It all started one Christmas, when I wasn't sure what to buy for two best friends who got married.
General Republic has been something that was always tossed around in the back of my mind. I'd think of cool design ideas but have nowhere to put them. When two of my dearest friends tied the knot one September, I wanted to give them a meaningful Christmas gift for their first 'married' christmas. He always called her "Mamasaurus" and she always called him "Papasaurus", so late one night I put those words into dinosaur silhouettes, never thinking that it was a popular nickname used between couples.
Then I went to a conference in Portland, Oregon, all by myself. As an introvert I find it hard to be around people for long periods of time, and this was an intensive 4 day affair. I also find it hard to start conversations, and always feel super awkward. When I got back from that conference I made the shirt I wish I had had - my "Genuine Introvert" tee which would have made social interactions a lot less high-pressure! I had no expectation that my design would eventually be featured in the Huffington Post!
Fast forward a little later and my husband and I are heading for our epic, 7 month long "round the world" honeymoon - and I desperately want us to have matching shirts to commemorate the trip so that we can take photos of ourselves in front of all the cool places we're visiting to look back on when we're too old to travel - so again late one night I throw together a vintage style logo with our last name on it.
I had this habit of always buying my husband outdoorsy-themed shirts since he's a hiking fanatic, and he loved them, but he'd go through them so quickly because eventually they'd shrink (he's 6'4 so any shrinkage turns them into crop tops). I thought it would be so cool if instead of buying him the shirts, I made them, with my very own outdoorsy themed designs. The first one I did was "The Mountains are Calling". I liked it so much I made myself a tank top with the same design.
What started as just me wanting to have a few shirts printed for friends and for my husband has blossomed amazingly into a creative outlet that I find so cathartic. Every order I ship fills me with pride - that's my design that someone wants to wear on their body! (Seriously, how cool is that!?). Thank you to every single one of my General Republic army - and for you for taking the time to read this and learn a little bit more about how this little slice of paradise came to be.
