SHIRT SHOW

New Drops Every Week to Celebrate International T-Shirt Day

12-4pm, Every Saturday in June, 2022

Hey there fops, flaneurs and fashionistas,

Ah, June is here at last. It’s time we can finally put away that book bag, string up the hammock, float the river, sip lemonade, maybe catch a garter snake or two and simply chillax. Yes, Summertime. Officially, we celebrate the solstice and the first day of Summer on June 21st. Very significant. Not only do we recognize this as the day our northern hemisphere reaches its maximum tilt towards the Sun, but June 21st also happens to be International T-shirt Day, for crying out loud!

To celebrate, we are planning a pop-up event at the Ellensburg Skatepark, but more on that in a future announcement. For now, let’s talk about the glories of the T-shirt, this humble, versatile and ubiquitous piece of apparel, and why we think it deserves more than just a single day of celebration, which is why we are dubbing June “T-shirt Month.” For the next 4 weeks, we will turn the old Thorp fire station into a makeshift screen printing and T-shirt shop. Move over Hot Topic, it’s time for the PUNCH Projects Shirt Show!

Most of us have more than a few T-shirts in our closets or drawers. Popular all around the world, the modern t-shirt finds its origins in the late 1800’s when laborers cut their union suits in half to stay cool. And would you believe this T-shaped garment has long been a part of the human wardrobe, though in ancient times it was called a tunic? Ha, rhymes with eunuch! We can thank Marlon Brando and James Dean for making a fashion statement with their tunics by wearing them not as utilitarian undershirts, but as stand-alone outerwear garments. What rebels!

And it wasn’t long before corporations quickly realized the branding potential within this singular piece of clothing, as people could become walking billboards with slogans emblazoned across the front of their chests. Today we wear and love our tees for many reasons. Comfort. Versatility. Fashion. To protest or show our allegiance.

PUNCH Projects invites you to our gallery in Thorp to check out our production during T-shirt Month. Each Saturday, we will release an entirely new print design available for your purchasing pleasure. And as a bonus, we invite you to participate in our interactive “take one, leave one” program, where we have strung a clothesline with t-shirts for you to take provided you leave one in return. Kinda like a lending library, except you might actually read the t-shirt. How cool!? So, come, be stylish. Be relaxed. Make a statement. Show your loyalty. Be a rebel. (Buy a T-shirt.)