Sleepy Dan Party Recap

Saturday June 25, 2011 Sleepy Dan wakes up!

As promised I went to the Sleepy Dan Slumber Party. The party was great. I haven't been to very many series release parties, but I've been to enough to appreciate the work Dan and his team put into this one. I don't know if Dan just has endless hookups or what, but he spared no expense when it came to this party. Not that white tigers or servers with fine wine were walking around, nothing like that. He simply created an atmosphere that complimented his brand and showcased his tees in a fun environment. What more could you ask for? The crowd was a little more diverse from what I am accustomed to seeing at these events, that was a welcomed surprise. I could tell Dan did a great job spreading the word.

The party was at Public Trust. I am ashamed to say I had never been there before. The Deep Ellum venue was a perfect size and the team did a great job laying everything out so that the party would function well. If there was one thing to complain about, it was that the place was a bit warm when I arrived. The temperature outside was 96 so that certainly had a hand in handicapping the AC. The place cooled off after a while though. The free ice cold beer also cooled the place up.

After I glanced at the sleep inspired art that covered the walls I quickly found the "bedroom" where the tees were for sale. Dan has about 8-9 different styles for his first line. That's pretty impressive. All the designs are strong in their own way and they each seem to balance each other out for the most part. I thought the designs were fun and creative. The tees stick to the theme of sleep and complement each other color wise. All except one: the bowser tee. Dan uses his logo as the pixels to tie the brand into the image. This is the tee I purchased. As soon as I saw it, I knew that it was the one I would buy.

I've had a couple of conversations with friends about "the random tee." The tee that is just different from the rest of the line. Personally I love it. I think adding an unexpected tee to your line is a great way to test your audience. Some people argue for consistency, I say shake it up a little. It's a pretty awesome tee and the fit is right on. One thing I was a little surprised to find out was the tee's are printed on Tultex brand shirts. Now, I am not complaining about Tultex, I was just expecting American Apparel is all. The price was $26 for the tee and I also receive a numbered screen print of 50, done at the party. That was a nice touch.

All the art was amazing. Everyone did a great job with their sleep inspired pieces. One of my favorites was the Cody Phillips piece; that dude is talented. I've seen some of his work over at the F9 shows in Arlington.

Overall the party was awesome. I had a chance to meet and talk to Dan for while. He answered a few of my questions and we talked a little about the tees and how the hell he is going to lug all his stuff to Kixpo. I also hung out with Heather from Good Child and talked to Fur Face Boy for a bit. It was fun seeing familiar faces at the party as well as all the new people. Dan has a lot of friends! Enjoy the pics..

Series One

Selling tees in pajamas!

8-bit NES gotta love it!

Nice packaging, the details go a long way

Live screen printing

The Cody Phillips piece