When it came to be time to make some merch, we said let's not phone it in.
These designs are by my two brothers, Fran Hartnett, a visual artist among many other things, and JP Hartnett, a graphic designer, among many other things.
Fran asked me how far I was willing to go, to make the best t-shirts possible. When we made the music, we gave it everything, and the same when it came time to make videos. I saw no rush to skimp on quality now.
He directed me to Victor, of Blackout Atelier (Inkymade.com). He operates an artisan, screen printing business running since 2015. His team has mastered the craft of screen printing, researched sustainable methods, and never looked back. Everything they do is on a manual press, by hand. Every shirt is handled personally, no robots or automatic machines are allowed. Victor uses only premium quality water-based inks (Fujifilm & Amex), and they are all 100% cruelty-free. Ethical and eco-friendly printing is what he does.
As for the t-shirts themselves, Victor insists on only using t-shirts from Stanley/Stella. Launched in 2012 by Jean Chabert, they are driving change in the textile industry. Their commitment is to beautiful pieces, made in a more human, ethical and ecological way.
I gave Fran the prompt, 'crates'. He created a blue and pink design to go on the back of the grey t-shirt. On the front, we enlisted JP, whose speciality is in font design. He made the lovely and subtle text with information about the night itself, to mark the occasion of the EP launch, and make the shirt into a piece of history, while keeping the balance of the overall design.
His designs were so good that a second t-shirt was made, for his 'Pio Hartnett Cargo' large black abstract design, so that we could put it somewhere too. It goes on the front of the purple t-shirt, with nothing on the back.
I spent a lot of hours working on these t-shirts with the help of Fran, JP, Victor of Blackout Atelier and Stanley/Stella, and a few very late nights, but I'm happy with what we've pulled off. I wanted to make something beautiful, something that would last. We've only been able to make an extremely limited number - it is our first ever time doing this. But I encourage you to consider getting one, if you'd like to support us and this mad thing we're doing. Thank you for stopping by, and thank you for listening.
LIMITED 'CREATOR'-STYLE STANLEY/STELLA UNISEX T-SHIRT, WITH DESIGNS BY JP+FRAN HARTNETT
Details:
Set-in sleeve
1x1 rib at neck collar
Inside back neck tape in self fabric
Sleeve hem and bottom hem with wide double needle topstitch
100% Cotton
Organic Ring Spun Combed
Fabric washed
180 g/m²
Colour + Design Options:
Opal (Grey) - Black Abstract Design on Front (JP)
Indigo Hush (Purple) - Blue Design on Back (Fran), Info Design on Front (JP)