This is a departure for me. Usually I'm in self-aggrandizing mode, promoting my own t-shirt creations that are growing probably not as fast as they should along at my store
www.sweltermerchandise.com. But I've just been cruising through
This Next when I was stopped in my tracks by a t-shirt by
Zulu Rose.
I'm sure whether or not you have to be African to fully appreciate their wonderful site and creations, but when I stopped over at their place I instantly got that wonderful smell, heat and soul from their web site layout, their t-shirt and other apparel designs and their use of language. I admit to being a little drenched in envy too.
Their work is beautiful and everyone involved at Zulu Rose seems to have a really interesting background - from academia to design, shooting for
MTV, dance (with
SoulIISoul), costume design (for the
Alvin Ailey American Dance Company 
amongst other such luminaries), and concept work for
Beyonce. Phew! I can't top that but I am inspired by what Zulu Rose has achieved, I'm always proud to be African, and I will be starting my very contemporary African t-shirt brand before the year is out. So, to the team at Zulu Rose, I say thank you and hamba kahle (go well!).
This must be one of the best and most useful examples of iconography I've seen on a t-shirt! The tee has a phrase book printed on it - point a finger at the pictogram you need and then point twice at the question mark, smiling all the while. Another one of those moments when you see something and wish you'd been the one who came up with the idea. All credit to designer Artemy Lebedev. Buy it at http://store.artlebedev.com. Then purchase your round-the-world plane ticket and put the shirt to good use.
