want everyone to just be real and honest. Unfortunately, this is not acceptable in most settings, so Introverts can feel a lot of pressure to fit in, which they find exhausting.

Myth #4 – Introverts don’t like people.

On the contrary, Introverts intensely value the few friends they have. They can count their close friends on one hand. If you are lucky enough for an introvert to consider you a friend, you probably have a loyal ally for life. Once you have earned their respect as being a person of substance, you’re in.

Myth #5 – Introverts don’t like to go out in public.

Nonsense. Introverts just don’t like to go out in public FOR AS LONG. They also like to avoid the complications that are involved in public activities. They take in data and experiences very quickly, and as a result, don’t need to be there for long to “get it.” They’re ready to go home, recharge, and process it all. In fact, recharging is absolutely crucial for Introverts.

Myth #6 – Introverts always want to be alone.

Introverts are perfectly comfortable with their own thoughts. They think a lot. They daydream. They like to have problems to work on, puzzles to solve. But they can also get incredibly lonely if they don’t have anyone to share their discoveries with. They crave an authentic and sincere connection with ONE PERSON at a time.

Myth #7 – Introverts are weird.

Introverts are often individualists. They don’t follow the crowd. They’d prefer to be valued for their novel ways of living. They think for themselves and because of that, they often challenge the norm. They don’t make most decisions based on what is popular or trendy.

Myth #8 – Introverts are aloof nerds.

Introverts are people who primarily look inward, paying close attention to their thoughts and emotions. It’s not that they are incapable of paying attention to what is going on around them, it’s just that their inner world is much more stimulating and rewarding to them.

Myth #9 – Introverts don’t know how to relax and have fun.

Introverts typically relax at home or in nature, not in busy public places.  If there is too much talking and noise going on, they shut down. Their brains are too sensitive to the neurotransmitter called Dopamine. Introverts and Extroverts have different dominant neuro-pathways. Just look it up.

Myth #10 – Introverts can fix themselves and become Extroverts.

A world without Introverts would be a world with few scientists, musicians, artists, poets, filmmakers, doctors, mathematicians, writers, and philosophers. That being said, there are still plenty of techniques an Extrovert can learn in order to interact with Introverts. (Yes, I reversed these two terms on purpose to show you how biased our society is.) Introverts cannot “fix themselves” and deserve respect for their natural temperament and contributions to the human race. In fact, one study (Silverman, 1986) showed that the percentage of Introverts increases with IQ.
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Believe in yourself.
Get to know yourself,
what you can do and what you can't do
for only you can make your life happy.

Believe in work, learning and achieving
as a way of reaching your goals
and being successful.

Believe in creativity
as a means of expressing your true feelings
and as a way of being spontaneous.

Believe in appreciating life.
Be sure to have fun every day
and to enjoy the beauty in the world.

Believe in loving.
Love your friends, love your family
love yourself, love your life.

Believe in long term relationships.
Be sure the people are worthy of your love
and be very honest with them.

Believe in your dreams
and your dreams can become a reality.



I stumbled across this about a year ago and it has always been a big inspiration to me.  I've kept it secretly tucked away in my phone notes and refer back to it when I'm feeling a bit down and I need to be reminded...  I can't remember who the author is, but enjoy.
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REVOLUTION 03/06/2012
 
2012 is going to be a year of revolution.  1/3 of the world's nations will hold elections this year, affecting more then half of the earth's population.  59 countries will be tallying up votes - local, state or national.  26 of these may see a change in national leadership.  With most of the change concentrated in the world's most powerful countries.  

Even besides politics 2012 has long been shrouded under the veil of apocalyptic mythology, and whether tongue in check or based, this year brings a sense of urgency to a world that has become so wedlock with disillusionment and typical cookie cutter lifestyles.  

From the restlessness and determination of Occupy Wall Street to upheave the old world order, the (hopeful) uprising of the economy, the countless protest going on overseas, and the loss of modern day 'messiahs' like Steve Jobs, we're paving the way for new voices and new ideas.  


The biggest thing that stands out to me in 2012 (I'm not much for politics) is the Invisible Children's campaign 'KONY 2012'.  KONY 2012 is a film and campaign that aims to make Joseph Kony famous, not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice.  

Joseph Kony is the leader of a guerrilla group the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a group engaged in a violent campaign to establish theocratic government throughout Uganda.  The LRA has abducted and forced an estimated 30,000 children to fight for them.  The children often are forced to kill their own parents and the girls are forced into sex slavery.  

The video is about enlightening the world of who he is and bringing an end to Joseph Kony and the LRA.  


*EDIT 3/07 4PM WEDNESDAY

I hopped on the KONY2012 bandwagon as quick as anyone, before researching more about the Invisible Children organization.  I completely support exposing Joseph Kony's crimes for the world to see.  But the way Invisible Children are going about it is a bit misleading (similar to the entire 'Keep a Breast Foundation' campaigns).  Have a read for yourself: 

http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/

http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/post/18890947431/we-got-trouble


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