There is a memorable scene in Adi Loveland’s Unhinged: Surviving Joburg. It shows a vivid graphic of a classic “UPYOURS” icon pinned to a refugee tent on the outskirts of Johannesburg during the 2008 Xenophobic attacks.
We couldn’t help but reproduce it on a t-shirt, exactly as is.
You need to be in a special kind of a mood to pull this one off when you wear it.
Long time no blog. But apparently no one reads our blog anyway, so no real worries.
Above is a screen shot of our online-shop-in-the-making… any day now it will be live and pumping (I know, we’ve been saying that for years, but seriously this time…). Exciting that we’ll now be able to view an entire range in one go - we haven’t been able to do that since our original Flash (RIP) website.
But the real reason for this post is to let you know that some extra space is needed in both our ArtsOnMain and BambooCentre shops, so we’ve marked down TheCityBoyRange by 30%. And if you buy two of them, you get one of these as a gift of gratitude for your ongoing support. (i.e. for free!). Starting today until those silly t-shirts run out.
:)
BTW - the extra space is needed for new stock - samples of TheThirteenthRange (that’s not the name, still a surprise) have started to stream into both stores… (and they’re hot hot hot).
Notice anything different about this year’s Skyline? Besides the bulge at the top of the Hillbrow Tower that is? Spot the large commissioned sculpture of a telescope by artist Marcus Neustetter, neatly sitting on the rooftop of Main Street Life. This giant piece is the dream of developer Jonathan Liebmann to change the skyline of Johannesburg. Watch this space.
Modeling our special edition of the Skyline for 2010 is Kassahun Gebrehana, or better known as Kassa in Little Addis, a small area in downtown Johannesburg sometimes referred to as the Ethiopian precinct. His restaurant Cafe Addis is a great spot for traditional Ethiopian food.
PS If you’re looking for a 2010 collectors item then this t-shirt is it. First prize would be to own one of only 50 gold foiled Skyline2010‘s, second prize would be to own one of only 100 gold printed versions.
Ever heard of the Rokboys? Neither had we until they were spotted round town wearing this t-shirt. Tjo!
Deklerk Mgqibi looks pretty good in it too. He’s a student and stays in the Anstey’s Building in the city centre.
PS Thanks to Marang Setshwaelo for the inspiration behind this t-shirt.
Gauteng - the smallest but most powerful province in South Africa. We see it as a giant gold heart, pumping molten energy into the rest of the country.
Modeling Pump is Russell Kaplan, Johannesburg’s most famous auctioneer. He has an exceptional eye for good taste, and was one of the first clever city boys to get an apartment in Braamfontein, overlooking the NM Bridge.
Former-Johannesburg CityGirl Leigh Ogilvie came up with the idea of a Meneer t-shirt. You get two types of South African men - ones who would wear this t-shirt and ones who wouldn’t. Neil Brandt wore the t-shirt, but just for the shoot. Neil’s Braamfontein apartment with it’s awesome views of the Nelson Mandela Bridge is his sanctuary when his work isn’t taking him all over the world. He’s is an award-winning documentary film-maker originally from Namibia but now refers to Johannesburg city as home.
The Hadeda has a distinctively loud and penetrating haa-haa-haa-de-dah call that wakes us up every morning. They’re the Johannesburg city version of the farm cock. The rise of the Hadeda population in Johannesburg has made a serious dent to our Parktown Prawn population. For this achievement they sure deserve their own t-shirt. They even got printed on our premier tee, the TwistSeam, a unique garment cut out of one piece of fabric (besides the sleeves) that twists around the torso.
Alastair Mclachlan has been an inner city dweller for longer than any of the other models, and through his work as an artist/photographer he has captured the changing face of the Johannesburg CBD since 2003. His images are fast becoming a catalogue of the evolving face of our city. His home, on the top floor of the Lister Building on Jeppe Street, is also the venue for his exhibitions, short film screenings and other events.
No, we’re not trying to claim eGoli (Johannesburg) as the next Bollywood or Jollywood. This t-shirt describes Jozi’s boiling plastic cliques and celebrity culture. The type has been created out of folded rand notes, disposable income dripping with gold. After we printed this graphic in white and yellow, this happened. We reprinted a version with the drips in blood-red. This t-shirt should come with this notice on it: WARNING: FAME AND FORTUNE CAN CAUSE DEATH.
Andile Cele’s D.O.P.E Store isn’t only for the rich and famous. Just round the corner from Gandhi Square is the dopest store in town. Get sneakers, tees and other apparel in limited editions (Love Jozi included) that you won’t find anywhere else in Johannesburg. The xclusiv Nike WC2010 team track jackets are a must-have for this soccer season.
PS The oversized Love Jozi Blade that Andile is holding is part of our new product range. This perspex keyring is available in white, black and neon orange, exclusively from our Arts On Main and Bamboo Centre stores.
Sunday 1 November was a sad day for Johannesburg. When the Rissik Street Post Office burned down, the cause of the fire became a contentious issue in city circles. Said to be the second to oldest building in the city, Die Poskantoor goes back to 1897. It was vacant since 1996.
