Designer Profile:
Involved Clothing.
Key People:
Travers Reynolds, and a bunch of his mates.
Location:
Stencilship, K’road, Auckland, new Zealand.
Bio/Company History:
I was always interested in tee’s and fashion, surfing and skating a lot took me through the many phases of streetwear. I really had no idea I’d do this, but when I broke my arm while backpacking around France about 5 years ago, I resorted to selling tee shirts to get by as I couldn’t work. I had seen a lot of stencil’s around, and the growing popularity of screen printed tee’s that tried to look like stencils really got me annoyed! I started spraying tee’s for our crew with some of the phrases we’d say at the time. Involved was a good one and it stuck.
Back in nz my mates liked the tee’s I’d done, so I did some more, for more and more friends. I started selling at the market’s in central Auckland to meet demand, and then natural progression and getting kicked out of my flat with all the involved stuff everywhere, I found the stencilship store, which is now like HQ.
We’ve got a few boutique stores we stock with around nz now, and overseas in Sydney and Canada. Hoping to keep the company growing but due to the hand stenciled nature of each print, it won’t be easy for us to sell out. Its like arts, crafts, fashion and design, all in one.
So we’re not a big machine pumping out products that all look the same. Each piece is hand printed, each stencil hand cut. We cut our hands cutting stencils, so theres a lot of love and blood going into each garment.
What drives you:
A desire to change the industry, to allow the young underdog to succeed, to show that it is possible to do. A desire to create something new and good. A desire to keep changing the industry by challenging it. A desire to genuinely market a real product without using cheap sex-sells tactics. A desire to grow a business without cutting corners on quality.
Inspiration:
I love being on k’road, in the city, in the centre of the universe. I dig having a surf, and that’s where I clear my head for more inspiration. A lot of my friends give me a lot of ideas, some of them turn into products. The development of one print can be an ongoing thing, and one idea can take up to two years before its been fully worked.
What are you doing when you don’t do this?
Im doing a BCom at Auckland uni, and that is part time, also pretty into my fiancé we’re planning a rad core wedding out, and I go surfing, and I like to travel around and hang with my mates.
Black or White?
It don’t matter.
Meat or Vege?
Vege! With some meat on the side!
If you could spend a day with anyone, who would it be and why?
I’d like to spend a day with Jesus, he’d really sweep me off my feet.
Best day in your life so far? Why?
Every day is the best day of my life. I think that’s just an attitude I always have, deep down I know it, and if I try and look back there’s better days than others but today could be so I don’t want to stop it being that by claiming that title to another day, and I am sure that there are plenty of great ones to come.
Mac or PC?
Mac Daddy.
Married/Single Kids/Pets?
Engaged to the lovely Rebeccah Horne from H-town!
Describe yourself in 5 words:
Entrepreneurial artistic jet-set grounded faithful.
