progresswear/shopping

Presenting The Wisconsin Store
Wisconsin gear designed from the heart, The Wisconsin Store is my latest venture in partnership with my brother. Though I basically left the state nearly 30 years ago my heart still lives there and I get back there as often as possible. My family's there and I may find myself relocating there before long.

We've got some clean, elegant and witty takes on my home state. Check out our first few offerings as we build the site. We're just beginning to contact retailers in the state and will have our site fully operable within a week or so.

Progresswear is far from my only line on the drawing board. From the beginning I've wanted to address other non political interests of mine. And I'm sure they'll be much easier to market than the more volatile topics of the war, religion and evolution. I also plan on designing shirts for fellow designers as well as painters and photographers. And more than a few of my ideas are simply silly or stupid. But hopefully funny and saleable. These lines are all down the pike a bit, but we've recently picked up the pace for the Wisconsin Store.

Wisconsin is a colorful, fascinating state. It has enough of its own history, lore, industry and culture to be a sovereign nation. To speak with many a resident you'd come away convinced that Illinois and Minnesota were enemy states. Wisconsinites are proud of the stuff that makes them who they are: humble, strong, self-deprecating, fiercely stoic.

Ask any American about the state and they will reply with one word: cheese. Upon moving to the East Coast over 30 years ago I introduced myself to a new acquaintance, mentioning that I was a Wisconsin native. He stared at me as if I were an alien, finally saying that he never thought that anybody actually lived there. He then asked "Isn't it very gray there?" Years later, upon informing another of my heritage I was greeted with a new response. "You're a Cheesehead!" I thought it was her personal term for Wisconsinites. A week later I caught my first glimpse of thousands of Packer fans at Lambeau Field sporting chunks of Velveeta upon their heads. I knew from that moment that the state would need to undertake serious spin control to shed this new stereotype.

Wisconsin is Harley Davidson, Miller Beer, nearly all the paper produced in the nation. It's cranberries as well as cows. It's a rust belt state that's thriving, the GNP of its industrial southeast combined with Chicago equal one of the most powerful economic forces on the planet. It's more than just cheese. A hell of a lot more. And we look forward to helping the world learn about that from Sheboygan to Singapore.

T-shirt watch, the esteemed blog about all things tee has a superb review up on Progresswear. We're very flattered by the kind words and Doug, the editor's admiration of my painting site.

T-shirt watch is one of the better destinations on the web to take the pulse of the industry as well as plenty of lovely specimens of humans sporting tees. There's a t-shirt for everyone on this most extensive of blogs. Doug's vernacular use of design throughout the site is a tasteful foil to the plethora of cotton and candy.