Student raises cash via t-shirt designs

By Monica Kreber
kreberm@mytjnow.com 

Adrian Amabile models one of his designed t-shirts for the book store, alongside his dogs Reggie (left) and Chilly. The dogs were the inspiration for Amabile’s t-shirt business 2 Krazy Dogs (Amabile constructed the dog bone sign on his truck). Photo provided by Adrian Amabile

This month the Bookstore at Winthrop will be getting a new product – and it comes with a cause.

Senior art major Adrian Amabile has started a campaign to help raise money for Winthrop’s Art Department by designing, printing and selling t-shirts at the Bookstore. These t-shirts are partially designed by him, but will also feature designs by Art faculty members and other students interested in designing a shirt.

“I just wanted to spread art through the community,” Amabile said. “The idea is to do a new design every few months.”

The process works so that whenever a t-shirt is sold, some of the profits go to the Art Department. The share is also distributed among Amabile and the other designers of the shirts, as well as the Bookstore and those who have helped the printing process.

Amabile has his own t-shirt business called 2 Krazy Dogs (the name was inspired by his two pet dogs), and he said the t-shirt designs will incorporate different things.

“I started the business…really because I wanted to get the word out,” he said. “It’s about spreading awareness.”

Amabile said so far there is no specific theme to the designs on the shirts, but they do have to meet some criteria – for example, the designs have to be one color, because more colors complicate the printing process.

“Anyone could submit a design,” Amabile said. “I’ll give people a month, maybe, to do the designs.”

So far there are 150 shirts – sized small, medium and large. Amabile and his wife have printed all of them, and he said he plans on rotating three t-shirt designs every few months if the campaign is a success.

Amabile said the process has involved getting approval from other people at Winthrop.

“We got permission to do the Fine Arts logo (in the designs),” he said, “but in order to get the WU logo you have to go through a process which, I was told, takes three weeks or more because I guess it has to be approved by so many people.”

Part of the criteria also means the designs need to be approved by associate professor / Fine Arts chair Tom Stanley.

“Any work associated with the our students must be approved by the department if considered for sale in the bookstore,” Stanley said.

Stanley also said the art department has been “very supportive” of Amabile’s efforts and in trying to help the t-shirts get off the ground.

“This just one example of how students in Fine Arts are actively engaged on and off campus, in community and entrepreneurial activities,” he said.Amabile said Carolynn Sumner, administrative specialist of Fine Arts, helped the campaign by ordering t-shirts and making posters.“I cannot take any credit for this endeavor,” Sumner said. “I was very happy to assist Adrian with proofing/editing his T-Shirt design as well as the posters announcing the call for [design entries].”

Sumner said she thinks Amabile’s efforts “speak well” of him.

“He organized the project and followed it through from start to finish,” she said. “This is typical among Fine Arts students. I encourage all members of the campus community to support the project by purchasing a T-shirt, which in turn helps to support our student artists.”