Interview with Alex Singh of etc. on the boutique label’s most recent project, Swami Safari. What’s the concept behind the Swami Safari project? ‘The basic concept is exploring this Swami character we’ve created, who’s running around on his inner safari in the ether. During his safari he interacts and meets all kinds of gods, crazy creatures and fantastical people and places taken out of ancient mythology. A new tee is designed and produced each month in association with a specific artist’. How does this fit in with everything else that you’re doing? ‘This is the first phase of Project Marrakech, an online exploration and transition of real world fashion into a digital space. Swami Safari is a side project for the etc. label but its also part of a totally different direction. Currently the fashion industry is very backwards, very archaic, very traditional. We’re trying to break that model and the inflexibility behind it by going online and direct to our (potential) customers’. What are the core themes inspiring Swami Safari each month? ‘The main theme is mythology, then ancient history and culture. The underlying creative themes are obviously the story telling aspect and James’ artistic style too. But purely in terms of monthly inspiration I’d also consider contemporary and ancient religions, spirituality and all things airy and fairy that are difficult to define. The things science can’t measure or comprehend – which mean that it avoids definition and one-minded interpretation’. We’ve got three Swami Safari tees to give away. Leave a comment telling us which mythology you’d like to see explored by the Swami in an upcoming month and we’ll announce the three lucky winners with a comment on Friday Dec 22.
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Also by ANDY
Struth! We’re now stocking the beautifully designed and overtly Australian range of products by Aussie illustrator, Eamo. Perfect for those of us living abroad, who miss the taste of Vegemite and the smell of the beach, or those whose fleeting connection with the big brown land has left them longing for more.
We’re now stocking your creations
Our online store has been kicking along nicely for a while now, featuring prints by Andy Smith [pictured], tees by Das Monk and jewellery by This Charming Man to name a few. We have visitors from all across the globe and some of our pieces have been racing out the virtual door faster than we imagined possible. Aw, shucks! Now it’s your turn. If you design, create, or distribute products and artwork that fits with our style, and you’d like to see your goodies stocked on our shelves in time for Christmas, drop us a note introducing yourself and we’ll take it from there. Psst … we’re planning some Christmas gift ideas and subscriber offers too. We reckon you’ll like them.
The knuckle sandwich charm necklace by This Charming Man features two pieces of bread on either side of a tiny set of brass knuckle dusters. Rad huh? Get yours now for $140.
YOU'RE SAYING (16)
Es said | 15 December, 2006
The Olympians are always a good one. I would like to see Athena being featured, seeing as though she’s the goddess of domestic arts & war. It can be the war against bad taste, and as her symbol is the owl, maybe you can have a owl perched into a crayon tree where the branches are crayons & the colours spill into the sky. Or a monochrome version of what I just described.
I’m also a fan of Romulus & Remus drinking the milk from the tits of the she-wolf. That would make a lovely detailed drawing on a T don’t you think.
Ian M. said | 15 December, 2006
the surf gods…we need a good surf swell due to having crap waves recently :[
Gary said | 15 December, 2006
Honestly, I believe everyone will be intrigued to see Swami exploring the Egyptian mythology as, of today, amazingly it’s still shrouded in mystery with its ancient hieroglyphs, tombs and pyramids.
Legendary and historic. Complex yet alluring. The physical and spiritual attraction it offers will definitely lead Swami and inevitably us to further explore and experience the adventure of a lifetime!
Dittmar said | 16 December, 2006
Tarot mythology. All cards indicate that I want a shirt.
hussy said | 16 December, 2006
the mythology of rockology … wolfmother; leather pants; and the mighty heavy metal salute.
lastworthy said | 18 December, 2006
how about slavic mythology? all kinds of fun/underappreciated stuff, Koschei the deathless, baba yaga, underwater kingdoms, prophetic birds: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Vasnetsov_Sirin_Alkonost.jpg
luchinko said | 21 December, 2006
I think any exploration should start within, Swami should realise him/herself as a baby, new to the world and excited by ordinary objects… a sort of renewed vision of life and all the coolness within it!!!
George said | 21 December, 2006
If your really trying to break the cycle of the ‘backwards’ fashion world:
1) go study fashion
2) try doing something stussy hasn’t already done
3) do something forward…….starting a t’shirt label isn’t the most ‘OUT OF THE BOX’ thing
….why don’t you try colouring books.
Alex said | 21 December, 2006
Gypsy (Roma) mythology, such as vampires and werewolves would be kind of cool. The less well known stories and characters/creatures could be explored as well.
