I Shall Never See a T-Shirt As Lovely As a Tree

A lot of people have been asking me about my "esoteric" theme. They complain that they "don't get it" because when the look at Eleanor's design, they say, for example, "It's a tree. What's so esoteric about that?"

Well, the answer is, "Quite a bit, actually."

The word esoteric, for those of you who don't know and are too stubborn to find a dictionary, means "that whose meaning is known to few or a select group". In the case of the tree design, the fact the subject is a common, everyday item doesn't make it any less esoteric. It only means that the design is accessible to most people, which is a good thing. (In my humble opinion, art which is not accessible to most people is pretty f&#*ing worthless.)

The reason the tree design is still esoteric despite being accessible is because the design itself leaves questions unanswered. Why trees? Why is one bigger than the other? Why are the trees influenced by Indian design? Only Eleanor knows the answers to these questions, and that makes the design esoteric.

Now, I know some of you are saying, "So what? Even if all that is true, it's still not VERY esoteric."

And, that would be true too. But, you got to remember how I am positioning my company and my line. A lot of what's out there today is snappy catch phrases and cereal box characters. And, while those things have their place in the t-shirt world, it doesn't make them esoteric.

In fact, they leave nothing to the imagination. If you see the Trix rabbit on a t-shirt, you know what it's all about because you've seen him a thousand times on commercials. It's a known commodity, so there's very little mystery.

With my designs, your getting artwork that is original and distinct. I believe there is a market for this. My designs will not appeal to everyone, nor will every design appeal to every person to my target market. Some people may really love the tree design, while others will prefer the octopus or the rabbits or something from another designer.

The goal for me is to create choices for my customers. I hope the designs they pick will speak to them and give them a feeling of individuality, which (hopefully) will keep them coming back for more.

So, that's the grand vision, and I hope it clears things up.