I posted a sneak peek of this shirt design last week on the forum. When I did I so, a lot of people questioned the use of a lion in the design. As such, I figured I would give you guys a brief run down on how this shirt came to be. Here goes:
I have a thing for old metal and wood working machines. Things like South Bend Lathes, Craftsman Drill Presses, Tannewitz table saws, etc… really drive my imagination. I just have a passion for old stuff that was made before planned obsolescence took over the manufacturing world and materials like plastic were of the norm. And my passion for these things lead me to really appreciate the intricately designed logos of the time as well.
And so, when it came time to design this shirt I had all of these things in the front of my mind. I wanted a design that felt like it could have been featured on an old lathe from the 1940’s – cast in steel and painted with pride. I did some of my own designs and had another designer friend of mine do his own. He came up with the lion and said, “Hey man, what about a mascot?”
I loved the look, but I couldn’t relate the lion to what it is we do here at TGJ and kept brainstorming. That’s when I ran across a patent application that my great great grandfather filed in the 1920’s for the Cochran Speednut. On it was his early attempt at a logo that featured a lion. Done. Lion it is.
From there, every aspect was designed with this period in mind. The font is hand drawn and based off of the early version of the Cooper Black font that the Barnhart Brothers & Spindler type foundry released in 1922. The lion was redrawn and created with the line thickness that would have been used in the day to promote letter pressing. And… I could go on forever with the details, but I’ll spare you.
The point is, I did this shirt for me. Selfishly. But, I figured a few of you might want one as well. I took them to the Lone Star Round Up last weekend and sold most of them… There are, however, a few left. If they sell out, I’ll order some more and keep going.
Anyway, get yours here.
