Hi! :D)
Founded in 2013. Playful Detroit, techno, and house music designs on fashion-forward apparel. Concepts and designs by owner/graphic designer Kim Wilds. Why I Club Detroit? The name I Club Detroit signifies enthusiasm for Detroit's music scene, its techno roots, and electronic music in general. The mark is designed to look like a hand stamp you'd get upon entry to a venue. It is also a nod
to Milton Glaser's iconic I Heart NY design. Who Makes this Stuff? My name is Kim Wilds, and I am the owner and designer at I Club Detroit. I started designing techno and house music-themed t-shirts for friends and myself in 2009. When one of my first three designs was a hit, I knew I wanted to do that for a living, but how? I had lots of ideas, an art background, and was pretty good at drawing, but I knew nothing about graphic design, typography, or the garment industry. Back to School
Holding on to the belief that it’s never too late to be what you might have been, I spent the next few years taking graphic design courses and learning about the garment industry wherever I could. I attended conventions and lectures, watched documentaries, read books, and spent countless hours on websites like T-shirt Forums and Skillshare. Trademark
During that time, I learned a ton about copyrights and trademarks and knew if I didn’t apply for my trademark soon, I could lose it. I'd been using a sloppy I Club Detroit illustration I'd done a while back. Pressed for time, I applied for my trademark with that in August of 2012 and was approved nine months later in May of 2013. Power Tools and Science, Heck Yeah! After taking a screen-printing class, I decided I needed a printing press and exposure unit of my own. I didn’t have the money for either, however, so I designed and built them myself; a six-station line-table press and an exposure unit that burns screens in twelve seconds flat. It employs a single-point light source design with a 1000 watt, 10,000 k metal halide bulb. I nick-named that beast the Burnomatic, and have started designing a nameplate for it. The Making of Joan
I Club Detroit needed a female face, but not mine. It made perfect sense that a crash test dummy should represent the brand considering the automotive industry in Detroit and the role the Packard Automotive Plant played in the techno scene. Crash test dummy masks are really hard to find, so I made my own lopsided mask and ended up with a version of my face after all. Joan is named after my maternal grandmother. The Rest
I still had to perfect the LP packaging, design the garment labels, and find the right shirts to print on. The labels and packaging were easy enough, but I needed my product in order to do those things. I wanted on-trend, lightweight garments made in the United States—and I wanted the option of creating the colors and garment styles myself. I gave up on the usual blank t-shirt companies, either because of a lack of styles and customizability, quality, customer service, or location. I started reaching out to textile mills and garment manufacturers in the United States, and eventually found the right one. Thank You
Thank you for checking out I Club Detroit. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to message me here or email me at [email protected]
To see the pictures that go along with this about section please visit http://iclubdetroit.com/pages/about
Have a nice day!
-Kim
