Lowdtown is Closing Down – Clearance Sale

This post has been a long time coming, but it should definitely clear everything up for those confused with the state of Lowdtown.

First of all, to save the drama, Lowdtown will be closing in the next month or so. As the story goes, I was contacted by an artist who has a logo concept very similar to mine. Though I didn’t hear of the artist til he actually contacted me, he apparently copyrighted his logo, and I made the mistake of never doing so. Immediately after, I had to remove everything with the mouthcan logo and the lowdmouth logo.

As you can probably guess, this caused a whole mess of problems for me, and is the reason I had to take down nearly half of the products listed on my store. And as you can imagine, this is at a huge financial loss to me. Especially so because he contacted me literally weeks after I had received my Winter line. To make matters even worse, I’ve been working with Hong Kong since late 2009 and finally received fitted hats in February in which I spent several thousand dollars on; I will not be able to sell those off either.

It is hard to explain how frustrating this is for me, considering I’m a college kid who put my own hard earned cash into making Lowdtown, and the reason why I was able to do wallets and sweaters was from the culmination of my hard work and dedication for Lowdtown. With this event, I pretty much lost all the profit that I’ve been building up to make my future lines even greater.

So what I am asking for is your support. I’m having a clearance sale where I’m literally going to try to get rid of all remaining stock. Shirts will be $6, and the crewnecks will be $12. These prices are pretty much the price I bought them at, so it’s an unbelievably good deal for you guys. Please tell your friends and spread the word about it; I just really need to cut my losses and try to rebuild.

On another note, please don’t harass the artist who contacted me, because the logos are in fact very similar. It’s an unbelievably unfortunate coincidence on my part, but I would’ve thought the same thing if I were him.

On a happier note, I can promise you with my utmost conviction that the rebirth of Lowdtown will be glorious. I’ve already been working on several projects that will definitely put Lowdtown on the map. I’m not one for braggadocio, but I have a secret project that I’ve been developing since November 2009 that I think will blow everyone’s socks off. I’ve never seen it done before, and I’m more than excited to see what everyone’s reactions will be.

Lowdtown, as you might’ve already guessed, will be going through a complete rebranding. I’ve shared the concepts for the new logo with a bunch of my designer friends, and I’ve gotten really positive responses so far. In addition, the website will get a complete overhaul. I’ve been really flexing my web design muscles lately, and if all goes to plan, the new website will be the slickest and sexiest yet.

I’ve also been receiving an amazing amount of support from my twitter followers, so I just want to thank all you guys! I’ll probably post up WIPs and sneak peeks when it gets closer to the relaunch, so if you’re interested you should follow me: @Lowdtown.

Right now, I’m shooting for Summer 2010 (probably late June or July), which is a really ambitious date, but hopefully I can pull it off. I’ll keep you guys posted! Thanks again for all the support!

-Ray (Lowdtown Friends & Freaks)

Arcade Expressionism is Awesome

One of the coolest Threadless tees that I’ve seen in a while was released this week. Titled “Arcade Expressionism,” Laser Bread’s homage to Donkey Kong combines an old-school video game with abstract art. This was one of the pieces that Laser Bread made for his 2009 Make Something Cool Every Day project, and I’m glad that it was submitted for voting. Even if you’re unfamiliar with the game, it’s still pretty awesome to look at and interpret.

The Work of Ben Frost

His work is an explosion of pop culture references, colour and drips, and delivers a punch. While his paintings are considered mostly controversial, I love it and see nothing wrong with putting pikachu on a board with an orgasming asian cartoon.

http://www.benfrostisdead.com/

James Jean Tea Set

James Jean is, as you should definetly know, a fantastic painter and accomplished artist. ClickforArt have collaborated with him to make a cup and saucer, and they’re awesome. Much better pics here : http://clickforart.com/buyart/jamesjean/parchedcupandsaucer

Snack time!

I’m a sucker for package design. I’m sure every designer can appreciate this Pantone Potato Chips concept. What flavor is this?

Rules to Rock By

So this isn’t t-shirt related but it is awesome. If you havn’t heard about kickstarter you should go check it out. It’s a way for artists to get people to fund their projects and those who donate get prizes in return. One project that I came across really caught my interest.

Josh Farrar has written a novel, Rules to Rock By, about a 12 year old rock star. It’s a book targeted towards tweens and get this: He’s planning to produce and record a full-length soundtrack that goes along with the book. The album will have songs by the book’s fictional band, The Bungles. If I was a tween I would be all over this book. (maybe I secretly will get it) It’s a fun project that deserves to be completed.

Check out the full story here: Rules to Rock By

DUDE!

Im Jowey Roden and I am one of your new Lowdtown Blogger’s !
I study Graphic Design at Chelsea University of Art in London.
My main influences are Wolves, Horsebites, caffine, Bon Iver, The Maccabees and acid wash!
Expect the radest illustration, design, photography, streetwear blogged by me.

PEACE YO!

Hello internet!

Hey guys! Ray is giving me the awesome opportunity to blog on his site.

So, I don’t know you. You don’t me. Let’s get to know each other.

My name is Dre.  I’ll be posting things I find on my adventures in the city and some resources that I find helpful and interesting. I graduated from Seton Hall University in May with a degree in graphic design. While I’m not interning at Nylon, I spend my time working on my own brand OMG DRE and being supermom to my 9 month old son. I have a very DIY spirit so expect some crafty surprises! I also like hugs, random dance parties and cupcakes.

Goodbye for now.

- Dre