Up on the Sun

It's been a while, but if there's anything you loyal watchers know about your good friend Adder, it should be that he cannot keep his mouth shut about things he believes in.

I've been wanting to tell you a little bit about Acorn Factory for a while. They just never had new tees to speak of, and while their logo tee was fairly wearable, I just couldn't get behind hyping a new brand with nothing to go on. So why was I excited at all? Well, there's that pesky belief thing again. Acorn Factory immediately touched on two of them: the power of art, and the importance of education. As a tee site (regardless of what some other start-ups seem to believe), its primary function is the sale of artistry, anyway, but what makes them special is that Acorn factory "donates 100% of its profit toward bringing education and opportunity to underserved students." That's a hell of a commitment to the most important goal we can achieve... the betterment of our minds. At a time where education is demonized, even a small, unknown tee site supporting it is vital.

For an unknown, they brought in some heavy hitters, too. Rob Dobi, of Fullbleed, is responsible for two, but the third is from Robot Tiger, and it's a tee we've featured here for years but never got to see for sale. Conveniently, though possibly to the chagrin of Stephin Merritt, it involves another thing I believe in: the sun. Sun Equation is a disarmingly rigid design, and while that clinical simplicity and sterility is something I would decry (and I have) in most designs, it is perfect for this. It feels scientific without being nerdy. It is purely design, but the way it's laid out feels like art. It is something you could wear, and wear fashionably, but it is based on astronomy. I have no idea how this was pulled off, but it was. The black and gold create a simple yet bold palette, and while the original white blank I've seen this suggested on would be even more textbook, the natural blank gives that same feeling that this somehow evolved from a graph to a garment, and somehow, that couldn't be more natural. One has to give kudos to a tee that does that, as well as to a site that not only takes a chance on a deserving design, but exists to support the worthiest of causes.