www.sweltermerchandise.com: I'VE JUST DISCOVERED ZULU ROSE AND I'M IN LOVE!

INTOLERABLE WEATHER CONDITIONS INSPIRE NEW T-SHIRT COMPANY

Who would have thought such sweltering heat would have given birth to a fresh new t-shirt company! It's hot here, intolerably so. Worse, much worse, is the humidity. It weighs down upon one to such a degree that all the ceiling and standing fans in the apartment and office have shared sense of inadequacy. Yet this sticky Hades is home to great creativity, particularly in the area of design. Some years ago, when I first started out on my own, similarly unbearable summer conditions gave me the idea for my company name - Swelter. Somewhere along the line, I thought it would be great for a t-shirt brand. Mid last year, that brand saw the light of day and is now being worn by quite a few people (bless them!) from around the world. Today's the day I start to share with you some of the Swelter designs and the stories behind them (hey, and if there aren't any, I'll make them up. You might want to help me along there.) Right now, I have no energy, I'm in the mood for a chat, and I keep filling up my glass with water. Pray for rain!

Sunday, 1 July 2007

I'VE JUST DISCOVERED ZULU ROSE AND I'M IN LOVE!

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!).