Apparel Design

“Bringing a little bit of Texas in the mix”

Growing up in Texas, whether it’s the tall and sprawling pecan trees that provide us with shade on a warm summer day, the seeds we’re showered with during every fall stroll, or the lovely taste of pecan pie at the dinner table in the winter, a lot of us have fond memories of the pecan.

So, naturally, when Christopher O’Neil of Especial Clothing Co. reached out to me to work on a pecan shirt design with him back in 2020, the first year of the pandemic, I was intrigued and excited, to say the least.

Inspired by the thick, condensed serif typefaces often used in urban apparel design down South, Chris wanted to put his own spin on this new classic by writing out his brand’s name in bold, attention-grabbing orange, behind a shiny, fresh pecan – well, to be technical, not the pecan itself, but the smooth shell that holds the pecans inside the fruit… the endocarp (you will not believe how many images we went through to try to find the right one). If you take walks in the fall in Texas, you may know these well by their oblong shape and captivating black stripes.

The result is this beautiful, striking, and heartwarming design that finally got printed by Caught in Customs in Fall 2024, four years after its inception, on Los Angeles Apparel blanks in Cream and Black.

Attending the drop party at Trash Panda in Near Northside on a warm Fall October night was truly an electric experience, where I got to see the final product in person, thank the photographer @calebisnotokay for his amazing photographs, and congratulate Chris on an impeccable launch. Sometimes, waiting for the seed to drop at the right time really is the best move – good things indeed come to those who wait.