MADE IN AMERICA
OTB: Old-School Graphics
It is relatively easy to get into the T-shirt business, said Eric Byrne, who spent a good part of his career selling T-shirts. You just need screen-printing equipment and some blank T-shirts. The hard part is making good-quality shirts and putting the right graphics on them.
After years of observing what others have gotten right and wrong, Byrne thought he would give his idea of the perfect T-shirt a try. He called it OTB, the Only Tee Brand. He hopes that the new, made-in-Los Angeles line will be something that will be embraced by T-shirt connoisseurs because of its quality. He is previewing the new line in Las Vegas during MAGIC Market Week.
If there’s a lot of swagger to the moniker Only Tee Brand, Byrne hopes to back it up with materials he considers the best. For the line’s debut, it’s 100 percent, 40-single cotton. The fabric breathes more easily than other T-shirt fabrics and would work well for anyone who lives in a place lucky enough to have T-shirt weather. “I’m making T-shirts for hotter weather,” he said. “It lays nice, it breathes, it is thinner, it is not so clunky,” he said. Upcoming seasons will offer thicker tri-blend fabrics for cooler weather.
He also offered some variety with silhouettes. OTB offers V-necks, crew necks, raglans and zip-up hoodies. Some of the T-shirts will come with graphic art that Byrne called “old-school cool.” For guys, much of it is inspired by the car culture that comes from his native Detroit. For women, its graphics include images such as butterflies. The graphics are created by Grand Rapids, Mich.–based artist Brian Moss and a collective of mostly Michigan artists.
Wholesale price points range from $12 to $17.75. For more information, contact Byrne at eb3only@gmail.com.
