A Self-Expression Company

Statement and graphic shirts have its way of reflecting a certain character in us. It brings out a certain spunk, a certain quirkiness, and a certain spice that people may know or may not about us. For this reason, a “self-expression company” was born in Columbus, Ohio, USA.

Print Proxy is a T-shirt company that offers t-shirts that with designs based on popular culture.

“We love t shirts, design and pop culture. We’re intrigued by how many different kinds of people there are and want to reach them all,” Jonathan Burgess, the owner of Print Proxy said.

“We came up with the idea by thinking through what we could offer as a form of self expression. We don’t think of ourselves as a t shirt company. We’re a self expression company.” And true enough, the wide selection of shirts from Print Proxy caters to all sort of people who wish to express themselves through fashion. The products allow one to show the world his personality one shirt at a time while still being in since most of the designs are based on what’s in. For instance, come Thanksgiving Day, Print Proxy released shirt designs related to the event.

Twerking and Thanksgiving.  A thanksgiving shirt
which plays on the work twerk and turkey. 

Print Proxy is a small collective of young creatives, consisting of three designers who constantly collaborate and have fun at the same time. The creative usually begins with a meeting where they talk about what is trending.

“Some of us have been in the industry awhile and some of us are new to it,” Jon says about them. Asked as to how they learned the art of t-shirt designing and printing, he said “I wouldn’t say it’s what we learned. It’s what we’re currently learning. I’d say we’re mostly learning about people and how they interact.”

For the cute and lazy.  The varying T-shirt designs that
Print Proxy offers give people from all walks of life
a chance to express a piece of themselves through
what they are wearing.

The best thing about Print Proxy, aside from the fact that the people behind the business are happy doing what they do, is that they offer fresh and great concepts everyday and sell new designs in a regular basis. In a crowded industry, producing great content that would somehow become a classic, instead of creating something that would be an overnight success to rake in money easily, is what differentiates them from others. Plus, they have a certain style that could be appreciated by men, women, and people in between.

No Longer Closeted.  In commemoration of a so-called
National Coming Out Day, Print Proxy came up
with a t-shirt design of a rainbow coming out of the closet.

Aside from style, Jon and his team consider comfort, too. Hence, they make sure that the shirts do not just scream “This is Me!” but also comfortable to wear as well. The fact that the company is a small one gives them an upper hand in the industry since it allows themselves to be available to their customers.

“We [also] assure customers are getting the best by being transparent and authentic,” Jon says.

IT ALL BEGINS WITH A SPARK

Given that Print Proxy sells “pop culture merchandises” that are based on “feeling, pun or parody to brand ourselves”, it is not a shocker as to why Print Proxy caught the fire. Among the shirts that they offer is one that says “I Workout Just In Case I Get Reaped into the Hunger Games” and another that says “I Survived the Reaping.”

Feeling Like A Career.  Never let the Capitol see you wearing
this cool shirt.  Remember.  Training for the games is not allowed...
so they say.

Going back into the Hunger Games universe, Katniss did say that it is illegal to train for the games, something which is done by Career tributes who volunteer for the Games in case they are not reaped. This is the case in Districts 1, 2, and 4 which produces many Career tributes for the games. This is a whole lot of contrast in the situation in the other districts where the games are dreaded. In this case, possible tributes — young men and women aged 12 to 18 — do not pray to be reaped for the games.

Survivor.  If your odds are like Gale Hawthorne's who, despite
multiple entries for the games in exchange for tesserae, survived
the reaping each and every time, you can proudly wear this one.

The two Hunger Games-based shirts, hence, gives supporters of Career tributes like Enaboria, Marvel, Glimmer, Cato, and even Finnick (Yeah! He came from District 4) a chance to show their love by wearing the “I Workout Just In Case I Get Reaped into the Hunger Games” shirt. On the other hand, solid fans of Katniss, Peeta, Primrose, and the lovable Rue may opt for the other design.

I wonder when they will make an “If I Don’t Get Reaped, Then I’ll Volunteer As Tribute” shirt…FOR ME. Paging Jon! Kidding!

CATCHING THE FIRE

I am a big fan of the Hunger Games trilogy and I, along with thousands or even millions of people all await for the screening of the second installment of the series, Catching Fire. While for us, it is a moment of ogling over Finnick Odair or screaming over Katniss’s mockingjay gown, for Jon, November 22 will probably be a romantic break for him.

As a shirt designer, Jonathan sure could give the sometimes fabulous, oftentimes flamboyant Hunger Games character Effie Trinket a fashion advice or two. Asked what outfit would he suggest Effie to wear, “I’d like to see her in Lady Gaga’s meat dress.”

Effie's next wardrobe staple.  A more fabulous version of
Lady Gaga's very famous meat dress as worn in the
Monster Ball Tour in Manchester, UK.
(c) wikipedia.com

Jonathan and the rest of the guys behind Print Proxy sure have made self-expression through statement and graphic shirts a fun and easy way to do. After all, he says that their philosophy is nothing but simple. “Be genuine and creative.”

Now that’s fabulous!

To purchase Print Proxy shirts, visit their website.

Do not forget to also like them on Facebook.