College shirt designers appeal to world market

Hummingbirds, a trio of robots and symmetrical elephants are appearing on T-shirts all over the world.

These fashions are produced by senior Andy Meyer, the owner, operator, marketing director and part-time model for his company Rethink Clothing.

The idea for this company came to Meyer during finals week fall 2007 while he was sitting in the library.

"[I] just [saw] people walking by wearing the same thing, and [I was] already mad because it's finals," Meyer said. "It just set [me] off further."

He said he decided to break the cycle by marketing his own design.

"I guess things really started getting rolling in January of this year," Meyer said. "I got one design out, and I needed more, so I put three more out."

Although Meyer designed the first shirt himself, he said he started searching for others with a similar creative vision.

"The catch of it is they are all [done by] college designers," Meyer said. "I have people from Utah, from Florida, designing for me."

Meyer said he doesn't consider himself an artist but that he will sketch ideas in class then give them to an artist to work on.

"At first, I was scared to tell designers what I really wanted," Meyer said. "The more you talk to them, the more it sparks their thinking, which gets you a better shirt. It's been a steep learning curve."

Anne Bakken, senior at Savannah College of Art and Design, designed the Creatividad shirt in Meyer's collection. She said she likes the freedom Meyer provides his artists.

Bakken said she found Meyer after he registered as an employer through Savannah College of Art and Design.

"I had never thought about it before, but it was something I have always wanted to do," Bakken said. "It's the fun part of graphic design."

Bakken's design depicts a purple mirrored elephant on a silver T-shirt. Bakken said she has lived in more than six different countries, including Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Columbia and South Africa, and that her experiences influenced her artwork.

"I draw a lot of inspirations from where I've been," Bakken said. "[From] pictures, other people and their culture, clothes, dances and other traditional things."

In addition to getting their designs published, Meyer's artists get 35 percent of the sales from their shirts that are spreading quick.

"For some reason, people in Georgia love the shirts," Meyer said. "I've shipped a couple shirts to England. It's kind of real now. It was always an idea and then the day to start selling shirts came."

Meyer said marketing has been the hardest part because the industry is there, but getting started is difficult. He said maintaining his product and vision also are important.

Meyer said he uses American Apparel shirts because they are high-quality.

"[Their shirts] are made in America, which kind of hits me because I'm a political science major," Meyer said. "It's always nice to support America."

The shirts are printed by a small company in Florida and also by a business run by two college graduate students in Utah.

"[I'm going to] try to keep pricing low to focus on the college kids and break the habit of buying corporate America's shirts," Meyer said. "Really, where does that money go? It really doesn't go back to the artist, so that's what I want to do."

Meyer is developing a fan base at Truman that like his shirts and believe in his vision.

Tracy Knierim is a graduate student in the MAE program and was Meyer's student adviser last year. Knierim owns Bakken's Creatividad shirt.

"I was going to buy one just to be supportive, but I ended up buying two because I really liked the design," Knierim said.

Knierim said she likes the shirts because they are comfortable and the sleeves are more fitted.

"I really like that they are done by college artists," Knierim said. "It's really hard to get your name out there coming out of college, and I feel like we can support each other."

Knierim said she probably will buy more of Meyer's shirts.

"I invited all my sisters to join his Facebook group," Knierim said. "They love his shirts, so I'm thinking of buying them as gifts."

Meyer said he has two designs that will be debuting soon. He said he plans to go to Los Angeles this summer to try to get his shirts in stores there. Meyer said he also has been working on a hoodie line.

"I could see it going somewhere," Meyer said. "I'm going to hit that point after college where I have to decide. I know it [will] be a ton of hard work, a lot of long hours, long nights and very scary days at the bank, but it would be at a time in my life where I would be willing to take a risk."