Architect Brian McKechnie was the perfect model for this t-shirt. His passion for restoring downtown buildings has lead to his book “A Collision in Space and Time: Urban Transformation and Regeneration in Johannesburg”. Lately he has really focused on restoring the Ansteys Building to its former glory, and if you haven’t attended one of his penthouse parties on the top floor then we suggest you find some way of getting onto his mailing list ASAP!
PS Groot dankie aan Marette Christi Koorts vir haar uitsondelike ilustrasie van Die Poskantoor.
This t-shirt was designed for a group of South African journalists attending the 2009 Summit for Climate Change in Copenhagen. Thanks to Business Day’s Jocelyn Newmarch for the inspiration.
Louise Gamble is our only CityGirl in this range. Not only because she’s so hot right now, but because she understands this city and it’s culture so well that we convinced her to become the content editor of Jobusy and model in our shoot. She lives in Newtown just above the Rooke Gallery.
PS Did you know that Johannesburg may be the 2011 Summit for Climate Change host city? Announcement to be made later this year.
We never knew that the movement in football when a player kicks the ball with his chest was called a Chest Trap until one of our printers at Inner City Ink pointed it out. This t-shirt is a repeat print from The Highbrow Range, sure you get why. We like to believe it’s South Africa’s most understated and tasteful soccer Friday tee.
Malose Malahlela lives smack bam in the heart of the CBD. He is an upcoming artist so be sure to keep a close eye on his Fan Pal Project. He is also part of the Gazart collective.
PS This t-shirt is printed with a puff ink, which means stands out and traps your chest like a real soccer ball. Hard to describe until you’ve worn it. Try on one, you’ll feel so butch.
The second release in our new style of golf shirts, Charlotte is cut out of a 95% cotton 5% lycra mix which makes for a perfect fit. Read all about Queen Charlotte here.
Lawrence Lemoana hardly needs an introduction. He is hot hot property in the Johannesburg art scene and lives in August House in New Doornfontein.
Amor Jozi is the third in our logo-in-other-languages series. What should be next? Suggestions please.
Ben is such a nice guy, he’s even modeled for us once before. This time we let him leave his pants on which he was really pleased about. Ben lives in Newtown and works in Milpark, where he is one of the partners of Nicework.
When we decided do our first LaJozi Golf Shirt, the Blade design was the obvious answer for the embroidered emblem. It’s our sharpest little design yet. Note the detail behind the Blade of a single embroidered line in red cotton. This is our take on an old classic. No more boxy torsos and square sleeves, this is a fitted golfer, available from size XS through to XXL. Made out of 100% combed cotton pique.
Ben is such a nice guy, he’s even modeled for us once before. Do you think he enjoyed the last shoot more? Ben lives in Newtown and works in Milpark, where he is one of the partners of Nicework.
Jobusy is the name of our new website. If you haven’t bookmarked it yet then now is the time. And then go buy the t-shirt.
Jobusy is a partnership between Love Jozi and Russell Grant’s Red Team Go. Russell is the original CityBoy. His 2008 blog “Cityboy” is where the name of our new range comes from. His extreme passion for living in Johannesburg city earns him the 2010 LoveJozi CityBoy Award. Hell, he deserves it. This film-maker/copywriter/modern-day-estate-agent/bioscope-co-owner/jobusy-co-owner gave up the dangling carrots of a career in advertising for a more exciting and creative life in Joburg’s inner city. Our payoff line “Made in Joburg, China!” and the name of our blog “Jobusy” are both Russell’s doodles with words.
kiff
Love Jozi’s 12th range, as modeled by 12 handsome Jozi inner city boys (and 1 hot Jozi inner city girl), will be online and in stores from Friday 4 June 2010.
Watch this and other Love Jozi clips on the LoveJoziStream on youtube
Looking forward to a few firsts this weekend.
Firstly, it’s the first Arts on Main non-festival, which is a devoted 4-days of openings, artist talks, film screenings, music, shopping and all round interesting stuff in the relaxed and happy spirit that Arts on Main has become known for.
Our part in the non-festival is our very first TShirts-By-Mass sale, which means you’ll be weighing in your lucky finds at either R990, R690 or R390 per kilo of cloth. Which means you could score a t-shirt for as low as R50 and nothing more than roughly R190. Fucking fantastic! And our scale doesn’t lie. There will be pieces from previous ranges, futile experiments as well as some unsuspecting factory rejects (like Skylines 5mm off centre and other minor oddities). The video clip above shows a small selection of what’s in store.
BTW, you can subscribe to the Arts on Main noticeboard which lets you know at the beginning of each month what’s happening at Johannesburg city’s greatest new safe-haven. We are really loving having our store there, it makes so much Jozi sense.
Welcome to our first update for 2010. Towards the end of last year we finally received our trademark certificate. Which means that after five years, Love Jozi is now officially a registered trademark with the SA Department of Trade and Industry. Which means that we officially qualify for the little ® alongside our name.
To celebrate this momentous occasion we decided to tweak our logo just a little for this special year by carefully placing the ® at the top of the Hillbrow Tower. Now isn’t that the perfect place for it?
Notice anything else different in the logo upgrade? If you do, please comment below. First one to spot the fine tuning gets a surprise prize. See the current logo here.
