THE STORY:
In 2004 the GIMME Project began as an experiment, to make a mockery of the hype-based fashion industry of the early 2000’s. At trade shows, it would sound like this,“What are those shirts over there in the back?” “Oh, those? That’s Mr.Ewok One’s personal project, you wouldn’t be into that, very expensive and only made in small runs.” There was even a time when he spray painted both sides of a “GIMME” T-shirt Gold, let it dry firm, and hung it alone on a gold hanger in the middle of an empty clothing rack, just to see what people would say as they walked by… “No, that’s not for sale.” The “project” started out as pure click bait, before anyone even realized what click bait even was.
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It was the idea to produce a T-shirt, representing as close to an actual piece of art as possible. Produced in small editions due to cost and complexity, it created rarity by design. No shortcuts were taken, from multiple woven labels that revealed a funny quote, to full color hang tags and stickers when you purchased an item. Because as Mr. Ewok One has been saying for years “no matter how old you get, or how much money you have, everyone loves getting a sticker” That is of course if you could get your hands on a GIMME tee back then.
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One successful collection spawned the next. No business model, no long-term plans, just complex, witty artwork by Mr. Ewok One, a very loud color palette was a must, and a mad scientist screen printer willing to take on a 14 layer print job. Despite the fun and games, or maybe because of them, magazines started to take notice, it would be spotted randomly on celebrities, and the fiends couldn't get enough. A frenzy was building around the name. GIMME had become a very real brand with very real supporters. People wanted to wear a “GIMME Project” shirt as an alternative to the elitist hype brands that seemed to be popping up every other week back then.
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The GIMME Project had its secret sauce, and if you didn’t know about it in the early 00’s, then you were just subscribed to a completely different frequency all together, it had its niche audience and it was off to the races. Even today we get photos sent to us from collectors raving about a specific favorite shirt that they wish we would remake, while sharing their now vintage GIMME shirts that are now old enough to have graduated from college, still being cared for like it's a family heirloom.
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Then between 2006-2008, The GIMME Projects' screen printer had his entire facility burn to the ground. It felt like the party was over, but was it? It took years of trial and error, checking to see if the industry was ready to replicate the level of quality that GIMME demands, a level of quality that was 2 decades ahead of the curve back then. We are proud to say we have finally found our screen printer, in our home state of NY. With no puns intended, The GIMME Project has literally risen from the ashes and in April 2024 celebrated it's full relaunch and 20 year anniversary.
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Thank you for the years of support, and thank you if you're just getting on board now.
