People bang on about true love like it’s the answer to everyone’s problems. Well all I’ve ever got from relationships is a broken heart, an empty wallet, and a nagging feeling of self doubt that hangs around the background of my consciousness like white noise.
Clothes on the other hand don’t come with any of these problems. You know what you’re getting when you buy them, if they get damaged or dirty they can be washed or repaired, and once you buy them they’re yours forever. So although I don’t have a girlfriend at the moment, I’m not that sad because the other day I fell in love with a t-shirt produced by a new DIY label - Grizzly Nights.
Any regular Platform reader may know that I love birds, so it comes as no surprise that it was a case of love at first sight when I stumbled upon this t-shirt on their website.
After I’d contained my excitement and calmed down a bit I got in contact with Bristol based Ellie and Emily, the brains behind Grizzly Nights, to talk about their designs, why they set up a label, and their love of the king of nature docs - David Attenborough.
Tell me about the people behind Grizzly Nights
Ellie: I’m a graduate of a drawing and applied arts degree at UWE, Bristol. I met Emily a couple of years ago, and a few months later we started this. Eventually I want to get a chance to work on my own stuff again, and hopefully work on illustrations for magazines and commissions.
Emily: I was a junior graphic designer for a few years before giving it up to work in a record shop. I hated it funnily enough - it wasn’t very creative at all. Then I started up a couple of club nights in Bristol, one of which (Wonky) is still going - bigger than ever after nearly 6 years. So I promote and DJ, but now do this too. Being your own boss is fun, and it makes taking days off quite easy.
What’s the name about?
Emily: I like the letter Z. And the word Grizzly is ace…I’m not sure why! Grizzly Nights means nothing, which is what we wanted, but somehow it sums us up.
Why start a label in the first place?
Ellie: It was born through frustration at the abundance of over complicated and very masculine designs. We realised there was a gap in the market, and we felt comfortable that we could fill with a range of fresh, simple, easy to wear (and accessorise) t-shirts. You can wear our stuff with confidence, they’re fun and cool without being cute. We hate cute.
Emily: I’ve always been a bit obsessed with t-shirt designs and used to search high and low to find lush ones, but quite often didn’t have much success. Eventually i thought fuck it, I’ll make my own t-shirts. Then I met Ellie (we’re girlfriends too!) and she wanted to be part of it as well, so here we are.
You seem to love animals, do you have a favorite?
Ellie: I’m a massive animal fan, David Attenborough is my hero! Watch out for a t-shirt dedicated to him coming soon. My favourite animal though has to be the Polar Bear. Strong and determined. Shame about the melting ice caps ‘n all that.
Emily: Mine’d have to be a slug or a sheep. Not sure how that’d work as a t-shirt though.
It sounds like your shirts are selling well, but what’s next for Grizzly Nights?
Ellie: There are a few independant t-shirt companies out there who started out being tiny like us and who are now doing so well just doing what they want to do and people are loving it. To be a patch on them would be great. Our next few steps are more UK stockists and then onto Europe!
Emily: I want Grizzly Nights to be HUGE. And it will be. Just wait for the next collection! Amazing.
