This past monday we had opportunity to be feature on NBC Washington’s Nonstop Scene show. It was a great interview and we feel like they really captured what AOI is about in a 3 minute segment. Here is the interview:

View more videos at: http://nbcwashington.com.

We had a great time filming the feature down at ArtUnderPressure. We really want to thank Arlene Borenstein,NBC reporter, that captured the whole interview. She was really great to work with and she did a great job. This is definitely big thing for us especially after our interview with www.thegrio.com. So check out the feature and stay tuned for more great things from AOI.

Yea, we know you've seen enough of this picture.

It always feels great to see your hard work pay off, and this time around, that was in the form of an interview at theGrio.  After finishing up reprints for sweatshirts and prepping to release the remainder of our Fall and Winter collection, it couldn’t have come at a better time.

On Saturday, Matthew had a chance to catch up with Kyle Harvey at theGrio to discuss the concept of our brand, how we got started, and some of the challenges we’ve faced thus far.  Check out the link below for more.

DC fashion label thrives on ‘Small Business Saturday’

We have two new shirts available on the website. We recently featured the process of us making  the AOI logo tees, but now they are up on the site for sale as well as at ArtUnderPressure Boutique(AUP) on Georgia Ave. We also have another special limited edition tee for sale of the site. It is our Clockwork ArtOfficial tee which was inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s classic “A Clockwork Orange”. So hurry and get these tees while we still have sizes available.

So i’m sure you have been wondering what has been up with AOI..right? Well we have been planning new releases as well as learning more about the tshirt industry as well as learning about the craft of screen printing. A lot has been going on behind the scenes for the past couple of months and now we have some new stuff for you all.

We recently picked up a 4 color screen press and have been putting it to some good use. So now we have the freedom to do a lot more things that we couldn’t have done in the past. So expect more from AOI in these coming weeks and months.

So far we have 2 new designs ready to go. There are a limited amount of shirts available so I suggest grabbing your size before its gone. You can get the shirts in two ways, from the online store or in person at ArtUnderPressure (AUP)  4807 Georgia Ave NW Washington, DC 20011.

Here are some pics of what we’ve been working on

After running a start up company for a little less than two years, it’s very easy to see why owning a business is one of the most challenging things you can do. When you leave your office and shut off your computer, there’s a good chance that the company you left behind will continue on business as usual if you never stroke another letter on a keyboard. But owning your own is different. The pressure of the success of failure of your company rests squarely on your shoulders.

So one of the most gratifying things to see is someone like your product so much that they would spend their hard earned money on something that you spent many conference calls and late work hours trying to perfect. So one can only imagine the feeling you get when a store tells you they want to carry 36 of those same shirts! Surprised, appalled, and elated all come to mind seeing our shirts hanging in the window of one of the newest clothing boutiques to hit the district, AUP (Art Under Pressure).

Part skate shop, part clothing boutique specializing in only carrying home grown, local brands, AUP held their grand opening on April 30th featuring several other local brands such as Durkl, Grind Stone, PHRK, and Superior Works to name a few. As a local brand looking to grow support within our hometown, we jumped at the opportunity to have our merchandise sold within their stores and the A+ shirt was the perfect place to start.

Breakthroughs come in many forms and we hope this is the start of many more to come.

Art Under Pressure is located at 4807 Georgia Ave NW Washington, DC 20011

Here are somethings I’ve been drawing in my black sketch book. Some may get used and some may not. Just to give you a peek into the process of what we do. Enjoy.

We went over to Stussy DC last saturday to pickup a copy of Malice (1/2 of the Clipse) new book titled Wretched, Pitiful, Poor, Blind, and Naked. It was really cool and chill event. Ofcourse their were some familar faces in the building and also some new ones. All in all we picked up a couple books, rapped to Malice about his newest accomplishment, and ofcourse took some pics. So check out the pics and pick up a copy of the book http://thorn10publishing.bigcartel.com/

S/O to Johnny from Rare Jones Productions for the photos.

We put together this video to give a little insight  on the meaning of the Chasing the Cool series. Expect more videos and interviews very soon.

For more information got to http://artofficialshop.com/chasing-the-cool-series/

This past Sunday Donald and I(Matt) decided to signup for a screen printing class in the area. I think this was one of the biggest and most valuable learning experiences we’ve had since the day we started AOI. Why you ask???  Well…because we are a t-shirt brand that specializes in screen printed t-shirts and we had no formal knowledge on the screen printing process. We always outsourced our designs to various printers around the country and then within a couple weeks we get the final product. A lot of brands do this which is fine, but you should always want to know the ins and outs of a product you produce and this class was our opportunity to do that.

There is a lot to the process but most of the time spent is just prepping the screens. We definitely feel like we have a complete understanding of the screen printing process [atleast the basics]. Overall it was a great experience and a long day. I feel like we learned a wealth of information that will only improve the brand and create a better experience for our followers/family. We have a lot instore for you all once the weather breaks but i’m sure you all already know that.

A special event took place last night at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium. Artists from all over the area as well as a special guest performer (Kendrick Lamar) came to this one location to exhibit, perform, and drink (Jack Daniels). The Gentleman Jack event was definitely a memorable event.

“ART, BEATS AND LYRICS IS AN EXHIBITION OF MULTI-MEDIA ART AND DESIGN THAT EXPLORES THE RECENT WORK OF A DIVERSE GROUP OF VISUAL ARTISTS WHO HAVE EMERGED FROM THE SUB-CULTURES IN HIP-HIP THROUGHOUT AMERICA.”

Here are the event photos.

Check out the video from Rare Jones Productions.

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