ANASTASIA said | 21 December, 2006
the russians are definately responsible for bringing more than just vodka to the world…. swami may care to delve into the battle between belobog & chernobog, fly with the sunbird, dive underwater and peruse vodniks’ collection of jarred souls… or bring to light many of the other much underappreciated russian jems
Rob said | 22 December, 2006
Swami should tap into the mythology of Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq). Te land of the Tigris river and the Euphrates is full of amazing myths and stories but also because Iraqs cultural heritage is being so terribly pillaged and forgotten with all the horror thats happening there now. I was particularly thinking of the story of Gilgamesh, the oldest ever recorded epic . It is about King Gilgamesh and his buddy Enkidu’s wild adventures and its full of quests and monsters and sex with sacred prostitutes and drinking and swearing and fighting and killing and grumpy gods and journeys to the underworld and so forth….lots of fantastical good stuff to draw images from.
Salimah said | 22 December, 2006
Yoruba mythology is really dynamic, beautiful and sometimes frightening, almost always allegorical.
Squee said | 22 December, 2006
How about the mythology of the Magic 8 Ball… how is it that it always knows the right answer in a time of need…
Zolton said | 22 December, 2006
Thanks to all the entries and the creative suggestions. The three winners of Swami t-shirts are Rob, Anatasia, and Es. Congrats to all. If you can email me with your postal details, we can get an awesome Swami shirt to you shortly after Christmas.
Mario said | 23 February, 2007
Urban mythology
HAVE YOUR SAY
I can’t wait until artists like Sacramento-based Skinner are commissioned to design candy packaging or toys or children’s bed sheets. As gruesome and completely insane as some of his images are, I would have stared at them for hours when I was ten. Hell, I’m staring at them for hours now. Read more
I usually steer clear of anything smelling of disco-breaks: the thought just bores me. But with Padded Cell’s new release, Night Must Fall, I see a bit of a U-turn on the horizon. There’s something really interesting going on here: it’s a cocktail of 80’s swank laced with woozy narcotic undertones and flecked with snappy drum loops: weird, undeniably dark and ominous, but nonetheless pretty damn satisfying. Read more
Many moons ago, when my hair was longer and my eyes were wider, I played guitar in a Sydney rock band. Over a period of several years, the four members in the group went from relative normality to the very personification of imagined rock glory. Read more
Can this be true? Florent, the legendary eatery of New York’s Meat Packing District, is about to become the next victim of sky-rocketing Manhattan leases. Luckily we still have one more month to be nostalgic at Florent. I’m going (with a whole bunch of friends) this weekend. Read more
I don’t care if Jimmy Hendrix was dragged kicking and screaming from where he lies, put through a torrid round of detox, and handed an invisible guitar – a Flying V carved out of the bones of Robert Johnson. It would still pale in comparison to this. Read more
This nifty little Royal Elastics package includes a pair of Sosei shoes, two Homogeny tees, a Homogeny scarf, and two Homogeny figures that come together to make one. Sweet! Read more
Since they blew up with the release of their debut album, All Hour Cymbals, Yeasayer have become the hottest thing to come out of Brooklyn since the $2.25 pizza slice from Luigi’s on Dekalb. We checked in with bassist Ira Wolf Tuton and asked him for a list of songs that are rocking his world right now. Read more
WE'RE RESPECTING
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
Charlie Immer’s pastel-pallete sometimes obfuscates the gory violence in his surreal images. At other times, it heightens the gut-wrenching and visceral effect of his work. Read more
With the recession still biting, it may be time to whip out the glue and the cardboard and make your next pair of cool kicks. Don’t know how they’d manage in the rain though? Read more
T-post: the world’s first wearable magazine
So here’s the scoop. Every six weeks, T-post subscribers get a new t shirt issue in the mail, with a news story on the inside and an artist interpretation of that story on the front. Yes, we agree. It’s clever, clever. Read more
Hong Kong-based illustrator Man-Tsun draws dark and beautiful painterly images that look like they are straight off a high-end Japanese animated film. Read more
Forget battery powered vehicles. Cars made from ice are the future of transportation: no pollution, no honking horns, no painful rap music blasting out of souped up stereos. And if they melt, they melt. You just swim the rest of the way down the slipstream.
Wolfmother. Rock n roll. Mystical lyrics. Heavy riffs. They have a new album out, Cosmic Egg, and we have five copies to giveaway, along with their debut album. To enter, tell us your favorite Wolfmother song and the city you live in. Yo! Two fingered salute. Read more
From an artist selection of t-shirts comes this limited edition David Bray illustrated silkscreened tee, distributed in a vinyl sleeve with a biography of the artist on the back of the sleeve. Every t-shirt is numbered and signed by the artist, and comes in organic American Apparel cotton. We like! Read more
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We hope you're enjoying your time on Lost At E Minor, but it’s not over yet. Got something to share? Tell us about it and we'll look to publish it. If you want to have your work featured on the site, we'd love to hear from you. Pssst, we also have an online store stocking some of the goodies we feature on the site.
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Monty said | 15 December, 2006
If the t-shirts are anywhere as cool as the photos, then I’m putting my hand up for one right now …!