Recap of 1LoveTO's Pop-up shop

Wednesday night Josh and I had the opportunity to go and meet Bryan Brock and Tyrone Edwards, the founders of 1LoveTO, in some swanky loft above Nyood on Queen Street West. First and foremost, they were really nice guys. Although Tyrone was attending to other guests, Bryan took the time to talk to us for a few minutes and we got to hear how far they've come and what their future plans are. Bryan is originally a graphic designer and one of his older projects was designing the DVD covers for Degrassi, so he was able to hook up with Drake and they've kept in touch ever since. In fact, they co-hosted his 23rd birthday party and needless to say, the event featured the whole OVO crew and some of Toronto's finest. They have Melanie Fiona on their Blackberrys and Tyrone just recently hosted Kid Cudi's concert at the Sound Academy.

But on to some deeper stuff, the story behind 1LoveTO is worth mentioning. Bryan explained their whole existence in two sentences: They designed their t-shirts for Caribana a few years back, everybody loved them and wanted one. They decided to start a blog and here we are. Ok, I'm not sure it was as simple as that, but pretty close. Essentially 1LoveTO received a hugely positive response right from the get-go and Bryan told me that for their pop-up shop, they had received around 200 t-shirt orders and have now sold 2500 in total.

And if that weren't enough, both Tyrone and Bryan are staff at the Remix Project, a creative arts outlet for youth - a project that Governor General Michaëlle Jean has even visited and endorsed. Tyrone is the Art of Business Program Leader and Bryan is the Creative Arts Program Leader. Although recently marred by financial troubles, the Remix Project was completely rejuvenated upon learning that Paul Gross, a Canadian actor and director, plans on donating the $25,000 he received along with his Governor General's award so that the Remix Project can move into its new location. I'm sure Mrs. Jean is smiling.

It's clear these guys are legit. It was great meeting them and learning what their plans are, and how they came to be who and where they are today. It is my sincerest hope that someday we will be able to work with these guys in any sort of fashion. Until then, the best I can do is wear my shirt proudly.

Sadly, I took no photos of the event besides the one above, but I wanted to show you the venue so all the pictures below are stolen directly from 1LoveTO.

Nike x Undefeated Puppet Ts

UNDFTD hooked up with Nike to create two T-shirts with our favourite puppets depicting classic cultural moments in their careers. Instead of explaining the connection, I'll just show you. And if you're really interested, read the interview with the UNDFTD's KB Lee here.




Via High Snobiety

TIME Magazine's Top 10 T-shirt Worthy Slogans

Good on TIME for going balls out on this one (2 of the top 10 were world leaders) considering their iconic status and magnitude. Some are definitely better than others though. Here are my 5 favourite with the descriptions from the website right under them. Check out the rest of the list here and TIME's master list of everything to do with 2009 here. I think #9 is my favourite; his hubris is nauseating.

1. Kanye West: "Imma Let You Finish"
Part of rapper Kanye West's bizarre opening line upon interrupting country singer Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards, as she gave her acceptance speech for Best Female Video. He then asserted, "Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time."

2. Tiger Woods: "Kobe Special"
Hours after what many speculate was a domestic dispute with his wife, golfer Tiger Woods reportedly told a friend that he had to buy one of these ("A house on a finger") at Zales. Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers gave his wife a $4 million 8-carat diamond ring after being accused of rape in 2003.

3. Silvio Berlusconi: "I'm No Saint"
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's first public remarks after the release of audio recordings said to be from a night he spent with a prostitute.

7. Kate Moss: "Nothing Tastes As Good As Skinny Feels"
One of Kate Moss's personal credos, which was revealed after the supermodel was asked by an interviewer if she had any mottos. Critics said the comment could contribute to eating disorders among Moss's young fans.

9. Lloyd Blankfein: "Doing God's work"
Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein's description of how he spends his time as a banker, in an interview with the London Times.

Gift Guide Item #3: Men's Vancouver 2010 Bamboo Short-Sleeved

"This not so basic short-sleeved shirt is made from 50% bamboo making it slightly softer and more eco-friendly than 100% cotton shirts. Bamboo contains naturally antibacterial and anti-fungal properties that are not lost during processing or repeated washings."

Yes, I stole that directly from the website but it says what I would have said - just in a more concise way. $20 for a socially conscious piece of clothing that blasts the Olympics...I'm down. Available at the Bay and online here for the guys. There's also a fairly similar version for the ladies, and is available here.

American Apparel x Sesame Street

AA recently hooked up with Sesame Street to create some cool new "sheer jerseys", aka lightweight t-shirts, to celebrate the show's 40th anniversary. There are 4 tees in the collection, and 3 of them are available in multiple colours. The slim-fitting shirts all feature original drawings (which may explain why Cookie Monster is eating apples) and are available right in time for the holidays. Oh and these shirts are unisex (as is most AA stuff), so ladies feel free to grab these for the men in your life and one for yourselves as well.

A Variety of Penguins

When I was in Chicago last month, I stopped by the downtown Original Penguin store and picked up two T-shirts. I've always had a thing for Penguin clothing but because they don't have any Canadian stores (and for that matter, don't even ship to Canada), the availability is quite limited. So I was on their website earlier and was impressed by the surprising variety of tees with a simple Penguin logo done in so many different ways. My favourites are the Sin City Bird and Ombre Road. Definitely expect more Penguin hypes in the future.

Distressed Circle Logo

Sin City Bird

Plaid Circle Logo

Ombre Road

Clever Penguin