FA?'s

How long does shipping take? 

As of now, we ship out the week’s orders every Friday. It may take up to two weeks if we’re on vacation. We’re a tiny little operation right now.

What kind of critter is that in your logo? 

It’s actually a chameleon. A play on the Jesus Fish/Darwin Amphibian icons you see affixed to backs of cars. As you know, chameleons BLEND in, and Blend Apparel represents a social and fashionable evolutionism. 

How did you decide on the name “Blend Apparel?”

“Blend Apparel” was originally a response to all the billboards, magazine ads, and commercials dictating what is and isn’t fashionable. “Blend” coincidently, seemed to be the most broad and the most specific definition for what that meant to me at the time. I felt like “blending in” was almost a social Darwinism. That in order to survive you should conserve your energy, not try to fight it or keep up with the Joneses, but instead be yourself, wear what you think is cool or find fashionable. Ironically, I feel like our designs do anything but blend in. They’re making bold statements, asking bold questions, and are so simply designed, their messages or humor beg you to ponder and construct their meaning. “Wear we live,” the company’s tagline, plays on that transparency.

Where did your first inspiration come from?/How did you get started?

I was designing a ton of merchandise for bands and musicians, and really enjoying it, but there were a few images that I wanted to put out there into the world without someone’s name attached to it. So, I initially started with four designs. The first of which was “Love Fuel.” Someone once referred to me as a full-service love station. I took it as a pretty great compliment and the image on the back of the shirt first came to mind, and then I added the front “Love Pump.” Pairing images and icons like that to give new meanings to banal objects is a fairly constant theme in my work.

Who are the people involved?
 

Jon Marro is the love behind the love. He’s the founder, CEO and designer of all the shirts and answerer of all these questions. Jeff Goss has become the official Secretary and $ituation Handler of Blend Apparel. Jeff, coming from a law background has a great sense of operations and a particularly keen eye for potential in small eco friendly start-up apparel companies. Jason Mraz a phenomenal singer songwriter/human, ardently believes in this company. He assumes his role as Vice President by wearing the shirts on his musical and self-awakening tours around the globe. The three of us were all friends before we became business partners and utilize our respective strengths in a beautifully synergetic way.

Explain your designs- How do you describe your art?

I create images which are my iconographic question marks aimed at the world. Some are meant solely to bring a smile or levity, others intend to raise awareness or self-love.

Who or what inspires your imagery?

The universe. The world. Humanity, and international icons. Not the celebrity kind, but the visual communication kind, like the signs you see in airports, highways, and public service stations. They fascinate me. They have the power to communicate beyond any written or spoken language. They are like modern day hieroglyphs. Any of my designs that use only image (no words), you could take to Japan, Brazil, or Lithuania and people could make sense of them. They could construct a message or a question with it. The shirts then, become so much more universal, and that’s what we’re aiming for. A larger more connecting form of communication.

Why bamboo?? 

GREAT question, and here’s one for you: Did you know that the commercial cotton needed to make one t-shirt requires 1/4lb of chemicals in the form of fertilizers & pesticides?!  Bamboo fabric is softer than cotton and feels like a cross between silk and your favorite shirt you’ve washed a zillion times. It is also quick to absorb moisture, therefore keeping you dry and odor free. Bamboo fabric is easy to dye and can be done so without the use of harsh chemicals, and by using less water than conventional methods. It is a naturally antibacterial and hypoallergenic product grown without the use of chemicals or pesticides. Bamboo is a sustainable and renewable resource as new shoots are constantly growing. Bamboo also releases more oxygen into the atmosphere than trees! Planting bamboo can help reduce carbon dioxide in the air, and soil erosion in the earth. Overall, the production of bamboo clothing has a lower impact on the environment than conventional cotton farming methods.

What is important to you about conservation and preserving our environment?

Well, I think most importantly this planet is all that we have. And that as a species, we’re in an abusive relationship, with ourselves and with the planet. We were born into this beautiful and divinely perfect situation: air to breathe, sunlight to keep us warm already abundantly provided. Soil to plant food, fresh water to drink. Without getting too biblical-Earth was the Garden of Eden, and we’re completely taking it for granted. We can live such a life of harmony with it, if we use it in sustainable ways. But we need to think of the whole picture. Just pan back to space and see Earth from above. That’s what we’re dealing with. We’re all in this and on this together. It’s kinda that simple. Why not celebrate and share as opposed to separate and scorn? These questions are what I’m trying to ask.

What advice would you give a young artist just getting started?

Create! Create! Create! (While being mindful of the path you walk and wake you leave of course.)