This week I designed and launched my first woodturning t-shirt! The “Slave To The Lathe” t shirt range is now available at http://zebranowoodcraft.com/merch/.
Designing a Woodturning T-shirt
After searching far and wide I couldn’t find any cool shirts for woodturners so I took it upon myself to design one. After spending some time with my super talented friend Mat Price from Sursum Tattoo I was inspired to dust off my drawing pad and design a t shirt that I could wear with pride.
It took a few attempts but I wanted to use some traditional tattoo imagery to create the design. My first idea was to take a dagger and rose tattoo but give it a twist! Together a dagger and rose can have a Yin/Yang type of symbolism: the dagger is a dark symbol, a weapon that is often used for destruction, where roses represent beauty, nature and creation.
Turning is obviously a creative process so I wanted to replace the dagger with something less stabby. What is the perfect and iconic symbol to represent the craft of woodturning? It has to be the skew chisel! The finesse and dexterity required to use the skew perfectly sums up the skill of turning and they look super cool too!
Using the slogan “Slave to the lathe” I wanted to depict a skew chisel surrounded by traditional tattoo style roses. The image above is the final design and I think it would make an awesome tattoo!
Where Can I Buy One?!
If you love woodturning and want to look awesome doing it then head over to http://zebranowoodcraft.com/merch/ where you can find t shirts, hoodies, tank tops, posters and mugs (we all know there can be no wood shavings without tea!). T shirts start from £18 + postage (about $22 US) and make a perfect gift for anyone who loves their lathe.
